Science Behind It: Why Addictive Junk Foods Are Addictive?

Why addictive junk foods are addictive is a question that people must discuss gravely. Addictive Junk foods may be as addictive to us as any other drug. Addictive ingredients in foods are intentionally used to design and engineering food for addiction specifically. A complete scientific approach lies behind it. Yes! There is a complete science of food addiction. Researchers have found that addictive junk food triggers the same actions in our brain as do cigarettes, cocaine, nicotine, morphine, and alcohol.

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If I say “Have you ever heard about something sounding like Junk foods or addictive junk foods ?”, there will be no one more stupid than me, but for the infinite straight shooters, I will insinuate this terminology genuinely. Let me tell you one thing that junk food doesn’t mean, it contains garbage or is made up of junk things, but it only means that it contains low or no nutritional values at all (although I disagree with it, I mean just have a look at pizza, oh ! The crust, the sausages, the toppings, aren’t they nutritionally important ?).

Food vs Junk Food

Food is any nutrition-based substance that animals eat or drink as a source of energy to maintain growth or that plants absorb to grow normally.

For Example,

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Salad
• Bread
• Fish
• Dairy products
• Meat
• Pulses
• Seafood &
• Dry fruits etc

While junk food is a type of food that you eat mostly to satisfy your craving for something spicy, hot, cold salty or sweetish on signals sent by your pleasure center in the brain, but have low or no calories available for normal growth at all.

For Example,

• Soda
• Sausages
• Sandwiches
• Cheese
• Candies
• Confectionery

Are you thinking about snacks ? Brilliant !  Yes, of course they’re junk food.

Read Also: Updated List of Unhealthy Foods

Fast Food Vs Junk Food

Wait! Do you think that fast food and junk food are kinda the same things? Let me correct you! As the name shows the fast food is any kind of food available ready to be eaten or drunk.

For Example,

• French Fries
• Patties
• Burgers
• Tacos
• Fried Chicken

Oh God ! Why Pizza is borderlined by people !

In fact, fast food may either be healthful or just junk for your mind and body. Our body and its organs need normal values of each nutrient to grow normally and function properly, but certain people have no control over their eating habits, nor they need such food. They just feel a sudden wave of appetite and go for the junk instead of eating something verily healthful.

What is addiction and junk food addiction?

A Public health advisor and director of the science-policy branch at NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) defines addiction as a biopsychosocial disorder. Addiction comes from a Latin word meaning “Enslaved“.

People may be addicted to anything like drugs, medicines, cocaine, nicotine, fast food, junk food, chocolates, coffee, and even other people. This behavior of addiction is normally attributed to the following factors :

1) Nutritional Elements

2) Behavioral factors

3) Psychological factors

4) Hormonal factors

5) Biological factors

6) Social factors

The First four factors play a major role in food addiction. Moreover, the Biochemistry of certain food ingredients is there to play a vital role in causing such addictions. Junk food addiction refers to sudden waves of hunger for something specific in food items.e.g. sugar addiction means such people want more sugar in their diet, junk food addiction means they crave for junk or fast food items.

Why are People Addicted to Junk food?

Have you ever heard about “Feel-Good” term ?

The main factors or neurotransmitters that give you good feeling or sense of pleasure and reward are following:

1. Dopamine
2. Serotonin
3. Oxytocin
4. Endorphins

When you achieve a goal, it triggers a neurotransmitter in the brain called Dopamine, which according to me is the king in the Kingdom of Addiction. Similarly, Serotonin releases when you’re confident. Oxytocin is a well-known hormone in females, it triggers trust, and trust triggers it. Pain causes the secretion of Endorphins.

Why addictive Junk foods are Addictive?

There are some factors that make junk foods addictive.

• “Feel-Good” Chemicals and addictive junk foods
• Addictive Ingredients in foods
• Processing and refining of addictive junk foods
• Artificial sweeteners
• Flavoring agents in addictive junk foods
• Sweetening agents
• Quantity of ingredients

Psychological and behavioral activities also play a key role in being addicted to junk food, because the brain develops the habit of those items.

1) Feel-Good Chemicals and Addictive junk foods

As already mentioned food and junk food addiction owes to  certain ingredients and their biochemical properties.

For example if I talk about cheese ,it is addiction of many people .

But Why ?

Because the cheese contains a protein named Casein which causes junk food addiction by playing with our hormones like Dopamine etc. The highest level of per capita cheese consumption is recorded in Europe. Common fast food items that contain Casein are French Fries & Buns.

2) Addictive Ingredients in foods

Certain ingredients which cause this addiction are used lavishly in junk foods.Some of them are as follows :

• Salt
• Fat
• Sugar &
• Some Spices
• Alcohol
• Artificial sweeteners
• Caffeine
• Cocoa/cacao
• Morphine

Salt, Fats and Sugar

These are the 3 ingredients that make up the Trinity of Junk Food. Salt plays an important role as a source of electrolytes WHO (World Health Organization) recommends less than 5g of salt to be used per day that is almost a teaspoon. Studies have shown that those animals who consumed high salt diet were addicted to it later. Sugar is an instant source of energy in our body as it provides glucose. Sugar and salt stimulate the pleasure center in our brains. Chocolate also plays with our “feel-good” chemicals because it contains Cocoa/ Cacao that is the main ingredient in it. Studies have shown that it relieves pain. Therefore, many girls eat it while their menstrual cramps, and they get an addiction.

According to Stats, the Global consumption of sugar was incredibly increased to 172.6 Million Metric Tons in 2018-2019.

Coffee and Tea Addiction

These are becoming more and more prominent in these years due to depression, workload, and individual problems as well. According to a report, the coffee addicted community mostly belongs to the USA. Stats show that there is a consumption of almost 400 Million cups of coffee per day in America. Many psychiatrists consider it a mental illness.

3) Processing and Refining of addictive junk foods

The refined sugar acts like a drug in our body & our body mechanisms treat it like all other toxins (that’s why table sugar is also called White Poison ), but the high dose causes addiction to it.

Do you know Sugar is the secret weapon in the food industry?

The stripped away fibers are one of the main causes of food cravings and eating more & more, even though our body is getting high-calorie food but if the micronutrients are not being supplied to it, it always sends hunger signals to our brain. Food processing is another reason behind food addictions. The food is processed and refined with the help of alcohol (sometimes in high concentration) thus it causes junk food addiction. Thus, buns or bread may be called the cocaine versions of whole wheat. Hence, the food industries intentionally add all these addictive ingredients to make people addicted and earn profits.

4) Artificial sweeteners

Addictive junk foods owe to the excess use of artificial sweeteners in their preparation. These sweeteners maybe 200 to 20,000 times sweeter than table sugar. These are not actually sugar but their substituted ones, (e.g. Aspartame) so our brain develops the habits based upon the intake of these artificial sweeteners and craves for more and more sugar thus leading to sugar addiction. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that artificial sweeteners have become staples in the food industry.

Go and check your Fridge, almost every stored food item in it contains artificial sweeteners.

Sounds weird! But this is the true.

5) Flavoring Agents

Here comes the twist! The food industries wittingly use those flavoring agents that play a major role in triggering the neurotransmitters that make you feel happy, the result being addicted to that food.MSG is one of those players.MSG is monosodium glutamate, formed of concentrated salts and many restaurants use it as a flavoring agent. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) usually marks it safe. Moreover, it’s a cheap flavoring agent. Bingo!

6) Sweetening agents

Cakes and confectionaries contain certain addictive ingredients and sweetening agents that stimulate some chemicals in the human brain and it starts craving for something that contains sugar.

7) Quantity of Ingredients

Some industries and restaurants knowingly use low-quality items with a high quantity of addictive ingredients in foods making addictive junk food thus get regular and bound customers (and profit of course).

Researches have shown the following types of addictive junk foods on which people mostly depend for their cravings:-

• Pizzas

(Statista Research Department published a report on which they showed that only in the USA the consumers spend around 33 Billion US dollars in quick service Pizza restaurants each year.)

• Cakes
• Chocolate
• Cookies
• Candies
• Ice creams
• Cheeseburgers
• French fries
• Tacos
• Macaroni
• Steaks
• Muffins
• Popcorn

So before buying and eating junk food, you must know the science of food addiction and that not only the restaurants but also junk food is playing with your money as well as the brain, hence actually trapping you emotionally. For better or worse almost 70 to 80 % of adults, children, and even old age people are buffed to addictive junk foods nowadays and their slew is surging incredibly but constantly.

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