The REAL reason you can’t stop eating

Find that once you pop you just can’t stop? It’s nothing to do with wobbly willpower, according to a new book storming the US.

You know you don’t need another Pringle. You’ve just inhaled five and you’re not even hungry. So why is one (handful) never enough? Blame the food manufacturers! David Kessler, who in the 90s worked with then-President Bill Clinton to take on the tobacco manufacturers, has now turned his attentions to the food industry. In his best-selling new book, The End Of Overeating, Kessler argues that manufacturers are making stuff which is simply impossible to stop eating. Good for their profits? Yes. Good for the global waistline? No.
Kessler says food-makers pump products full of an unholy trinity of sugar, fat and salt, and it’s this combination that creates constant craving. Salty biscuits and chips are perfect examples of “hyperpalatable” food. Not only do they contain the perfect mix of fat, salt and sugar, they are designed to never fill you up, and their flavour, texture and aroma (all man-made) leave you wanting more.
Sydney-based dietician Susie Burrell (www.susieburrell.com.au) agrees: “Those types of foods target the reward centres – the parts of the brain that are triggered and create opiate-like substances that make us feel good, so we want more because we link that food to that good feeling,” she explains. “It’s a hormonal response.”
Kessler adds: “The food industry says it’s just giving us what we want, but it’s actually hijacking the brains of millions of people and making them overweight.” His studies of “eat-me” foods show that reward centres in the brain are activated in anticipation of eating, and remain stimulated until every last crumb is gone. Interestingly, this is also our brain’s response to tobacco and cocaine. Burrell cites evidence that different centres of the brain respond in a drug-like way to certain foods: “Particularly sugar and fat when mixed together. A good example would be meal deals like popcorn and ice cream at the movies, or a hamburger and soft drink.”
The good news is a change in attitude could be all it takes to overcome conditioned overeating. A very structured eating plan that cuts out chaotic snacking is essential. Kessler also advises identifying danger foods and eliminating them. “Look at that plate of fries and know that you won’t be able to stop after just one. If you do, they’ll increase your appetite all day long and one will never, ever be enough…”
 
HOW TO CURB YOUR CRAVINGS
Susie suggests:
• Be mindful of what causes the cravings to occur. Common triggers include not having eaten in the past three-to-four hours, and being on a low-carb diet.
• “The best thing you can do is change the scenery when experiencing cravings,” she says. “A study found that when subjects craved chocolate and were told to take a walk outside, the cravings diminished.”
• Try neutralising your palate. “Sugar feeds sugar and fat feeds fat. If you’re craving sugar, eat something savoury. Or have a small portion of something and then have a green tea afterwards to neutralise the palate.”
• Avoid complex foods with too many ingredients, like processed and fast foods.
• Don’t stock your house with uncontrolled portions.