Food is food is food

There are some interesting studies coming out about the effect food has on our brains - the addictive power of food. Take this for instance, "Sugar, fat and salt make a food compelling. They stimulate neurons, cells that trigger the brain's reward system and release dopamine, a chemical that motivates our behavior and makes us want to eat more. Many of us have what's called a "bliss point", at which we get the greatest pleasure from sugar, fat or salt. Combined in the right way, they make a product indulgent, high in 'hedonic value'." The End of Overeating: Taking Control Of Our Insatiable Appetite, by David A Kessler.

When I began this new way of eating I was surprised how food that I used to crave and drive out of my way for, lost it's power. I would eat a bite of pancakes and they didn't taste good. I would eat a piece of bread & butter or bagel & cream cheese and it didn't do anything for me. I was actually depressed by this. But if it's true that my brain was seeking stimuli and I wasn't eating enough of the food to kick in the dopamine, then I would experience the food for the food itself and not for the "high" I was used to. It's like runners say they experience a "high" but I've never done it long enough to experience that so it's just torture to me. Pancakes eaten in teeny amounts are just plain doughy pieces of sponge - eaten in a big enough portion or with sugary syrup it's a feeding frenzy that makes me drive 30 minutes to consume again.

Once again I must face the fact that food is just food, it's my crazy brain that makes it what I want it to be. I actually drove out of my way to eat a salad last night - so how's that for backward??