Griselda Hurtado: The Addiction To Food

The Addiction to Food

Griselda Hurtado

English 1
Professor Malani
April 18, 2013

Hurtado 2 In society today it is not hard to distinguish that to most Americans food is an addiction or just a source of living. Many Americans are obese, diabetic, or just overweight. It is important for one to improve eating habits and understanding that sometimes instead of eating without even being hungry they can actually get up and find an alternative. Such as, starting an exercise routine, joining a sports team, or simply keeping them busy to occupy the brain from thinking that the person needs to eat.
The biggest challenges with food It is not a secret that plenty of people want…show more content…
Children inherit bad habits from their parents, as far as food goes. For example, pregnant women that cultivate a bad diet are more likely to pass it on to their baby. Leibowitz, from Rockefeller, reported recently that “pregnant rats on a high fat diet gave birth to offspring with neurological alterations in the hypothalamus part of the brain heavily associated with appetite. Then found that pregnant mice that ate a heavily junk-food diet gave birth to pups not only with changes to the reward mechanisms of the brain, but with a preference for sugar and fat.”8 The great taste in sugary foods such as ice cream, salty French fries, soda, and pizza can be a big cause for the behavior of the brain to want more and more. Kelly Brownell gives a considerable explanation, “High levels of sugar, fat, and salt, and various flavors and food additives might actually hijack the pathways of the brain in ways that are similar to opiates and other drugs.”9 She administered an abundant point there; it is not hard to understand that almost everyone can relate to…show more content…
Hedley Turk. “Five Steps to Overcoming a Food Addiction,” Hudson Valley Business Journal, May 2, 2011, p. 3. (accessed April 15, 2013).
2. Ibid., p.5.
3. Lim, Dennis. “Food & Addiction: Can Some Foods Hijack the Brain? (cover story).” Nutrition Action Health Center 39, no. 4: 3. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost. p.7 (accessed April 17, 2013).
4. Ibid., p.8.
5. Clark, Nancy. 2011. “For Athletes with Food Cravings & Sugar Addictions.” American Fitness 29, no. 6: 62 MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost. p.6 (accessed April 17, 2013).
6. Langer, Stephen. 1998. “Extinguishing Addictions—Mind, Body & Nutrition.” Better Nutrition 60, no. 9: 48. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost. p.4 (accessed April 17, 2013).
7. Biel, Laura. 2012. “The Snack Food Trap.” Newsweek 160, no. 19: 44. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost. p.9 (accessed April 17, 2013).
8. Ibid., p.11.
9. Bronell, Kelly. 2012. “Feel Good Food Might Be Addictive,” Consumer Reports on Health. P.3 (accessed April 15, 2013).
10. Ibid., p.5.
11. James, Kat. 2010. “The Truth About Food Addiction,” betternutrition.com. p.9 (accessed April 15, 2013).
12. Ibid., p.13.
13. Joe Weider, 2011. “Junk-Food Addiction.” Joe Weider’s Muscle & Fitness 72, no. 1: 39. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost p.15 (accessed April 17,