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LadyConstanze -> RE: Can overeating be an addiction? (3/18/2014 5:59:51 AM)
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quote:
Compulsive overeaters are eating not out of hunger but as a coping mechanism. It isn't lack of self control but a case of slow destruction by socially acceptable drug. (Overeating and some trigger foods, like chocolate, make changes in brain chemistry usually associated with addictive drugs only not as strongly.)
There's also sugar addiction, in some people eating sugar will release endorphines and they react the same way as people on drugs, people get sugar highs and following that a sugar low, which makes them crave more sugar, but sugar isn't just the white stuff, but also complex carbs, your body reacts to them in a similar way and it's pretty difficult to break that circle.
I don't think that we move less (in general) than the generation of our grandparents, 50 years ago not everybody was working on a farm or doing physical labour, they certainly didn't do quite as much sports as we do now, there weren't as many public swimming pools available or gyms, what has changed dramatically is the food and what we eat. For a while antibiotics were given for virtually anything, as a kid when I had a cold everybody asked if I've been given antibiotics, luckily my parents weren't too fond or this, a real blessing, because not only does your body rely on getting help and slowly losing it's own defense mechanism, it also messes with all the bacteria in your body, even the good stuff you need. It can seriously change the way you digest food.
Most animals in commercial food production are given doses of antibiotics, because farmers found out that adding antibiotics to animal feed increases the weight gain in animals, that part of that stuff is stored in their muscle and fat tissue and we eat it, doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it might mess with our health as well.
Our food has changed a lot, so about 60% of the population has food allergies and sensitivities, which slow down your metabolism and stop you from losing weight, I can't eat most dairy products (goat and sheep milk is fine, cow milk a no go), that and most meat or meat products, I'll end up bloated, mixing certain foods, same thing, gall bladder will go nuts, within a few hours I'm cramping and look like I'm about to give birth, for weeks later my digestion is messed up and I will gain weight, no matter what I do. I love Asian food but avoid Thai food unless I make it myself, too complicated questioning the waiter if there might be just a bit of coconut milk in the food (and often hearing "not in this dish" and then finding out the painful way that there is). The reason why we have so many allergies might be due to pollution, but also most food, even if we cook from scratch, we have no idea what is in it. For our grandparents, it came from farms, now unless you spend a lot of money on organic food, you really can't tell and even then it's a bit of a gamble.
Another thing is people are having deficiencies, thyroid problems are a world wide problem, most countries have it as part of their yearly health screening, oddly enough not in the UK...
Vitamin D deficiency is also a massive thing for most of the population, even in California, due to sun screens and all of that, our bodies have lost a lot of their ability to absorb it, yet Vit D influences almost everything, starting from digestion to how your cardiovascular system works, diabetes, gum and dental health...
Additionally if you look at people with small children, child cries and they give them sweets, it's training them to seek comfort in food and equal sweets with happiness and attention, how about programming somebody to have an eating disorder?
There are a ton of people who really fight hard to deal with their weight, every bit of respect, but the ones who just sit on their sofas and stuff their faces with all sorts of junk and can't be bothered to move, but then expect special rights, they tend to wind me up. If they aren't willing to take responsibility for their own health, it doesn't seem to be right that the whole world has to bend over backwards to accommodate them, a bunch of my friends have weight issues due to steroids (mainly cortisone) but none of them has this entitlement complex that everything should be bigger just for them... I often pop in at the local McDonalds on the morning or evening dog walk, because I like their coffee, somebody who's having a supersized meal at 7 am with a side order of double cheeseburger and the funny coffee with tons of syrup, I don't think that their obesity comes from a medical disorder. I also don't buy that they don't have the money to eat healthy, because for what that costs, I can buy A LOT of veggies.
As for the difference food makes, I changed the feed for my dogs about 6 months ago, I figured the kibble, even if high quality, is so overly processed, it's the same as eating crap processed food myself. When I changed their food to mostly raw stuff (I have to cook the offal for the girl as she won't touch it raw), the boy was a nightmare with monthly vet bills (despite having him insured up to his eyeballs there is a co-pay) due to allergies, since we changed the food, the only trip to the vet we had to take were for the yearly shots and a broken claw.
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