8 Ways the Food Industry Can Hijack Your Brain

 

In the 21st century the food industry is creating and marketing unhealthy food in much the same way that tobacco companies manufactured and sold cigarettes in the 20th century. Here are some of the methods they use to get you hooked:

Too much sugar, fat and salt

Most of the foods served at restaurants combine huge amounts of sugar, fat, and salt.

They are either loaded onto a core ingredient (such as meat, vegetable, potato, or bread), layered on top of it, or both.  

Easy-to-chew food

By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow you to eat faster and consume more calories. Processing meat and produce creates a kind of “adult baby food.” The harder-to-chew-elements, such as fiber and gristle, are removed in foods such as chicken nuggets, spinach dip, and bean burritos. The result is food that can be eaten quickly, and without much effort.

Brain conditioning

Food scientists create “hyperpalatable” foods and the food industry markets “fun foods.” Foods such as milkshakes and candy bars stimulate the appetite and prompt you to eat more even after we’re full. These foods layer sugar, fat, and salt in optimal amounts in a way that conditions your brains to eat more and more.

When in doubt, throw cheese and bacon in it

It’s a standard joke in the world of chain restaurants. But it works. Along with enhancing melt and making food easy to eat, these layers are cheaper to produce than the central ingredient (such as meat or fish) they flavor. 

Restaurants assemble food, rather than actually cook it

Restaurants make use of “individually quick frozen” foods. Shrimp, potatoes, and chicken nuggets are blasted with cold air, cold nitrogen, or cold carbon dioxide as they travel along a conveyor belt so they freeze in discrete pieces. They are often partially fried before they are quick-frozen. Then they are plunged, straight from the package and still frozen, back into fat for a second frying. The processing, preservatives, and extra frying required for these kinds of foods add to the caloric content.

 

The myth of healthy grilled chicken

Think you’re eating healthy when you order grilled, marinated chicken? A common way to get marinade into meat is through needle injection. Hundreds of needles are used to pierce the meat, tearing up the connective tissue, to add solutions of salt, sugar, and fat.

 

Sneaky sugar

If a food contains more sugar than any other ingredient, federal regulations dictate that sugar be listed first on the label. So, to trick people who scan food labels for the word “sugar,” manufacturers hide the amount of sugar by listing its different sources separately, pushing each down the list. Breakfast cereal, for example, often includes some combination of sugar, brown sugar, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and molasses — each listed separately.

 

Creative chemistry

 

Chemical processing evolved to extend the shelf life of products and to lower food costs. More recently, the industry has directed its creative chemistry toward increasing sensations like “mouth feel” and finding new ways to artificially simulate real flavors using flavor enhancers. It’s all about creating novelty and impact to encourage people to consume more.

Source: Msnbc