Fast Food Diets Have Similar Qualities to Drug Addiction
Almost everyone now knows that fast food is terrible for your health. Fast food chains are constantly changing marketing campaigns to promote their new “healthy” food choices. But are they actually healthy? Does fast food actually have addictive properties? These are questions that been debated by nutrition experts for years. What you learn may shock you.
A new study involving lab rats has found that foods high in fat, salt and sugar might be physically addictive, activating the same areas of the brain that respond when certain addictive drugs are used. You may ask, where do you find this combination of sugar, fat and salt? The most common area, of course, is found in fast food. Ann Kelley, professor at University of Wisconsin states, “The over-consumption of this food leads to problems like obesity.” Kelley goes on to state, “The combination of fat with sugar, or fat with salt seems to have a very particular neuro-chemical effect on the brain…what that does is release certain chemicals that are similar to drugs, like heroin and morphine.”
While we believe in the physical-chemical food addiction, we are not at all in favor of a medication being concocted to “cure” this addiction. This is simply putting a band-aid on and never learning the reason for the addiction itself, which would have a much greater benefit that can last the rest of your life. We are in favor of putting an immediate halt to eating these fast food items in favor of healthier choices, including learning to cook your own food. If you do not have time to cook every day, set aside one day and cook enough food for several days. It is cheaper, healthier and will dramatically improve your health in a very short period of time.
If you choose to change your lifestyle, remember that for the first few days the body will most likely go through some withdrawals, just like a typical drug addiction. You may experience nausea, headaches, stomach cramps or other symptoms. This is a normal reaction. Your body is simply attempting to rid itself of the toxins you have been ingesting for many years. Depending on the person, this may go on from several days to several weeks. A change in lifestyle is a hard thing to accomplish but if done correctly, it will help to eliminate the need for fad diets and harmful medications. You will also find it helps eliminate cravings for fast food or junk food that bring about weight gain and poor health.
It is not overstating things to call your diet a drug addiction. It is very serious and may eventually kill you. At the very least, it significantly lowers your quality of life by sucking the energy out of you and dramatically increasing your odds of getting sick and causing life-threatening diseases. Once you become more aware of your addiction to food, you will be able to deal with it more effectively. The best news is that once you break your addiction, you will more clear-headed and have more energy than you have in years. You will also find that you will lose weight and your skin will take on a much more youthful glow.
By: Scott Malin
