The Wall Street Journal and Dietary Disinformation
Dr Steve Schutzer just sent me this February 26, 2023 article from the Wall Street Journal: Cake Could Be the Secret to Teaching Children About Healthy-Eating Habits. Dr. Schutzer is a prominent leader in the movement to better health at lower cost who founded the Moving to Value Alliance. His message was short: “I was shocked to read this Bill. Start the sugar addiction while they are young? What am I missing?” As usual, Dr. Schutzer did not miss anything. This is like giving a five-year old Oxycontin or whiskey for a few days so she can make an educated choice about taking addictive drugs.
Here is a representative quote from a dietician in the article: “she counsels parents on how to encourage their children to follow their own tastes and hunger signals to fullness. Eventually, even sweets-loving children will tire of junk food and gravitate toward fruits and vegetables, she said.” That is just plain wrong.
The majority of medical evidence supports the idea that certain foods are addictive. This last link goes to a review that says food addiction is a substance abuse problem like alcohol. There are many things you can drink, but if you drink alcohol you can become addicted. Highly palatable fast and processed food works the same way. The authors concluded, “We propose that the food addiction construct merits serious attention in regard to its presentation, prevention, and treatment in humans.”
Dr. David Kessler led the FDA fight to defeat tobacco addiction. He and I have both had trouble controlling our weight. Dr. Kessler explains the problem beautifully. Here is what he says about cake: “Regular exposure to palatable foods rich in salt, sugar and fat can change the way our brains work, Kessler says in his new book, The End of Overeating (see book excerpt). Famous for taking on Big Tobacco and mandating nutrition labels on grocery-store food, Kessler spent the past seven years interviewing physicians, scientists and food industry executives—and uncovered a vicious cycle. Humans are naturally wired to focus on the greatest stimulation in their environment. And when it comes to food, dishes high in fat, salt and sugar—the ones so popular on the American food-scape—fit the description.
The thought of such foods travels straight to the reward center of the brain, releasing dopamine, the chemical associated with pleasure. Eating foods you crave releases other chemicals, opioids, which provide emotional satisfaction. Over time, these neural pathways are strengthened, and soon enough the whiff, even the mention, of a favorite food sets the cycle in motion. Suddenly, it’s a habit—we don’t know when to stop—something Kessler calls “conditioned hypereating.” It’s an addiction, and as with all addictions, we want, even need, more of our favorite foods to gain the same satisfaction. Give someone a bag of chips, and soon, voila! The bag is empty, proving the slogan “Betcha can’t eat just one.”
As it stands now, health claims on food are not about health. They are about selling more product. The new FDA labels would be better. “To qualify for the “healthy” claim, a breakfast cereal serving would need to contain at least three-quarters of an ounce of whole grains and could contain no more than one gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars. These proposed rules would exclude almost all cereals marketed to children.” We are surrounded by assasins. No wonder ordinary Americans are so confused about food and weight control.
Dr Kessler’s weight fluctuated 70 pounds. I weighed 307 pounds. I lost 60 when I learned certain foods were addictive for me. Oh, I still eat them at times like I occasionally have a drink. I will live to eat at the birthday party or the tailgate, but then I return to real food—lean meat, eggs, low fat dairy, seafood, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, and nuts. You can jump the fence once a week and still lose a pound or two a month and keep it off.
“Eventually, even sweets-loving children will tire of junk food and gravitate toward fruits and vegetables, she said.” Really???