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Permalink Reply by Popper on April 29, 2009 at 9:46am

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30312808/

Dieters’ best intentions hijacked by their brains
Yummy snacks trigger vicious cycle of cravings, former FDA chief warns

Chocolate cookies have something in common with crack. Neuroscientists increasingly report that fat-and-sugar combinations light up the brain's dopamine pathway — its pleasure-sensing spot — the same pathway that conditions people to alcohol or drugs.

In a book being published next week, the former Food and Drug Administration chief brings to consumers the disturbing conclusion of numerous brain studies: Some people really do have a harder time resisting bad foods. It's a new way of looking at the obesity epidemic that could help spur fledgling movements to reveal calories on restaurant menus or rein in portion sizes.

"The food industry has figured out what works. They know what drives people to keep on eating," Kessler tells The Associated Press. "It's the next great public health campaign, of changing how we view food, and the food industry has to be part of it."

He calls the culprits foods "layered and loaded" with combinations of fat, sugar and salt — and often so processed that you don't even have to chew much.

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Permalink Reply by Popper on April 29, 2009 at 9:48am

http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_150/153_eating_well.html

Do You Have A Sugar Addiction?

We joke about it, we rationalize weight gain because of it and it always gives us an excuse to have a second piece of cake for dessert: It’s a sugar addiction.

Most people wouldn’t consider a sugar addiction as serious as a cigarette or an alcohol addiction. After all, how dangerous can a chocolate chip cookie really be?

But for those individuals with an inclination for sweets, there is bad news: According to numerous researchers and scientific studies, a sugar addiction can be just as strong as a drug or alcohol dependency.

If this information alone does not make you put down your Snickers bar, then keep reading.

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Permalink Reply by Popper on April 29, 2009 at 9:50am

Chocolate, Cheese, Meat, and Sugar -- Physically Addictive Foods
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3214100593069532942

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