More Food Thoughts

Swanning around on the web this evening I happened to run across several articles that are directly related to my own  post.  So here are some other people's thoughts on diets in general and the Paleo diet specifically.

Mark's Daily Apple on cheating on a diet:

"Part of the problem is a misplaced fascination with the transgressive. Somehow cheating ourselves is the ultimate gratification. We mistake indulgence for decadence, discipline for deprivation. Healthy behaviors are assigned the boring, white-hat, “moral” role in our culture. Being healthy is about hard work and choosing health is about saying “no.” At least that’s the message we get. On the other side of the spectrum is the Mountain Dew adventure and Doritos-inspired hilarity that could fill our days – if we were only so bold and rebellious."

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-health-integrity-matters-or-the-power-of-being-honest-with-yourself/#ixzz2OtTujiHg

Interesting article on food addiction on Primal Docs blog:
The Dark Side of Food Addiction by Emily Deans, MD

"In my experience there are two sorts of people. Those who can’t bear to be cut off from any particular foods and would rather count calories, and these folks love their fit bits and food scales and weight watchers apps. Then there are those who couldn’t be bothered, who find calorie counting a horrible nuisance, and prefer to avoid certain types of foods. In reality most people who maintain their weight in the modern foodscape are probably one of these sorts of people. Elderly women who’ve been thin their whole lives tell me how they never have dessert, or if they do, they share it with three other people at the table. Almost everyone is restricting in some way, but if they are doing it successfully, they are utilizing a way that complements their personality and hormonal profile, so they don’t feel deprived."

http://primaldocs.com/opinion/the-dark-side-of-food-addiction/

Right now baked goods are my crack.  It used to be chocolate and sugar but after a year and a half of 80% Paleo I'm so over sugar.  I even find certain fruits unpalatable due to their sweetness, such as persimmons and medjool dates.  ICK!  But a muffin, a loaf of fresh bread or even a bowl of pasta, come to me baby!!  This is what I'm currently struggling with.  While I do have some after effects of eating a sandwich, it isn't severe enough to put me off for months like it used to.  But I digress....

I haven't read this entire article but here is a piece in the New York Times about food addiction:
The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food by Michael Moss

"The public and the food companies have known for decades now — or at the very least since this meeting — that sugary, salty, fatty foods are not good for us in the quantities that we consume them. So why are the diabetes and obesity and hypertension numbers still spiraling out of control? It’s not just a matter of poor willpower on the part of the consumer and a give-the-people-what-they-want attitude on the part of the food manufacturers. What I found, over four years of research and reporting, was a conscious effort — taking place in labs and marketing meetings and grocery-store aisles — to get people hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5&hp&adxnnlx=1361728942-zrgK0vQJ/n%20J1gTD4jn6eQ

This article is the food industry equivalent of big tobacco's cigarette addiction coverup and exposure.

If the Times article is too long here is CBS's 60 Minutes expose on food chemistry and the creation of food addiction, The Flavorists produced by Ruth Streeter: