Is addiction to processed foods ruining your life? There’s hardly anyone who will argue that the whole class of processed foods are unhealthy; even die-hard junk food eaters will reluctantly agree as they chomp on a McDonald’s hamburger and fries. But how many know they are actually an addiction, similar to heroin or cocaine, and can ruin lives? Before getting into the details of that, here’s some basic facts about processed foods: They are called hi-glycemic; this means they are made from sugar and white flour which have been stripped of all nutrients or nearly all of them – like white bread, mainstream doughnuts, cakes and cookies. All of these foods are highly deficient in essential Omega 3 fatty acids and can cause a deficiency of this essential nutrient in the body.
On the other hand, low-glycemic foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are full of everything the body needs to be healthy, happy and energetic. They also contain high levels of essential fatty acids like Omega 3. Not long after processed foods are consumed, blood sugar levels drop and that causes not only tiredness and depression, but hunger. After that, the compulsion to eat more of the same foods causes another cycle of the same symptoms with weight added on and that leads to obesity and other illnesses.
These foods are processed to taste better, adding not only sugar but hi-fructose corn sugar and much more damaging – aspartame, another carcinogenic. Many food manufacturers will put out packages that say low sugar but the sugar has been swapped for these unhealthy sweeteners. Then they can claim it’s healthier. Fat chance – pun intended. One of the main reasons for overeating is because there’s no nourishment to speak of in these foods; the body keeps crying out for them, trying in vain to squeeze out some vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from the dead food. In this way, processed foods becomes an addiction that can surely ruin your life.
It’s not just these starchy, sugary foods that are bad; processed meat contains sodium nitrates which is a known carcinogenic. The animals are also fed ungodly things you don’t want to know about – some are even fed meat from their own kind. Processed foods also lack omega 3 fatty acids which are needed to keep the mind in shape and the lack of it causes mental problems.
Everything stated here so far is not terribly unknown but what has not been thoroughly looked at until recently is the fact that processed food does indeed have a strong additive element, the same as some major drugs.
A study published in Preventative Health states:
We also did functional MRI imaging on all 12 participants. The images revealed intense activation of the nucleus accumbens, a critical brain area in the dopaminergic, mesolimbic system that mediates pleasure eating, reward and craving. Similar activation patterns have been found in people after consumption of addictive substances, such as heroin and cocaine
True, eating processed foods all the time won’t make one a drug addict but it will likely cause obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease which is not much better, especially if the craving is caused by the same process that creates drug addiction.
In The Organic Prepper, it says the body cannot break down these foods because they are made of foreign, artificial ingredients and chemicals. A very graphic video attached shows what happens to food as it goes through the body over several hours. There’s a startling difference between a real, whole grain food and an unhealthy one.
At the end of the digestion, the processed grain is still mostly intact which means it was not digested, the body has not broken it down or made any use of it. Thus, no nourishment.
The general reaction to a steady diet of processed food is similar to an addiction to drugs where it takes more and more to satiate. Not only that, the chemical additives are poisons.
Who really wants to be craving food all the time and never really being satisfied? Or feel guilty because we think we’re glutinous?
If you don’t believe you can get an Omega 3 deficiency and that processed food addiction can ruin your life, try eating organic fruits, veges, nuts, seeds, chicken and grass-fed beef for a week or so, see how you feel…and look.
By: Lucille Femine