grrrkgrrrl
New member
i found this extremely interesting and thought i should share
grrrkgrrrl
grrrkgrrrl
obesity article in the guardian
- Thread starter grrrkgrrrl
- Start date
Kayshiz
New member
...fat is crucial to this process of lubrication, ensuring that a product melts in the mouth. In the past, she says, Americans typically chewed food up to 25 times before it was swallowed; now the average American chews 10 times.
Ugh, That is so messed up. It's the ridiculous reasons like these (and that one I didn't even know about) that keep me away from overly processed & fast foods.
I don't even care if they can be part of a weight loss diet (nothing against people who do eat them). I'll get past the fact that they are nutritionally lacking pieces of crap. But they are just gross!
Nothing about how these foods are thought up, put together, and sold is appealing.
Thank you for posting!
Ugh, That is so messed up. It's the ridiculous reasons like these (and that one I didn't even know about) that keep me away from overly processed & fast foods.
I don't even care if they can be part of a weight loss diet (nothing against people who do eat them). I'll get past the fact that they are nutritionally lacking pieces of crap. But they are just gross!
Nothing about how these foods are thought up, put together, and sold is appealing.
Thank you for posting!
Spinner19641
New member
Really excellent article.
'Value adding' to food has become a disease in the UK because it enables the producer to use lower quality cheaper raw materials and charge more.
Being my own guinea pig I decided to try what I nicknamed the '1940's diet' (i.e. nothing processed, fresh & home cooked, only exception was bread & I took out sugar & only used olive oil).
The effect was amazing.
- rapid weight loss
- no more 'fuzzy head'
- no indigestion
- visible skin & hair improvement
- appetite stabilised
It led me to wonder what is the real impact of some of the chemicals used in our processed foods. I think processed food (junk, ready meals, takeout) does a lot more to our bodies than we understand.
I have since relented a little on that diet but only added back 'clean' foods - honey, jam, a few condiments - but I read the labels very closely and avoid any ingredients I don't recognise.
Excellent article & wholeheartedly agree with their analysis.
Thankyou!
'Value adding' to food has become a disease in the UK because it enables the producer to use lower quality cheaper raw materials and charge more.
Being my own guinea pig I decided to try what I nicknamed the '1940's diet' (i.e. nothing processed, fresh & home cooked, only exception was bread & I took out sugar & only used olive oil).
The effect was amazing.
- rapid weight loss
- no more 'fuzzy head'
- no indigestion
- visible skin & hair improvement
- appetite stabilised
It led me to wonder what is the real impact of some of the chemicals used in our processed foods. I think processed food (junk, ready meals, takeout) does a lot more to our bodies than we understand.
I have since relented a little on that diet but only added back 'clean' foods - honey, jam, a few condiments - but I read the labels very closely and avoid any ingredients I don't recognise.
Excellent article & wholeheartedly agree with their analysis.
Thankyou!
nothingnowhere
New member
Well that was a good read sure makes you think.
damn that made me want some KFC
i don't feel comfortable saying people are "addicted" to junk food though in the same sense cocaine addicts are addicted to cocaine..seems like just another way to shrug off responsibility..i believe it is possible to overcome the attempted 'rewiring' of our brain..this forum is full of people who have done it..
ps kudos to the brave soul trying to convince people in the comment section there about calories in vs calories out. you will be remembered as the bravest martyr.
i don't feel comfortable saying people are "addicted" to junk food though in the same sense cocaine addicts are addicted to cocaine..seems like just another way to shrug off responsibility..i believe it is possible to overcome the attempted 'rewiring' of our brain..this forum is full of people who have done it..
ps kudos to the brave soul trying to convince people in the comment section there about calories in vs calories out. you will be remembered as the bravest martyr.
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Kayshiz
New member
I don't believe it is exactly the same either, but I now they have done some studies on Naloxon (a drug used to treat heroin overdose) inhibiting a binge eaters desire for foods like chocolate, and the majority showed a severe decrease in interest for sweets after the injections.
I know it's not as severe as heroin, but obviously there is some chemical pull in our brains to eat these kinds of foods. Luckily it's a lot easier to get clean off chocolate than crack, LoL.
The human body is an enormously complex thing, and I find the notion that "overweight people lack will power" to be extremely ignorant.
There are so many hormones and chemicals that regulate the body, and many of them still aren't very well understood. Notwithstanding chemical processes within the body, there are other and more obvious reasons why people eat the wrong foods and over eat.
Taste -- The body wants to eat things that taste good. Taste is obviously an evolutionary thing to make sure we don't eat things that are poison/ dangerous to us. It is natural to want to eat things that taste the best (Aka all the crap food)
Protection -- The last 100 years or so where food has been relatively abundant (in the western world) are a blink of the eye (less even!) of the grand total of human evolution and existence. Though food is now abundant and we don't have to worry about freezing to death, our bodies don't understand this. They are still trained much like cavemen to want to eat in excess when available so that there is enough fat stored for energy and to survive the cold winter.
Missing nutrients -- The body can (and does) send hunger signals not just because it requires calories, but because you are missing something else important. You could be dehydrated, or missing out on crucial nutrients and minerals such as omega 3s.
Areas not understood -- There is still not a great deal known about leptin and how the body regulates it, but obviously you can change the levels of it and how the body reacts to it by eating poorly (type 2 diabetes anyone?)
Once you lose your leptin you are caught in a vicious cycle, and improper dieting (by this I mean significant calorie restriction/ not getting proper nutrients ie. weight watchers ) only exasperates the situation.
Another possible cause, though I don't have much personal knowledge with it, is that the body uses fat to insulate us from toxins and prevent them from harming the body. It certainly seems probable. Look at how many toxins exist today that didn't 200 years ago. (air, food, water, products etc)
Bottom line -- There will never be a magical cure for obesity, but you can arm yourself with knowledge and set yourself up for long term success, both in weight loss and healthy living. Anyone waiting for that magic pill to come out... well as they say: hope in one hand and shit in the other...
Don't diet. Change your lifestyle, educate yourself, and change how you think about food.
There are so many hormones and chemicals that regulate the body, and many of them still aren't very well understood. Notwithstanding chemical processes within the body, there are other and more obvious reasons why people eat the wrong foods and over eat.
Taste -- The body wants to eat things that taste good. Taste is obviously an evolutionary thing to make sure we don't eat things that are poison/ dangerous to us. It is natural to want to eat things that taste the best (Aka all the crap food)
Protection -- The last 100 years or so where food has been relatively abundant (in the western world) are a blink of the eye (less even!) of the grand total of human evolution and existence. Though food is now abundant and we don't have to worry about freezing to death, our bodies don't understand this. They are still trained much like cavemen to want to eat in excess when available so that there is enough fat stored for energy and to survive the cold winter.
Missing nutrients -- The body can (and does) send hunger signals not just because it requires calories, but because you are missing something else important. You could be dehydrated, or missing out on crucial nutrients and minerals such as omega 3s.
Areas not understood -- There is still not a great deal known about leptin and how the body regulates it, but obviously you can change the levels of it and how the body reacts to it by eating poorly (type 2 diabetes anyone?)
Once you lose your leptin you are caught in a vicious cycle, and improper dieting (by this I mean significant calorie restriction/ not getting proper nutrients ie. weight watchers ) only exasperates the situation.
Another possible cause, though I don't have much personal knowledge with it, is that the body uses fat to insulate us from toxins and prevent them from harming the body. It certainly seems probable. Look at how many toxins exist today that didn't 200 years ago. (air, food, water, products etc)
Bottom line -- There will never be a magical cure for obesity, but you can arm yourself with knowledge and set yourself up for long term success, both in weight loss and healthy living. Anyone waiting for that magic pill to come out... well as they say: hope in one hand and shit in the other...
Don't diet. Change your lifestyle, educate yourself, and change how you think about food.
ChefChiTown
New member
A huge portion of food companies and larger chain restaurants (especially fast food chains) employ chemical food engineers that do nothing but come up with various chemical combinations that make food taste and smell a certain way. Most of the food that you eat has been chemically altered in such a way that it sends signals directly to your brain, giving you the feeling of satisfaction and pleasure when you eat it. The reason that people enjoy the taste of McDonald's hamburgers has nothing to do with the meat itself. Instead, it has everything to do with what's in the meat; the chemicals. Those chemicals literally play mind games with you and give you the sense of satisfaction, which your brain links with McDonald's, making you subconsiously want to keep going back.
So, if you think about it, it's not chef's that are making your food - it's SCIENTISTS.
It's kind of a sick practice, but most places do it.
Kayshiz
New member
Yet another reason I avoid fast and processed foods as much as possible.
New food rule: Eat food made by chefs, not scientists.
Harold14370
New member
I'm afraid you're spreading an urban legend. From McDonalds site:
I don't think their hamburgers taste that great. I make better ones at home.
Kayshiz
New member
That's because homemade hamburgers aren't made with ammonia laced "hamburger filler"
"The New York Times ran an excellent article on a South Dakota company called Beef Products Inc., which makes a hamburger filler product that ends up in 70 percent of burgers in the United States.
To make a long story short: Beef Products buys the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer--fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. It sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens.
The result, known by some in the industry as "pink slime," is marketed widely to hamburger makers. The product has three selling points, from what I can tell: 1) it's really, really cheap; 2) unlike conventional ground beef, which routinely carries E. coli, etc, pink slime is sterilized by the addition of ammonia; and 3) it's so full of ammonia that it will kill pathogens in the ground beef it's mixed with.
No wonder that burger purveyors from agribusiness giant Cargill to McDonald's, from Burger King to your kid's public-school cafeteria, snap up 60 pound blocks of pink slime and mix it into conventional ground beef at doses of up to 15 percent."
To make a long story short: Beef Products buys the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer--fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. It sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens.
The result, known by some in the industry as "pink slime," is marketed widely to hamburger makers. The product has three selling points, from what I can tell: 1) it's really, really cheap; 2) unlike conventional ground beef, which routinely carries E. coli, etc, pink slime is sterilized by the addition of ammonia; and 3) it's so full of ammonia that it will kill pathogens in the ground beef it's mixed with.
No wonder that burger purveyors from agribusiness giant Cargill to McDonald's, from Burger King to your kid's public-school cafeteria, snap up 60 pound blocks of pink slime and mix it into conventional ground beef at doses of up to 15 percent."
That's weird, I don't see ammonia on their list of ingredients either...
Yet no one is denying that fast food companies use that product on their burgers.
Even though its hamburger "filler", its still made from a cow. It's treated with ammonia, ammonia isn't an ingredient.
Unfortunately, not everything food companies do is regulated like it should be. The laws are set up to protect the company, not the consumer.
Harold14370
New member
So you think they are lying on their web site where it says no filler?
Which is it: they are filling their burgers with delicious tasting artificial additives to get you hooked, or they are putting awful tasting ammonia in them?
Which is it: they are filling their burgers with delicious tasting artificial additives to get you hooked, or they are putting awful tasting ammonia in them?
ChefChiTown
New member
Yeah, I guess all of that studying I did on McDonald's while I was earning my degree in culinary school was nothing more than ghost chasing.
It's not an urban legend. It's a fact. Do some research on food companies and fast food chains and then you'll find out the reality behind your food. My first suggestion would be to check our Fast Food Nation, which is a factually written book about the real world in the fast food industry. There's an entire chapter that is dedicated to factually based information about flavor companies and how they pretty much control the taste and aroma of nearly everything you eat in fast food restaurants. The author, Eric Schlosser, takes a private tour of IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances), which is the world's largest flavor company. In his book, he describes what the company does and how they do it. Just to give you an idea, allow me to write out some of the information that is in his book...
Pg. 121
Pg 122
Pg. 125-126
Pg. 129
*Grainger is a flavorist, AKA - a chemical engineer that works with flavors and aromas for food.
Pg. 123
And, just so you know, the FDA has hardly any regulations when it comes to how restaurants label their food. You don't have to, as a restaurant or food company, reveal that you use chemical additives in your food because the FDA is ok with whatever you do with your food, as long as the chemicals you use are considered to be GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe). So, as long as companies use chemicals that are GRAS, they don't have to reveal that the chemical additive is an ingredient in the food they're making. Also, "natural flavor" doesn't mean that what you're eating doesn't have chemicals in it. In fact, it's a huge sign that your food does have chemicals in it. And, when McDonald's says that they use 100% beef with no additives or fillers, "no additives or fillers" isn't referring to chemicals; it's referring to other foods and other meats that would normally be used to stretch the amount of beef that they have. So, McDonald's can say that they use 100% beef all they want to (because they do - it's 100% beef with no additives or fillers), but they still put chemical flavorings into their food...they're just not going to tell you about it.
Kayshiz
New member
Lol, If your "filling" your beef hamburger with what is made from beef, that's not exactly "filler" now is it?
Do I think they can treat a product with ammonia without the final product smelling like ammonia? Yes. Do I think food companies lie? Yes. I do. Are they doing something illegal? No. Which I also have a problem with.
I am not attacking you sir. My gripe is with food corporations, not you.
ChefChiTown
New member
^^^^^
Are you arguing with yourself? HAHAHAHA, you quoted your own post and then started arguing. HA...that's awesome.
Are you arguing with yourself? HAHAHAHA, you quoted your own post and then started arguing. HA...that's awesome.
Harold14370
New member
Yeah, well, if they are adding all those flavors to their burgers to make them taste better than regular hamburgers... it's not working.
Spinner19641
New member
I don't understand the technicalities of the food industry but I have seen the factory processes and they are disgusting. If you knew how that 'delicious' food was manufactured you would know it is no longer food by the time we get it!
I think the only way to stop over processing of food is by voting with our dollar. If people didn't buy it then they wouldn't make it!
I think the only way to stop over processing of food is by voting with our dollar. If people didn't buy it then they wouldn't make it!
ChefChiTown
New member
There's about 100 BILLION people who would disagree with you.
But, it's not about tasting better; it's about messing with your brain signals, making you come back for more. There's a huge amount of science that goes into the food you're eating at fast food restaurants. It's not simply an issue of "Mmm, this tastes good"; it's an issue that involves brainwaves, emotions, chemically developed cravings, the sense of satisfaction and the tie that binds them all together.
When you go to McDonald's and order a cheeseburger, you're not just eating a burger; you're eating a chemically designed sales pitch that you put into your mouth and ingest.