Junk Food
Junk Food Cravings: How to Reduce & Control Them
Junk Food Addiction is real.
Studies done at the Weill Cornell Medical School and
Scripps Institute have irrefutably shown that the craving
for junk food is the same as the craving for cocaine and
opiates.
In lab tests, it was shown that even the threat of pain
did not deter the pigging out on junk food in the test
subjects (they were rats, not college students).
The nerve centers in the brain that control pleasure
are stimulated by both the drug and junk food in exactly
the same manner.
The test subjects also showed that just like with
drugs, the pleasure center in the brain became insensitive
to the stimulation and required more drugs . . . or junk
food, to provide the sensory pleasures the brain and body
demanded. The results are a spiraling into drug addiction
or obesity.
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Junk Food Defined = Just exactly what is junk food?
A loose description is "any processed food that is high
in fat, high in calories and low in nutrition."
This describes a large portion of the diet of many
people; students reared on Big Macs, sweetened soft drinks
and fat saturated French fries; busy adults grabbing a
"meal" on the run; and people too lazy to cook real food.
Junk food is widely available today; at the drive-through
on the corner, the racks in the convenience store and the
machines in schools and businesses.
The availability and lack of understanding by consumers
about how little nutrition is in these cellophane wrapped,
canned or boxed tidbits is a major contributor to the
obesity epidemic in evidence throughout the civilized
world, but in no place more evident than the USA.
Check the label on that wrapping, box or can and
chances are you will read a lot of chemical names, along
with the few natural ingredients whose names you
recognize.
One of the common names is "high-fructose-corn-syrup,"
a sweetener, preservative and, in sufficient quantity, a
poison. HFCS has been substituted for sugar in many foods
and beverages, even peanut butter, jams and jellies.
That P-B-J sandwich (white bread, of course) may meet
the definition of fast food; high calorie, high fat, low
nutrition.
Fortunately today, prepared foods are labeled so anyone
concerned about their health and what they put into their
body, can make a conscious selection of foods that are
less harmful . . . if they have to eat fast foods.
Some of the fast food operations are even publishing
the contents of their offerings, so you know that the
double cheeseburger with bacon provides you with more than
half of the recommended daily caloric intake for an adult
male, while it exceeds the RDA of sodium and saturated
fats.
Treating the Addiction
As with any addiction, a withdrawal from the source of
pleasure can be a painful process. The addict has to be
convinced that this move is the best for their health,
they have to understand that it won't be easy and they
have to have a little bit of self control in order for the
"cure" to work.
A fast-food-free diet as an element of an overall
fitness program has a better chance of being a permanent
solution. When a person becomes committed to a self
improvement program that involves major changes in
physical activity, lifestyle and diet, each facet of the
program is easier.
Once the withdrawal from high fat, high calorie meals
and snacks has begun, it will be helpful to replace these
items in the diet by substituting healthy foods and
snacks. One of the big appeals to fast food is in the
name, it's "FAST."
One way to overcome this is to have all the elements of
good meals and snacks readily available. Prepare natural
snacks; carrots, celery, fresh fruits, nuts and dried
fruits ahead of time and have them packaged and readily
available when the need (or urge) comes over you.
Prepare healthy main dishes in quantity and freeze
them. They can even be taken to work. Use a lot of spices
to make the meals more flavorful so your pleasure center
is mollified with the substitute and doesn't miss that
double-cheeseburger quite so much.
If eating at work isn't an option, then go to
restaurants that serve real, live food, not pre-processed
junk. You might be surprised to find that the service and
food at a family restaurant will be better than at the
fast-food drive-through and it is probably no more costly
or time-consuming.
Beverages
Opting for a "diet" soft drink does not help.
The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals in the
canned or bottled drink can affect your metabolism in the
same manner as the regular soda pop.
In fact, their effect may be even more harmful to your
body than the regular drink, by stimulating your
metabolism to slow down and store more fat. Learn to drink
water or unsweetened tea or something like that.
A healthy lemon slice in water gives it a little tangy
taste and may also help curb your appetite by shrinking
your stomach somewhat.
Treating junk food addictions, just like the withdrawal
from drugs or the drying-out from alcoholism, is largely
mental after the physical addiction has abated. It is
known at drug treatment centers, that the physical
addiction wanes after just a few days, but the mental need
to do drugs lasts much longer.
It is this mental addiction that must be addressed most
forcefully. We have all heard the expression, "mind over
matter." This makes reference to the fact that our minds
are in control of our bodies, mostly on the subconscious
side.
To affect a cure for any addiction, both the conscious
and subconscious sides of the mind must be engaged. The
subconscious side is the most influential on our habits
and behavior, so some form of "auto-suggestion" may be
employed to reprogram our mental computer.
Research has shown that our brains, particularly the
subconscious mind, may be influenced by meditation or some
form of self-hypnosis.
Self-hypnosis is really just freeing the subconscious
by achieving a relaxed state and then making suggestions
to yourself, suggestions that will influence your
behavior.
One way to achieve this relaxed state or "zone" is to
sit quietly in a comfortable chair, close your eyes and
picture in your mind your backbone. Visualize a small
light circling your lowest vertebrae, count to ten and
move the light up to the next vertebrae for another
ten-count.
Continue up the 24 vertebrae.
A feeling of heightened awareness will come over you
signifying your entry into the zone. Now you may make
suggestions about junk foods, exercise or any other
behaviors you want to influence.
You may prerecord your suggestions and play this during
your time in the zone. Preface the voice recording by some
relaxing music, about five minutes (the average time to
reach the zone) should do.
As you become more adept are reaching this state, it
will take far less time, particularly if you give yourself
a suggestion that some action will precipitate the
relaxation and entry, something like crossing your fingers
or clasping or interlocking your hands over your
midsection.
This action is called a "post-hypnotic suggestion" much
like those you are giving yourself about junk food
addiction.
Thousands of people have used this suggestion
successfully. If you approach an addiction to junk food
with an understanding of what it is, that your are not
alone in this and you can overcome it with the desire to
change, a little willpower, perseverance and a total
program approach, you will win this battle. |
