Getting Hooked on Salad

• food
• food addiction
• food craving
• neuroscience

My last two postings have been about food addiction and how the brain is wired can cause food addiction.  In addition, we know that from an evolutionary standpoint, the brain is constantly seeking out foods that are high in calories and therefore high in fat and sugar.  As a species, there wasn’t always a supermarket or restaurant just down the road…we used to have to go hunting in the forest to find and catch our dinner.

So, our instincts and brain neurocircuitry search out the “unhealthy” food because our bodies get the biggest bang for the buck.  However, you have the power to change your brain.  You have the power to start craving broccoli and salad instead of chocolate and chips. Click here to be taken to an article from cnn.com.
 
This article explains some very great neuroscience concepts about the brain and how it responds to food.  The first concept is that our brains are constantly searching our environment for high calories foods.  If we see, smell, or know that there is high calorie food available, our brains are going to tell us to go and eat.  Many of us understand this concept very well.  We know that if we don’t purchase the food from the grocery store and have it at home, we won’t eat it.  However, if it is in the cupboards, we can’t resist. 
 
The second concept is that our brains crave that which we eat in large quantities.  Whatever we eat a lot of, is what our bodies want more of – that is true regardless of the type of food that we are eating.  Finally, we crave what is available in our environment.  For example, Japanese women crave sushi much more than American women do likely just because sushi is much more common in Japan than it is in the United States.
 
The last part of this article had three really great tools that I wanted to share with everyone.  As we all know, EBT is all about having tools and I like the simplicity of these.  1.  Clean out your cupboards.  This will change the environment and reduce the cravings.  2.  Carry around healthy food with you so that they are easily accessible.  3.  Eat “craved food” sandwiches.  This means that if there is a food that you crave, eat it in the middle of a meal – not first and not last.  That will decrease the craving.
 
With time, you will stop craving the unhealthy food and start craving the healthy food.  Just remember…everything in moderation.  Good luck and keep up all of the hard work.