My original post:
Barbara wrote this over a month ago - June 1st.
I don't think I even commented on that posting -
but I have been thinking about it ever since.
I think that the additives in processed food are insidious.
For the whole month, since Barbara's posting appeared - my mind has been fingering subliminal advertising.in·sid·i·ous (n-sd-s) adj.
1. Working or spreading harmfully in a subtle or stealthy manner:
insidious rumors; an insidious disease.
2. Intended to entrap; treacherous: insidious misinformation.
3. Beguiling but harmful; alluring: insidious pleasures.
Do you remember subliminal advertising in movies? Advertisers would pay to have pictures of their products (I think mostly food and drinks from the refreshment counter) inserted into the movie. The mind saw them (quick flash) without the viewer actually being aware.
sub·lim·i·nal (sb-lm-nl) adj. Psychology
1. Below the threshold of conscious perception. Used of stimuli.
2. Inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response: subliminal propaganda.
I am not going to link to them - because I don't want to end up with weird comments - but if you type in 'examples of subliminal advertising' on a search engine - very interesting things pop up. I read several of them.
This is exactly what I think happens with processed food - only all the senses and the body's chemistry react - not just the eyes. I think that all the items, in that long list of ingredients that appears on most processed food, combine to send messages of WANTS to the brain and body.
I think that many of us - taste the input of those messages - and have the response - GIVE ME __________________. I want to eat ______________ NOW. Like Cookie Monster.
But I am not sure we know WHERE those messages are coming from. We just know we WANT. And I think that we (mostly) think this is weakness on our part.
I don't think it is weakness - I think when we deal with many processed foods - we are dealing with a very stacked deck.
PS - On a similar topic: Debby posted this one - you might want to take a read - it is very good.
8 comments:
Vickie! Of course I agree with you. And I didn't even realize that the book I mentioned in my blog post was the same one that Barbara reviewed in her article. I found it through a different blog. And I did order it.
Anyway, the longer I eat this 'clean' way, staying for the most part away from the processed stuff, the easier it is for me to resist the stuff. There was a potluck at work for the Fourth, and I was able to eat in the breakroom without eating ANY of the food except for a green salad and a little watermelon. (Of course, I had brought my own food.)
I experienced this first hand yesterday. We went to lunch at my friend's parents house and ate a traditional Sunday lunch - meat, potatoes, salad and pudding, accompanied by a glass of wine and coffee. When we got home last night I was raging for junk food. I was close to throwing a tantrum, but eventually got my way and got fast food chicken pitas. I would never crave that kind of junk, but the food that I ate activated something in my brain. I really pity the poor people who try to lose weight on small portions of processed food - life must be hell for them!
Today I'll follow my usual morning detox routine of two glasses of warm water with lemon juice and cayenne pepper, followed by a glass of barley grass juice and then a tough gym session. The rest of the day I will only have green smoothies and I'll make a salad for supper. This is not punishment, this is to give my body a chance to recover!
We're better off eating at home! To be honest, none of the food we ate yesterday was anything to write home about... My friend's mom is not a good cook by any stretch of the imagination.
and for me it feels soooo chemical.
When I eat even a bit of processed (hello cheesecake factory dessert!) I SOOO BEGIN TO CRAVE MORE.
I still eat it but Im aware and I choose when I eat it & really try not to make it a mindless thing.
great post,
Miz
I agree, and remember that post she wrote. When I was obese (305 lbs at my highest) I loved processed food. As part of losing weight I also lost the love for processed junk. Now, 12 years and 150 pounds later I rarely eat it.
I don't know what they put in it, but I think it's addictive! Thanks for the reminder about that post, I need to find that book.
I agree 100 percent with everything everyone has all ready said.
Thanks for posting the links for Barbara and Debby's posts.
I wholeheartedly agree. I've been making my own ketchup. It's easy to make and the family loves it. I love knowing all the ingredients in the food I'm eating. I got the recipe from epicurious.com
I plan on finding recipes that replace all the condiments we use. Does anyone have a good one for salad dressing? (miracle whip)
Vickie, I really like this post today. And I wanted to tell you that I looked at your links and love your posts about your exercise and eating stats. So helpful for me!
Thanks again for a great blog. I always get so much great information from you, and I really like how you think about things a lot.
David Kessler, the former head of the FDA, has written a book about the addictive qualities of food as it is okay. He used to think it was just a matter of willpower but his book seems to contradict that. (I haven't read it yet but would like to.)
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