Obesity and Addictive Foods: How the Processed Foods Industry Tries to Manipulate You
Remember your last trip to the movies? Did you eat salty popcorn and then crave a sweet fizzy soda?
Your body is actually seeking balance…the balance of consuming too much salt then makes you go back for that sweet tasting cola. But with all of the additives and chemicals in foods these days, your body starts to lose its sense of balance all together. You eventually may not know why you keep reaching for more and more food, without feeling satisfied.
Americans alone spend more than $50 million annually on weight loss products and services. And as obesity becomes a global epidemic, food manufacturers (especially in Europe) are starting to be scrutinized for their contribution to growing waistlines.
European government departments responsible for food safety are encouraging food manufacturers to reduce quantities of salt, fat and sugar to aid the growing problems with obesity.
With no real requirements, some European companies are taking the scrutiny more seriously than others…most likely due to changing consumer demand for healthier products. Yet, while this scrutiny of ingredients seems like a good thing, I can’t help but notice that they have it all wrong.
Our food supply seems to be focused more on ingredient manipulation than on going back to the basics: natural whole foods that are chemical and additive free. Instead, it seems that our food supply and by proxy, our bodies, have become part of a giant lab experiment.
Here are two recent examples of ingredient manipulation in the name of weight loss:
- Leaterhead Food International (LFI) is looking into creating ingredients that suppress hunger.5
- Researchers from St George’s University of London are encouraging food manufacturers to reduce the quantity of salt in food. The research showed that a reduction of salt intake would reduce children’s desire to consume sweetened soda pop, which has been shown to contribute to obesity.6
