BINGE EATING: JUNK FOOD ADDICTION AND THE DRUG LORDS WHO MADE YOU

I have a lot of weaknesses, shoes, tabloid magazines, the dollar bins at Target, and kettle corn. I can’t seem to get enough of it, and for some reason once I start cannot stop eating it. Thank God for snack bags otherwise I would be in trouble. I am usually a very polite eater but […]

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I have a lot of weaknesses, shoes, tabloid magazines, the dollar bins at Target, and kettle corn. I can’t seem to get enough of it, and for some reason once I start cannot stop eating it. Thank God for snack bags otherwise I would be in trouble. I am usually a very polite eater but when it comes to that stuff I seem to just shovel it in like a truck driver. I ‘m already putting a handful in my mouth before the previous has been swallowed.

I have very successfully been able to curb my destructive binge eating habits, so I honestly know me eating popcorn like it’s my last meal on this earth will not lead to any guilt or a purge. I m fine with everything else, but  I just can’t stop with my jiffy pop… I call it “puffed crack”. My brain just completely ignores my stomach and literally commands my hands to keep reaching for handfuls.

I laugh at it really, as it makes me feel normal. I know lots of people who can refuse a chocolate bar, but go cuckoo over potato chips, french fries, or fried cheese balls from Costco.

I never really thought much about my weakness to sweet puffed kernels of corn, or about why I got so addicted to food  itself in the first place until the other night when I watched a recent episode of 60 minutes.

It had to do with the additives and artificial flavors in foods, and how one company Givaudan, the world’s largest flavoring and fragrance manufacturer is not just trying to get you to like certain foods, but like it so much you can’t get enough of it.

Wait just one little second here,  or at least the amount of time it takes me to pop this bag of kettle corn in the microwave. Here all this time I thought I was weak, and now it might just be that the whole food industry has been doing a “jedi mind fuck” with my tastebuds.

Wow I thought, this opens a whole new can of worms, or in this case coca-cola as I pondered the possible link to all this and my Eating Disorders.

I since a child have like things that are sweet, and had always thought it partly had to do with being denied a lot of sugar as a child. I for years have struggled with sprinkling artificial sweetner on foods because the sweet makes it taste better.

However just as somebody could get addicted to heroin or cigarettes, could I have developed a susceptibility to be addicted to sugar? Could I be addicted to aspartame like tobacco?

To be addicted to something means you can’t get enough, and that you basically have to keep going back again and again.

People always associate addiction with really bad things, but it looks like it could also be as innocent as the can of Diet Dr Pepper sitting on your desk right now.

Givaudan invests billions of dollars into finding what flavors appeal to the average taste bud, and this could mean a lot of money for food manufactures, but alot of problems for people struggling with obesity, diabetes, or yes, eating disorders.

When we eat certain foods say chocolate, or in my case kettle corn it sends good neurotransmitters to our brains causing us to feel happy, calm, or satisfied.

However just like a drug, having to get feeling through any chemical substance can cause a reliance and hence an addiction.

So where can you go with all of this, except to perhaps be more attentive to what you are putting in your mouth. I think that I have for far to long been addicted to the processed and artificial and this in turn is probably what not caused but helped contribute to my 17 year struggle with a candybar.

It’s not just about a simple 3 musketeers bar anymore, walk into any grocery store and you are bombarded by a gazillion different labels and packages, new flavors, new textures, and new products. With things like “apple pie flavored gum”,”bacon laced ketchup, and “cheeseburger potato chips”, we can’t seem to get enough.

Food addiction as I know far too well is a tricky habit to beat. You don’t need drugs or alcohol to survive, but you need to eat, and with so many options out there, it’s hard to just put the fork down and say “I’m full.”

I can’t even wrap my head around how to combat these companies except other than that you don’t have to buy their products,and if you find that you are really eating way too much of the salty, sweet, and fizzy, you might want to stop purchasing it.

If you really can’t stop and feel out of control with it, I would suggest you examine how often you eat it and when.

I know that my kettle corn addiction is pretty much OK as I only eat it when I am hungry for it. Still working on eating it like a lady though…geez. If I want it when I am upset, lonely, or mad, it’s not about the popcorn, and I have to not eat it because I know I am just wanting to numb that stuff out.

I also have been trying to stick to a lot of really natural products lately. I say the closer to the earth the better. I mean when was the last time you saw fritos sprouting from the ground, or a gummi bear tree growing in your backyard?

It’s also really hard to get addicted to a baby carrot. I love em, but can pretty much stop after a 1/2 a cup..lol.

Remember obsessing over anything isn’t healthy, and that includes current events.

Yes this gives you some food for thought, but just like anything it is better to be aware than afraid.

I WANT CANDY-BOW WOW WOW

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