The Power of Food
Last week I was struck by a gentleman who had a revelation; as he got up from the couch to get a snack (not much of one - just an apple) in the evening, his wife said to him: "Are you hungry?”
He stopped and contemplated his physical state and realized, no, he wasn't one bit hungry. He was reaching for food out of habit. So he didn't have that snack and felt better about himself. You see, I can talk at length about various hormones (or lack thereof-especially dopamine in the brain), but at this point we have no drugs to ‘switch off' our desire for food.
In our "hurry-up” society, (with TV, computers and demands on our time plus the easy availability of great quantities of cheap snacks), we tend eat automatically & mindlessly without thinking of how our physical body feels. We are rarely truly hungry. We eat out of ‘want.' We eat out of habit. We eat as we watch TV. Yet always I get the same question: "why do I eat when I feel so guilty later?”
There are many reasons, but often the obvious is we are bored, stressed, down or fatigued, and we turn to food. Never does food fully alleviate the negative mood, and usually we feel mentally and physically worse with a lot of the snacks we choose. So, the important thing is that we must anticipate, every day, that food temptations are going to be there. To conquer these food desires, we must develop a strong reason such that we will say "no” when offered the wrong kind of food.
Is it health? Certainly, as we gain weight our risk for hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoarthritis, etc. increases. Our functional capacity diminishes and we are able to do less and less. Our negative self-image worsens. Thus, before we eat, we must remember what food does to us. Truthfully, too much of the wrong kind of food increases our weight and worsens our health.
Is it worth it? No, it is not worth the temporary gratification of taste or texture if the food we're eating causes us to become sick. We must always remember this when we make food choices.
Experts are looking at food now the way they looked at cigarettes a couple of decades ago. Certain foods & food quantities are dangerous to our health, (both individual and societal health), with huge health costs to treat diabetes and heart disease. Our society should NOT look at ‘overweight' as an issue of self-control. We are DRIVEN to eat; some more than others. Society could help itself by looking at certain foods as being detrimental to health.
Learn to listen to your body's physical cues. Many times, "hunger” or cravings are an issue of unstable blood sugar. We can manage blood sugar (and thus, our body's insulin response) by eating good protein regularly through the day and limiting our starch/sugar intake. Listen to your body's hunger cues and if you feel like you "want” something, first ask yourself: "am I physically hungry?”
These are tough habits to put in place. It takes work to become more mindful of food choices, but keep trying. Stay aware at all times. Learn to say no. Learn to eat preventatively so you're not hungry later on. Constantly remind yourself of WHY you're making these healthier choices!
You can do it. Keep on trying. Don't ever give up.
Dr. Doug