Does Your Brain Crave Junk Food?
By Sara Butler
You know junk food is unhealthy, so why do you crave it? Even with the consequences of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and a myriad of other health problems that can be caused by eating an unhealthy diet, many people still want it – why? Researchers have been looking into this question and may be able to give you some answers.
Why You Want Junk Food
You might think it’s in your body’s own self-interest to crave things only good for it, but that’s not exactly how scientists have found cravings to work. The first thing researchers have found is that your body craves the sensation of eating the food. Is it salty or sweet? Does it smell good? Does it feel nice in your mouth as your chew it? Whether you’re aware of it or not, food companies spend a lot of time and money researching the sensation of eating foods, and they’re tailored to make you want to eat them and keep eating them, whether they’re healthy for you or not.
Another factor that may make your body crave something, even if it’s not healthy, is the macronutrient makeup of the food. That means the way the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are blended in the food. When it comes to junk food, that means the company has perfected a recipe to perfectly combine the sugar, salt and fat your brain desires. This is what causes you to crave it and keeps you coming back.
What You Can Do
If you’re ready to kick your junk food habit then there are a few things you can do to combat your brain. First, try to eat less junk food, because the less you eat the less you’ll want it. When you start to eat healthier you will crave healthy stuff as you slowly retrain your brain to crave something else – you should notice your cravings for junk food decrease over time.
Another thing you can do is implement the “five ingredient rule.” That basically means you should avoid buying processed and prepackaged food. This works in a couple of ways. If you don’t have junk food around your house you can’t eat it, and if you buy foods that are made up of five ingredients or less when you shop, you’re bound to have healthier food available to you.
Eating right and canceling out cravings for junk food isn’t something you can magically do overnight, but if you work at it, it is something very attainable!