Food Addiction

[Macdon1588]

Paul Spector, M.D.: Addicted to Food?

I think this article does a pretty good job of hinting what we are up against in the modern era. I used to drink diet Coke in the belief that it was better for me than regular coke. Then one day, I realized something that was pretty fucking creepy. I realized that the only thing that diet coke did was make me want to drink more diet coke. It's a scary concept really. It's a drug in the form of a combination of chemicals than simply addicts you to the thing itself without any reward. I mean, I really wanted the caffeine buzz, but I never really got that jolt despite drinking pails of that caustic shit. Coffee packs the caffeine that I need, but I don't find myself needing another mug of coffee like I did with diet Coke.
My further evidence is my wife. She gave up caffeine after a month long bout of insomnia and switched to entirely water. Missing the diet Coke, she decided to drink caffeine free diet coke. At first it was just sparingly, but after a while, she drinks that shit at the same rate as she ever drank the caffeinated stuff.
People talk all day long about the evil industry that I am in (oil and natural gas) but no really discusses the food industry to any great lengths. The media cast a blind eye to the fact that there is an oligarchy of monopolies controlling various areas of the food supply. Take a look at the ConAgra and Archer Daniels Midland empires. You see that those two firms alone have grain supplies on a virtual lockdown. Because of their market power and ability to effect grain prices, they affect the price of food for the entire world, which is particularly scary to parts of the world where the spot price of rice determines whether or not a person can afford to eat. The fact that a company can starve people to death ought to be a bigger issue than the price of gas for your SUV. I am convinced that their market interest alone is why the antiquated food pyramid remains unchanged as it can easily be converted into a pie chart that represents ConAgra's market interests.
There should have been a huge red flag when the tobacco giants got into the food game. We KNOW these guys are criminals that hide the truth about the deadliness of their products by manipulating research, blocking funding to studies and hiding the amount of various dangerous chemicals in cigarettes with the help of heavy lobbying groups. I believe that the food products should have to bear the same warning labels that cigarettes have. People ought to be informed that the 44oz Mountain Dew and Poptarts they call breakfast IS going to KILL them over time.
I'm a libertarian and simply put I believe that your freedom ends at the tip of my nose; as long as what you do doesn't effect me, do it to your heart's content. That said, smoking effects no only the smoker, but also the rest of society that has to foot the bill for all of the heightened medical cost and the same is true with food. Thus, there are taxes and regulations in place that have reduced the cost of smoking to society and the information campaign against cigarettes has reduced the amount of smokers. As soon as the truth was put out there, people started to make better choices about smoking and tobacco in general. I believe that the time has come to do this with food products. I know that it seems like I am advocating increasing the reach and power of our nanny government, but, I just feel that the vast majority of people are miseducated or undereducated about the effects of food products because the truth is being hidden from them.

[Cobalt]

After having an overnight trip to the hospital during my college years of drinking a 6-pack of code red mountain dew every day, I knew something wasn't right.

Granted, a 6-pack of any soda on a daily basis is bad, but when you have vertigo from it that is so bad you can't stand up, there is much more to it.

The food industry is royally fucked, no matter what angle you look at it from. They also control it by offering shitty food at a cheaper price than better-for-you food. More people out there will grab a cheaper brand, because the advertisements tell them "it's the same thing" when it is filled with crap.

I feel that if you're dumb enough to buy into anything that anyone says without doing any kind of research (or even using common sense), you have no right to complain when your body falls apart.

[Macdon1588]

I agree with you Cobalt. There is a side of me that says let the Darwinism run its course, but at the same time, I would rather pay less taxes for reducing the oncoming health crisis with education than what we're going to have to pay when the uninsured fatties start to wind up in droves at the hospital (which is happening).

[longBallLima]

After having an overnight trip to the hospital during my college years of drinking a 6-pack of code red mountain dew every day, I knew something wasn't right.

Granted, a 6-pack of any soda on a daily basis is bad, but when you have vertigo from it that is so bad you can't stand up, there is much more to it.

The food industry is royally fucked, no matter what angle you look at it from. They also control it by offering shitty food at a cheaper price than better-for-you food. More people out there will grab a cheaper brand, because the advertisements tell them "it's the same thing" when it is filled with crap.

I feel that if you're dumb enough to buy into anything that anyone says without doing any kind of research (or even using common sense), you have no right to complain when your body falls apart.

disagree. although I'm a big believer of label reading and understanding, i can't expect every single mother of 3 to do the same. not everyone has the ability to research it. Just like there are several products that i'm a consumer of that i can't stop and do hours of research on to best inform my decision.

Society put in place a government to represent it and look out for its interests and there are regulatory agencies that have the power to promote responsible advertising and proper taxation according to what is beneficial to the public or not. Although I do agree that many individuals have failed and put self indulgence and convenience ahead of themselves or their kids, the government, once again, fails society by not fulfilling its place.

Small farmers get screwed and big food with big lobby gets breaks

[Cobalt]

Society put in place a government to represent it and look out for its interests and there are regulatory agencies that have the power to promote responsible advertising and proper taxation according to what is beneficial to the public or not.

I'll admit that I was a bit harsh there. I fully understand that not everyone will have the chance to research every small thing that they are taking in, there is still a limit that everyone can stop at.
Like myself. Drinking 6 sodas a day. That was just dumb, really fucking dumb.
I feel that people should be able to look at that and go, "that is a shit ton of sugar." They should know it's bad for that reason.
However, I personally feel that while the sugar is bad, the phosphoric acid is also really bad.

That leads into the deeper digging.

If the sugar is bad, most people will switch to diet soda. You're still getting the phosphoric acid, which isn't as bad as all the sugar, but now you're getting artificial sweetener. That, in my opinion, is worse.

This leads back into your statement about us having a government that regulates what goes into food to look out for the people. It is no secret that the FDA that is in charge of the regulation is a steaming pile of shit. Aspartame, the favorite artificial sweetener out there, has been proven to wreak havoc on your body, but it is still on the market. The ex-FDA employee that approved Aspartame later got a job with the company that makes the sweetener.

I'm sorry, but examples like that really turn me away from a lot of foods out there. I've been pushed to buy the most basic, raw foods that I can and just take the time to make my own stuff.
I feel healthier from doing it too... so I guess I should thank the FDA from scaring me away from all the garbage they approve.

[longBallLima]

I'll admit that I was a bit harsh there. I fully understand that not everyone will have the chance to research every small thing that they are taking in, there is still a limit that everyone can stop at.
Like myself. Drinking 6 sodas a day. That was just dumb, really fucking dumb.
I feel that people should be able to look at that and go, "that is a shit ton of sugar." They should know it's bad for that reason.
However, I personally feel that while the sugar is bad, the phosphoric acid is also really bad.

That leads into the deeper digging.

If the sugar is bad, most people will switch to diet soda. You're still getting the phosphoric acid, which isn't as bad as all the sugar, but now you're getting artificial sweetener. That, in my opinion, is worse.

This leads back into your statement about us having a government that regulates what goes into food to look out for the people. It is no secret that the FDA that is in charge of the regulation is a steaming pile of shit. Aspartame, the favorite artificial sweetener out there, has been proven to wreak havoc on your body, but it is still on the market. The ex-FDA employee that approved Aspartame later got a job with the company that makes the sweetener.

I'm sorry, but examples like that really turn me away from a lot of foods out there. I've been pushed to buy the most basic, raw foods that I can and just take the time to make my own stuff.
I feel healthier from doing it too... so I guess I should thank the FDA from scaring me away from all the garbage they approve.

Totally agree here

[saludable24]

I had noticed that my body was feeling much worse than normal over a period of about two months, and I finally narrowed down what I had changed. It was the addition of a diet soda nearly every day just due to convenience and habit. When I stopped drinking diet soda, which I was doing once a day for a few months (one or two soda cans or a large combo drink), I started thinking clearer and feeling a little bit better than I had been. Now I only drink it on rare occasion. Being informed makes a difference. Sure there are people who just don't have the time to care, but as with many important things, people only start to care when they begin to feel tangible negative effects in their lives. Government has a place, but that doesn't eliminate the need for personal responsibility as most of society believes.

[Grape Ape]

Martin knows what's up.

[olddawg]

According to me, I agree grape

[Bucks]

According to me too!