Learning to Ignore Food Marketing

Say Goodbye to “Junk Food”!

Recently, a research has concluded that overeating is not caused by the usual suspects such as lack of willpower. Instead, the overeating is a direct and desired result of a food industry that manufactures and markets items that have excessive calories and are loaded with fat, sugar and salt. These ingredients are combined with glossy advertising campaigns to create an overload of stimulations in the human brain, thus making it impossible for most people to resist “trigger” foods. This results in addictive behavior towards food, not unlike the way addicts abuse drugs.

The public needs a new way to view food and overeating. We need to be aware that we are being manipulated by mass marketing that creates addictive responses. We need to choose foos for their nutritional value. On the other hand, junk food can kill you by causing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and a host of other ailments associated with poor nutrition.

So how do we re-train our brains? Admitting that we are addicted to junk food is the first step. The second step is to make a list of “trigger” foods you are addicted to, and make a conscious decision that you will quit eating them. These steps will help you through”

· Pick a date you will quit eating junk food and mark it on your calendar.

· Tell friends and family about your decision to quit eating junk food.

· Get rid of all the junk food in your home, car and place of work.

· Throw away coupons to restaurants where you would be tempted to eat junk food.

· Stock up on healthy foods. Use healthy foods to reward yourself. Hard day at work? A healthy plate of fish and spinach and sweet potatoes will make you feel better emotionallyand physically. Time to celebrate? Yogurt and berries is a healthy treat!

· Practice saying “No, thank you. I don’t eat junk food.” Develop other replies you can use when someone tempts you with food you know is not good for you.

· Close your eyes and visualize nutritious foods an benefits of eating them.

· Set up a system. Think of the healthiest eaters among your family and friends. Tell them you want to make a change and ask whether they are willing to mentor you.

· Figure out what worked and what did not work in your past attempts to quit junk food.

· Combine with moderate exercise.

Once you start to feel better and see success in your health, you will be less likely to lapse back into eating junk food.

We have been stimulated by food marketing to eat calories we do not need, and these calories offer no nutritional value. Armed with the knowledge that we will face the temptation of fat, sugar and salt, and knowing that our bodies have become programmed to crave them, we can decide to take control of our eating. The best defense is to re-train our bodies to crave for nutritious foods they really deserve. This training might take a while, but it is certainly worth the effort!