How Food Giants and Food Marketers Hook Us

Being a mindful eater means being a discerning food consumer. The truth is that the processed food industry is super competitive and hungry for profits at the expense of our health. Processed food companies, when formulating popular junk food products do not have our best health in mind.

The companies then expertly market junk food to us and engage in a certain form of mind games and NLP (neuro linguistic programming) so that we "give in to temptation". This is waht makes us continue to buy and get addicted to their products and continue to consume them for as long as we live. I mean, how many Coca Cola addicts do you know? And diet versions are no better. Aspartame is a known carcinogen.

Now, I'm not saying these companies are deliberately evil and preying on the weak willed and easily manipulated. However, they are formulating, on purpose, a product designed to ensure consumers come back for more and more and more. Its up to us to be in charge of our choices and make a stand as to what and how much we choose to consciously consume.

At the same time, bags of chips keep getting bigger because the companies know that once they are open, the whole bag will be consumed, yet the fine print stated that the serving size is only a fraction and what the average person consumes in one sitting.

The processed food industry maintain that they are meeting a need for convenience, so it is really the consumers fault that we can stop at just one. However, according to the book "Sugar, Fat and Salt" by Micael Moss, the ultimate aim of companies, when formulating this processed food is to find the "bliss point", so that we get hoked and find it difficult to stop eating. 

Furthermore, because these highly processed foods and beverages are often devoid of nutrition, such as candy, soda pop and potato chips, they never fill us up or truly satisfy our hunger and thirst. This leaves us starngley unsatified and wanting more.

When you understand why some foods are irresistable, you'll also understand what big food manufacturers of food devoid of nutritional value have done to our health and waistlines.

Yet its important not to be a victim of the food industry. You see, nobody makes us buy and consume these foods. We can vote with our dollars as to whether we buy into the industry or not. We need to take our power back. Just because they are cheap, conveniet and often very addictive, doesn't mean we need to get hooked.  Again, when we view these foods as "play foods", there is a time and place for them, preferably following real, whole, nutritious food, so that we don't feel the need to fill up on empty, nutritionless fake food.

When our food environment is "weighted" against us, and sugar is more addictive than cocaine, with your newfound hyper awareness, you will start to cahnge the way you see food forever.

In my mind, the problem of obesity and food addiction has a lot to do with the intentions of the food engineers who know how to get us addicted to their product with the perfect combo of salt-fat-sugar. It is a  sobering realization when we wake up from the junk food coma.

Once realized, you may find yourself wanting to turn to fresh fruit, vegatbles, fish, meat and healthy fats. You may feel inspired to cook your own food with real, nutritious ingredients. Naturally, overtime, your body will shrink as a consequence and your beauty will bloom. Oh and we cant forget to mention  that the quality of your menal state improves dramatically along with your energy levels and life in general...