I am not really sure at exactly which point it dawned on me that my health was my responsibility alone, and that it was directly linked to what I put in my body. It was probably more of a gradual process. However as I have studied, investigated and immersed myself in nutrition, food as medicine and eating as naturally as possible I soon came to realise that neither food manufacturers or food businesses are looking out for me.
Believe me as I say this I am not going to go down the route of “the evil food manufacturers”. The way I see it is that number 1, they want to make money, then 2. they want to make more money, 3. they want to make more and more money and on it goes.
We are a trusting nation, we do think that if the government and big business tells us its healthy, and they go all out to market in an amazing way, we want to try it, we want to trust that ‘they’ want the best for us. But let’s face up to it, they really are not interested in the fact we could keel over with a heart attack at 30, develop diabetes type 2, have a limb amputated, develop extremely bad habits that will shorten our lives or develop a range of cancers.
It is time for you to question yourself, the foods you put in to your shopping basket, your habits, those you have inherited and then passed on to your children. I will continue to read the food labels and eat as naturally as I possibly can. What can you do to take responsibility for your amazing body?
As part of my studies into nutrition I have come across the psychology of eating (not just the book as referenced below), the effect fats (saturated in particular) and sugars can have on us, separately but more so when combined. This is something that has fascinated me, as a person who has held on to self blame in the past linked to thoughts pertaining to a lack of self control. This is a damaging mental state to have, and in my case turned into a vicious cycle of low self esteem and an eating disorder to boot. I am happy to say my awareness and understanding has helped me overcome this at least 99% of the time.
Before we move on to the specifics of how we get hooked on certain foods more than others, let’s just look back a few years to post war 1950s. It was a time of huge change, women did not want to stop working and go back into the home. They wanted the family, house and career, and so to make this easier, the food manufacturers caught on to this to ‘help’ the consumer. Hence the birth of highly processed convenience food products. Women were no longer required to spend hours making a dinner and pudding, they could purchase an instant pudding with a list of chemicals and preservatives added as well as a ready meal. All of the convenience came with a price, but that price is only being realised now in our generation.
This was all very exciting for food manufacturers, there was a captive audience, marketing and the psychology of hooking consumers was being recognised, thus this is where the most money was being spent. Food manufacturers understood that the more sugar and fat they were adding to foods, the more people were buying them. There are a few stories in Michael Moss’s book ‘Salt, Sugar Fat: How the giants hooked us’ which describe times when companies tried to produce healthier versions but customers just did not buy them.
Michael Moss writes in detail about the mixture of these ingredients, and the respective roles in the rising levels of obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure. He also writes about the bliss point, pointing out that in one particular study (paid for by one food giant) subjects were given mixtures of cream, milk, sugar “so pleasing to their brains that they never gave the signal to stop eating”.
The bliss point originates back to our ‘hunter gatherer ‘days as our preferred speedier source of energy was sugar or carbohydrates. Food manufacturers are able to combine fat, sugar and salt to find the bliss point, making sure that the product is irresistible to consumers ensuring we eat more and buy more. It has been studied in so much depth that food companies have it down to a mathematical statistic. So when you are wondering why you haven't the self control to stop eating the giant bag of Doritos or that your kids beg you to take them to McDonald’s on a regular basis, please think about the bliss point and who you are handing your well earned money to!
Please check our recipes to help you on your ‘eating for health journey’. Please comment and if there is anything we can help you with please contact us. Also if you haven't already add your email and subscribe to our community, you will receive a free natural food plan, with recipes and a shopping list.
Love,
Kelly x
Reference reading list:
Salt, Sugar, Fat Michael Moss
The food babe way Vani Hari
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