The last post was about the awful price of winning at all costs. There is no better evidence than what follows. Winning in America is all about money and the control that it provides. This article from the Washington Post is based on a scientific piece in the Journal Addiction. I have written previously about this new science of obesity. This is one of the most important topics of all because too much belly fat makes us age faster, get sick sooner, become disabled earlier, and die prematurely. Of course, we did not gain weight because we lost our willpower, or we have some deep-seated psychological problem. We are the heaviest population in the world because large wealthy corporate interests targeted us and did this to us to get even more money and power. Clinicians must understand the root causes of obesity if they are to provide better more effective help for people who struggle with weight. Patients need to understand if they are to save themselves and their children.
Our epidemic of overweight and related diseases was deliberately caused by the same people who killed millions of Americans with cigarettes. You are not fat and sick because of a personal weakness; this was done to you by other Americans who could care less about your health and the health of your family. It was done to you by people who will do anything to make more money. They don’t give a damn about you or your family. Their fifth house or a yacht is more important.
Tobacco companies got into the food business 60 years ago to expand and protect their fortunes. These major businesses had extensive libraries of colors, flavors, and additives that they had developed to make cigarettes more addictive, and their leaders believed they could use these chemicals to make foods more addictive. In the 1960s, one of these companies decided to develop drinks loaded with sugar and did market research using children. “In an internal memo that year, the company’s manager of biochemical research wrote to an RJ Reynolds executive that the firm was not “merely” a tobacco company: “In a broader and much less restricting sense,” he wrote, “R.J. Reynolds is in the flavor business. The research manager noted that many of the flavors the company had developed for cigarettes “would be useful in food, beverage and other products,” leading to “large financial returns.”
They used their research on children to target children. Hawaiian Punch was originally a cocktail mixer for adults that was available in only two flavors. “After conducting dozens of market research studies in children and housewives, RJR expanded Hawaiian Punch to at least 16 flavors, including many preferred by kids. The company was among the first to introduce a nationally distributed “juice box,” which became an instant hit.” They used a cartoon character, Punchy, to market Hawaiian Punch to children. Punchy appeared on toys, schoolbook covers, magazines, and TV commercials. Punchy was the best salesman for Hawaiian Punch leading to huge profits for the organization. The the label for Hawaiian Punch shows the ingredients are water, high fructose corn syrup, and only 2% fruit juice concentrate. Every calorie your kid drinks comes from sugar. (They added sucralose to make it even sweeter and more addictive). There are three teaspoonfuls of high fructose corn syrup in each serving of Hawaiian Punch. Consuming fructose leads to an inability to recognize we have had enough to eat because we no longer recognize the signal from the satisfaction hormone. That is one of the hormonal problems that makes us fat.
There was another major factor the tobacco industry leaders took advantage of. The sugar companies had sponsored fraudulent medical research that showed sugar was fine, but fat caused heart disease. Our other institutions picked that up and a low-fat diet was the standard medical recommendation. I weighed 307 pounds myself and I bought it even though I was an internal medicine doctor. I believed that fraudulent research. One of these companies introduced SnackWell cookies which reached sales of a half-billion dollars in three years. I bought them regularly, but they were made of sugar, chocolate, and processed carbs. A low-fat diet helped me lose a few pounds, but I remained grossly overweight even though I was faithfully following standard medical advice.
Here is another example of how deliberate and cynical this attack was: “Lunchables, was introduced in 1988 by Oscar Mayer. Designed to look like a TV dinner and marketed to busy moms and their children, the iconic, prepackaged meal of bologna, crackers and processed cheese contained so much sodium and saturated fat that some doctors called it a “blood pressure bomb.” One Philip Morris executive joked about references that the healthiest item in a package of Lunchables was the napkin.” Lunchables made $218 million for Philip Morris the first year after it came on the market.
The addictive foods have a great deal in common with other addictive substances. They do contain ingredients from naturally occurring food substances that have been purified and concentrated so that they are more quickly absorbed into our bloodstreams. That rapid absorption powerfully activates the reward centers in our brains like cocaine does. That is the way with all addictive substances. Chewing coca leaves is not that addictive. If you process the coca leaves and pull out pure cocaine, that is very highly addictive. It is the same with sugar, fat, salt, and carbs. The perfect combination of fat, salt, sugar, and carbs with the perfect taste and texture is also highly pleasurable-so much so that it is addictive. “We treat these foods like they come from nature. Instead, they’re foods that come from big tobacco.” Dr. David Kessler provides a more detailed explanation in this interview and this video. If you struggle with weight, these pieces will help you.
Of course, your kids prefer these foods. Of course, they won’t eat real healthy food. The tobacco companies deliberately made foods that are addictive. I still love them, but now I know that someone else deliberately blocked my efforts to lose weight. I know they targeted my kids who must work to stay thin. Now that I know, it makes me angry. Now that I know, I only eat these foods occasionally as a treat, usually about once a week. Now that I know, I have lost 70 pounds and kept it off.
Addictive food is the root cause of the obesity epidemic. If you want to lose weight, you will not lose it permanently, until you change what you eat. You will not lose it until you eat real whole food. You must address the root cause. You can take all the Ozempic, Jardiance, and metformin you want—you can have weight loss surgery—but you are unlikely to achieve weight loss permanently until you change what you eat. The food and tobacco companies deliberately sold you food knowing you would develop addictive cravings for that food. Now the drug companies want you to believe they have a solution. Don’t fall for it. It is cheaper and more effective to eat real whole food.
The evidence supporting this position is over whelming. If we cut way back on eating this terrible food, you can count on this. They will make something else.
The whole thing is rigged in favor of the big tobacco, food, pharma, defense, industrial complexes protected by their paid operatives (lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats) in Washington. American people can be damned. 💯%!
Amazing . .We really need to take the time to be informed.