Food Addiction, Chemicals Making Food Addictive, Potato Chips - Essay Example

FOOD ADDICTION CHEMICALS MAKING FOOD ADDICTIVE POTATO CHIPS Not long ago, scientists came to the conclusion that fast food can be just as addictive as Cigarettes, or other classified drugs. While the smoking ban is getting stricter every day, no regulations are in place for potato chips or other processed foods & snacks.
“Salt plus fat equals the satisfying crunch”, and if you times this by mouth feel, it equals “a food designed to addict“ (nytimes.com, 2010). Potato chips are, just as cigarettes, designed to be addictive but food manufacturers have no restrictions in making them less addictive on the contrary, scientists continue to calculate how to make them even more addictive. In this paper, I would like to show that potato chips and other processed snacks are potentially just as dangerous as cigarettes or other drugs.Today, many people are dying as a result of weight related illnesses due to the consumption of fast food and “manufactured“ foods & snacks. Shouldn’t we demand laws to educate and protect us better? Many people crave the fatty satisfaction of potato chips, cheezies and other snacks that have high in calories and unhealthy fats. Since this food types are addictive, once you start eating them you will not stop until you are satisfied (Van Niekerk, 2012). One potato chip teases the taste buds in the mouth and creates a sensation of wanting more. Something addictive such as potato chips and cigarettes is known to contain psychoactive substances that cross the blood brain barrier and temporarily alter the chemical balance of the brain. When you find yourself in a ravenous state during the day, you will automatically reach for the same food in the cupboard. More often than not, people choose potato chips to fulfil all their craving that the body requires during this period. Despite the fact that everybody knows that potato chips are bad for your health, a lot of people still are addicted to them. Unfortunately, few people have taken less concern or action about this and just continue to eat these snacks as a means of satisfying a short term need. Another plausible reason why people tend to ignore the constant advice with regards to the health hazard about potato chips because people believe that this claim are unfounded. People know that potato chips are unhealthy, but nobody seems to have given a specific reason why. From the aforementioned information above, it is worth delving into the specifics of potato chips. Firstly, potato chips are known to contain three key ingredients mainly sugar, salt and fats. These three ingredients are the things that make potato chips as being addictive . This is the reason why people often tend to reach or partake potato chips when hunger strikes. It is important to understand how potato chips are made to give further insight on why it is so difficult to stop consuming potato chips. When making potato chips, manufacturers use the following steps. The potatoes are cut into thin slices. The next step which is drowning this chopped potatoes in fat. This is usually done for making the potato chips to have some form of taste. However, this is where the addictiveness of the potato chips starts. The fat that is used Fat in potato chips helps to prompt a sensation in the mouth called the“mouthfeel“ (KAYLOE, 2003). This is described as the pleasurable feeling whilst eating unhealthy food. This is a character that makes the eater want more and more of a particular food. This should be a major health issue as this type of food has a lot of calories that contain in fat. This means that this stage does not only promote mouthfeel which is the addictive aspect of the food but also adds a lot of calories to the potato chips. The negative steps in the preparation of chips do not end here, the third step and final step which is salting is doused across the potato chips. It is a well-known fact that salt makes someone crave on an unbelievable level. The component that hits the tongue makes it have a terrific sensation or reaction in the mouth. This is called known as flavour burst and it will make eating the potato chips even more addictive (nytimes.com, 2010). The steps that are used to make potato chips make it quite addictive. The two steps; the drowning of potato chips and salting make them addictive. However, the addictive aspect of potato chips has serious health issues. A common misconception with regards to potato chips should be clearly stated. Due to the fact that they are widely perceived as possessing a savoury state, people tend to believe that they contain sugar. However, they do possess plenty of starch and once this this type of food stuff is digested and converted to glucose. One major health concern is that the glucose enters the bloodstream at a faster rate than other basic sugars. This means that potato chips can lead to increase of weight and eventually obesity. Potato chip addition is similar to cigarette addiction. This kind of addiction is where a person’s body constantly desires a dosage of nicotine. This is partly an emotional reaction that seems to build over time. Someone who is addicted to nicotine will have a compulsion to the use of cigarettes or products that contain it. These compilations are known to come from both emotional and physiological processes. The addiction of cigarettes will act as a prerequisite of the addition of other drugs such as alcohol and marijuana. Cigarettes are usually known to be addictive as they have an effect on the chemicals that are in the brain. When a person consumes nicotine, this compound causes their body to release various chemical such as dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter chemical that helps to control the brain’s reward and pressure centres. It also regulates the emotional responses. When this chemical accumulates itself in the brain, it creates a euphoric feeling similar to what other drugs such as cocaine do (Gearhardt, 2011). If a person continues to smoke cigarettes, his brain will become dependent on the rush of dopamine that nicotine creates. Thus, strong connection between the nicotine and the dopamine will make a mental association that will eventually lead to the addiction. When a person is known to have this kind of addiction, his brain will begin to make less dopamine. In the event that they do not have access to a cigarette that contains nicotine, they will usually feel low or their moods will be down. Such people often feel depressed, angry and anxious. However, once an addict uses nicotine, their dopamine levels increase rapidly and this is just enough to make the person feel normal again. This means that nicotine addiction makes one feel low all the time and he constantly needs it to make him feel normal again. This kind of addiction takes place slowly enough that the person does not realize it. The addiction of cigarettes is also known to have a psychological component. Addicts tend to become hooked on the act of ingesting the nicotine so that the dopamine will be produced. For, example, a cigarette smoker will more often link smoking with some normal behaviours such as driving, watching a movie or even reading a magazine. Once their quit smoking, they will seem like they are missing something and have a difficult time enjoying anything that they are doing. Cigarette addiction can lead to other kinds of addiction such as alcohol addiction. This happens when a person develops a physical and emotional dependence on alcohol. When a person is drinking, it is like he is ingesting a sedative. This will create dependence to this kind of drug. Alcohol is known to provide a feeling of euphoria and relaxation. The effects of alcohol can make a person to be emotionally attached to it. Once the urge for drinking comes, an addict will have a difficult time resisting this urge. One of the signs that a person shows when he or she is becoming an addict to alcohol is being intolerant to it. The addict will then want to drink more and more alcohol to be able to feel good. Physical dependence and emotional addiction are the two important issues that an addict faces when they do not have anything to drink. They find that they cannot perform any task until they have had a drink or two. Most people opt to drink so hat hey can run away from their problems but, this as negative impact on the individual’s health, work or family relationships. Similar to cigarette addiction and alcohol addiction, certain types of food can also be added some kinds of chemical additives that tend to make this food addictive. Food scientists claim that restaurants are bingeing foods that have excessive fats and sugars so that they can cause changes in your brain and make it hard for the body to say no (Rose, 2006). These kinds can trigger changes that can eventually lead to food addition. A survey conduction by a research group on obesity concluded that fast foods are the major type of goods that result on obesity. Food such as burgers, potato chips have a high calorie and sugar content. A binge of these proportions will trigger physiological changes that will mute the hormonal signals that tell the brain a lot of fat or sugar has been consumed and regulate it. Drug addiction and food addiction can be closely related. A person who is addicted to a drug such a cigarette cannot just have one fill satisfied. This is similar to a person who is addicted to potato chips or any kind of snack cannot just have only one bag. Both types of people have to take more than one to avoid the net fix or the craving. If both types of addicts do not maintain this kind of quantity they are used to, they seem to experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety or depression. The brain will not be able to function properly until they have fulfilled their cravings. Food addiction is a clinical disorder and shows similar symptoms with drug addiction. There is evidence of attention deficient, depression and hyperactivity. Annotated Bibliography http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 This site by New York Times provides a detailed insight by Joel Lovel in how the food companies have hooked the general public on fast foods and bingeid them to make the addictive. It clearly shows how people had forgone eating meals with a balanced diet and opted for fast foods such as burgers, potato chips and sodas. The article goes to explain the contents of the fast foods such as fats and sugars and why they are not good for our health. Van Niekerk, (2012) .The drugs dilemmas Alcoholic beverages, Drugs. JP CME: Your SA Journal of CPD, ISSN 1016-6742, Volume 30, Issue 7, p. 228 The journal by Van Neikerk gives great insight of the effect of drug addiction and more specifically Alcoholic beverages. The author is able to provide the reader with the causes and effects of drug addiction. The article also provides the chemical perspective of this kind of addiction. KAYLOE. J(2003) .FOOD ADDICTION Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training [PsycARTICLES], ISSN 0033-3204, Volume 30, Issue 2, pp. 269 – 275 This article explains food addiction in a detailed manner. It is also able to give the comparison between food addiction and drug addiction. Kayloe is able to critically look at what factors contribute to food addiction and how it can be resolved. Gearhardt, Ashley N; Yokum, Sonja; Orr, Patrick T; Stice, Eric; Corbin, William R; Brownell, Kelly D. (2011). Neural correlates of food addiction. Archives of general psychiatry, ISSN 0003-990X, Volume 68, Issue 8, pp. 808 – 816 Gearhardt and co authors look at the neural aspect of food addiction. This article is able to explain how food addition takes place and what goes on in the brain to constantly activate it to a certain type of food. Gearhardt and co authors are able to analyse the hormones that are related to food addiction. Rose, Jed E (2006) Nicotine and nonnicotine factors in cigarette addiction Psychopharmacology, ISSN 0033-3158, Volume 184, Issue 3-4, pp. 274 – 285 Rose give a detailed research of how the addiction of cigarettes starts and how nicotine plays an important role in this addiction. This article explains how a person gets addicted to cigarettes without him knowing it. Rose also explains how this kind of addiction is similar to that of food addiction. References http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Sources from Database: http://www.tourolib.org Van Niekerk, (2012) .The drugs dilemmas Alcoholic beverages, Drugs. JP CME: Your SA Journal of CPD, ISSN 1016-6742, Volume 30, Issue 7, p. 228 JUDITH C. KAYLOE. (2003) .FOOD ADDICTION Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training [PsycARTICLES], ISSN 0033-3204, Volume 30, Issue 2, pp. 269 – 275 Gearhardt, Ashley N; Yokum, Sonja; Orr, Patrick T; Stice, Eric; Corbin, William R; Brownell, Kelly D. (2011). Neural correlates of food addiction. Archives of general psychiatry, ISSN 0003-990X, Volume 68, Issue 8, pp. 808 – 816 Rose, Jed E (2006) Nicotine and nonnicotine factors in cigarette addiction Psychopharmacology, ISSN 0033-3158, Volume 184, Issue 3-4, pp. 274 – 285 Read More