Some of my friends have a deep love for food and are unwilling to give up even under the warning of sharply increasing weight. Then the problem comes.
Junk food is generally not good for health or even harmful. Why do I still like eating junk food?
Since everyone is so curious, let me talk about it briefly.
There is a saying that goes well, “Humans have had the right just in recent decades to call high-calorie, high-sugar food as junk food.”
From an evolutionary point of view, the so-called “junk food” is the food most recognized by our bodies.
In the long history of mankind, most of the time the world has been in a state of food shortage. Therefore, people who miss these high-calorie “junk food” are already dead.
Reward mechanism: the reason why we always repeat the same mistakes
Having food, especially gourmet food, usually stimulates our reward system. Just like playing games and shopping, these things make our brain happy, so we will do it repeatedly.
This is especially true for eating that is unavoidable every day.
Some foods that we are unwilling to try, such as a strong smelly cheese, even if there is no pleasure when eating it, but after the cheese enters the digestive system, the body feels that the energy of the cheese is very high and useful for survival, our body shows the green light.
Slowly, we ate cheese with disbelief, and it became more and more delicious.
In the same way, all kinds of alcohol, coffee and other drinks are also often affected by this energy factor. Usually no one likes these bitter drinks the first time they drink, but they slowly become their captives.
Of course, alcohol and caffeine are also another important factor. They will not be mentioned here.
On the other hand, foods such as coriander and houttuynia cordata can become obvious counterexamples.
These foods are extremely low in energy and do not help survival. People who like this kind of food simply like the taste, not the energy.
Over time, we start to buy cheese, beer, and coffee when we go to the supermarket. At this time, it is not just because we are hungry, but because the reward system slowly made us like these food.
And those who cannot control themselves and keep eating causing obesity can sometimes not be blamed for their lack of self-discipline, because studies have found that some people have “obesity genes”-FTO and DRD2.
These two genes will cause their reward system to have a greater demand for “junk food” and a stronger response.
The “junk food” that attracts us
In fact, the current “junk food” should not be called junk food. For example, a set meal in McDonald’s and Burger King includes meat, grain bread, and vegetables if soda is excluded, which is both nutritious and hygienic.
Compared with heavy-oil Chinese fast food or snacks from small roadside shops, “junk food” is healthier.
Back to the topic, our reward system is particularly interested in food with certain characteristics, such as high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar, or food containing alcohol and caffeine.
It is not difficult to find that “junk food” usually perfectly fits the needs of the reward system.
In modern society, processed foods and “junk foods” such as ice cream, candies, pizza, etc., are usually used to bomb our brains with advertisements; even some foods that are herbal or natural as gimmicks, if you look at the ingredient list, you can see a lot of “junk food” raw materials, such as sugar.
On the other hand, advertisements can subtly arouse our desire to buy these “junk food”. Even if we don’t taste them, our subconscious mind will keep these food in our brains.
1st reason for loving “junk food”
Apart from the aforementioned physiological and evolutionary factors, stress in life is also an important factor for people to eat high-calorie “junk food”. The so-called turning grief and anger into appetite is exactly that.
For girls, they seem to be more inclined towards sweets.
Studies have found that stress through brain imaging can stimulate people’s desire for food, thereby strengthening our reward system, and increasing the desire for high reward (high energy) food recognized by the system.
Therefore, if the pressure is high, especially under long-term pressure, it will lead to “unhealthy” eating habits.
What’s interesting is that some studies believe that this behavior can be understood by Pavlov’s dog. When there is stress, it motivates us to look for food.
Whether this food is what we need or not, it is just a conditioned reflex. It has nothing to do with the joy of eating.
2nd reason for loving “junk food”: social class
There is another possible factor, which is cruel, that most people are poor.
We may find in film and television dramas, especially American dramas, that those who are particularly fat are often low-level people, and they all like to eat “junk food.”
Studies have found that children at the bottom are often more likely to be obese.
Those with higher social strata and wealthier people tend to be more educated and have a more healthy concept. They are more inclined to choose low-calorie but high-nutrition food and are willing to spend more on healthy food.
People with weaker economic power and lower social class tend to have far fewer choices, and thus have more exposure to “junk food.”
So you know it. When you have money and leisure, you will start to have the energy to pay attention to your own health, to the quality of your food, and have no desire for food, you can leave “junk food”.
Comments