The anatomy of healthy eating
There are 3 kinds of people in the world:
Ever wondered why inspite of knowing the importance of good nutrition, people still consume junk food laden with empty calories? Before we dive into that, let us understand what junk food is.
What is junk food?
The term junk food was coined as a slang in the public interest in 1972 by Michael Jacobson, Director of the Center for Science, Washington D.C
Junk food is any food that contains high levels of refined sugar, white flour, trans fat and saturated fat, salt, and numerous food additives; at the same time, it is lacking in proteins, fiber and important micronutrients. These foods often contain high level of calories often referred as “empty calories” in them.
Why is junk food harmful?
Junk food allows people to eat without planning – eat not only when it is time to eat, but also when you have spare time. Ingredients of junk foods offer great taste and make them addictive. Fat and sugar in combination are capable of producing a dopamine-driven surge of intense pleasure in people with a propensity for addictive behaviour.
Food dense in calories, when oxidised in the body causes enormous formation of AcetylCoA. Acetyl CoA in excess is channelized out of mitochondria for its participation in other metabolic pathways like the denovo fatty acid synthesis and biosynthesis of cholesterol, which causes excess fatty acid and cholesterol formation in the body.
The high levels of sugar in junk food which puts metabolism under stress; when refined sugar is consumed , the pancreas secretes high amounts of insulin to prevent a dangerous spike in blood sugar levels. Because fast food and junk food do not contain adequate amounts of protein and good carbohydrates, the blood sugar levels suddenly drops after eating, resulting in grumpy, fatigued feeling and a craving for sugar.
Brain scans show a reduced hedonic response when subjects view a plate of vegetables versus a higher calorie alternative. Depressing, isn’t it?
The Food Pleasure Equation postulates that the brain quantifies pleasure from an eating experience based upon the response from its dopamine neurons and the sensing of calories by the gut. When a food is presented to you, the brain actually calculates how much pleasure will be generated during the eating and digestion of a particular food. The goal of the brain, gut, and fat cell is to maximize the pleasure extracted from the eating experience. If a food is lowered in calories for health reasons, the gut has the ability to sense this, and the food will become less palatable over time. Therefore, to keep the food pleasure elevated, one must add additional sensation in it through spices, flavour etc.
Why is junk food more addictive?
In the book Sensible Nutrition, the author James Clear talks about a range of factors that make junk food more addictive. These factors include:
Dynamic contrast. Dynamic contrast refers to a combination of different sensations in the same food. Foods with dynamic contrast often have a crunch followed by something soft or creamy and full of tasteactive compounds. This rule applies to a variety of our favorite food structures — the caramelized top of ice cream, a slice of pizza, or a chocolate cookie — the brain finds crunching through something like this very novel and thrilling.
Salivary response. Salivation is part of the experience of eating food and the more that a food causes you to salivate, the more it will swim throughout your mouth and cover your taste buds. For example, emulsified foods like butter, chocolate, salad dressing, ice cream, and mayonnaise promote a salivary response that helps to lather your taste buds with goodness. This is one reason why many people enjoy foods that have sauces or cheese dressing on them. The result is that foods that promote salivation do a happy little tap dance on your brain and taste better than ones that don’t.
Rapid food meltdown and vanishing caloric density. Foods that rapidly vanish or “melt in your mouth” signal to your brain that you’re not eating as much as you actually are. In other words, these foods literally tell your brain that you’re not full, even though you’re eating a lot of calories. The result: you tend to overeat.
Sensory specific response. Your brain likes variety. When it comes to food, if you experience the same taste over and over again, then you start to get less pleasure from it. In other words, the sensitivity of that specific sensor will decrease over time. This can happen in just minutes. Junk foods, however, are designed to avoid this sensory specific response. They provide enough taste to be interesting (your brain doesn’t get tired of eating them).
Calorie density. Junk foods are designed to convince your brain that it is getting nutrition, but to not fill you up. Receptors in your mouth and stomach tell your brain about the mixture of proteins, fats, carbohydrates in a particular food, and how filling that food is for your body. Junk food provides just enough calories that your brain says, “Yes, this will give you some energy” but not so many calories that you think “That’s enough, I’m full.” The result is that you crave the food to begin with, but it takes quite some time to feel full from it.
Memories of past eating experiences. This is where the psychobiology of junk food really works against you and your body. When you eat something tasty (say, a bag of potato chips), your brain registers that feeling. The next time you see that food, smell that food, or even read about that food, your brain starts to trigger the memories and responses that came when you ate it. These memories can actually cause physical responses like salivation and create the “mouthwatering” craving that you get when thinking about your favorite foods. Millions of dollars spent in advertising these food products, ofcourse further facilitates this feeling.
Is there a way to start eating heathy?
The good news is that research shows that the less junk food you eat, the less you crave for it. The more you start eating healthier, the craving for junk food gradually starts reducing. More and more awareness should be created on healthy eating and avoiding junk food.