Obese? A 'poisoned' food supply may be to blame, UCSF expert says

[Celebration]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/12/MNGBUKHEOM1.DTL

"Everyone's assuming you have a choice, but when your brain is starving, you don't have a choice," Lustig said. "When you look at it that way, all of a sudden Big Food looks like the perpetrator, and the patient becomes the victim. Congress says you can't sue McDonald's for obesity because it's your fault. Except the thing is, when you don't have a choice, it's not your fault."

Lustig's hypothesis, published Friday in Nature Clinical Practice: Endocrinology and Metabolism, was met with some skepticism from obesity experts who are reluctant to label overweight people as victims of their food supply with not a lot of hope to lose weight without major changes in America's food culture. Clearly, there is a link between obesity and people's diets and level of activity, but Lustig says that he has not yet attempted to prove his hypothesis with lab trials. His research was based on the results of obesity studies published between 1994 and 2005.

....................................

According to Lustig's hypothesis, sugar in large quantities drives up insulin secretion. This insulin floods the brain, and in particular the hypothalamus, which regulates energy use in the body. As a result, leptin, a hormone that tells the brain when the body needs more or less energy, can't get its signal to the hypothalamus because the insulin is blocking the way.

The result is that the body is thrown into starvation mode -- the brain thinks it isn't getting enough energy, so it needs more calories and it needs to save energy, he said. People end up feeling the symptoms of starvation, including malaise, depression, a lack of motivation and, of course, hunger.

[Karenca]

1. I cannot understand how an individual makes the choice to eat the crap

And then blames the food companies for his/her obesity.

[w4rma]

2. makes the choice to eat bread? (nt)

[Karenca]

4. Did I say bread?..I said crap.

And btw, if you're referring to White Bread..
That's crap food.

<< The processed food that is most readily available to Americans -- from potato chips and cookies to yogurt and white bread -- is loaded with sugars >>

[skids]

8. "Readily available" is the whole point.

Being poor ruins your diet. The cheapest foods are awful.

Not having ever had time to develop food shopping savvy is not the fault of your average Joe in today's world, either.

[pansypoo53219]

11. sigh

IF i could get the whole wheat italian bread i got in denmark, i would love it, but the closest i can find is BAKERY italian bread.

so, fine, i eat half crap(no fast food) 1/2 good. helps i can cook.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. in the midwest they have several bakeries

making eastern euro breads the olde fashioned way. full grain, non-whitened wheat (with all the original stuff and no extra sugars) and I have to tell you, a couple of slices are enough to stave off hunger in anyone. Plus, they taste great. one of them is close by, called Baltic Bakery. Every thursday, people line up for that stuff. Wonder and other water-based, sugar-enhanced, fluffy, bleached-white slices of garbage really don't cut it.

[Vincardog]

14. Judge much Karenca? Do you think it is easy to eat right and get exercise

when you are working 2 MW jobs with no benefits?

[Karenca]

15. It's cheaper to eat non-processed foods.

I don't think eating
a fruit,
vegetables (you can eat a salad, raw carrots etc)
and other plain unprocessed foods
such as hard boiled eggs
whole wheat bread
plain yogurt
nuts
and so on

is a very difficult choice.

That's a nasty assumption "judge". It's not a judgement call. It's a personal choice one makes
to
real food, or eat crap and die.

[Vincardog]

17. It must be nice to have the time.

[femrap]

19. Sorry....but you're wrong.

It is much, much cheaper to eat crap. I've lived it. I know.

I get the feeling you have never been poor and tried to make dollars stretch for food. Nuts? Do you know how expensive they are? Yogurt? Right.

Sure, there are ways to get better nutrition....but what if you are working 10 hours a day or more...do you have the time to shop and cook and clean up? A jar of peanut butter, a package of cheap meat like bologna, and pasta go much further than fresh fruit and vegies which just aren't that filling. Hey....it's beans and rice for those who are stretching those dollars for a hungry family.

[Karenca]

33. It depends.......True, it takes some time and effort learning

how to shop for healthy meals on a limited budget, but it's not that difficult,
and once you start eating better, you do save money on doctor's bills.


And about me never having been poor, I was so poor for so long,
AND a single mom-------Sometimes, I never could
afford the quarters I neede to do laundry...
It was during this time of my life (and this was for many, many years)
that I learned how to feed my family healthy foods on an impossibly tight budget.

[Karenca]

34. Smart Fast Food Choices

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/weightkoch/1360/smart-fast-food-choices

[sandnsea]

41. lol

Oh I get it, you haven't had to seriously alter your diet. When you seriously cut sodium, sugar and fat - most of what's on that list is cut. And if you want to get the sugar out, which the article in the OP was referring, you can't just pick up any old bagel or hamburger bun. Plus, you need 2 slices of tomatoes and 2-3 pieces of lettuce to equal one vegetable serving and you shouldn't ever have a hamburger without it. Your hamburger should never ever be anything but the 90% $4.00 lb stuff either. Often when you choose a low fat alternative, they make up the flavor difference with sugar or salt. Or a low sugar item will have more fat. It isn't as easy as you think it is, believe me.

[Hissyspit]

24. Crap food is easy and addictive and you've missed the whole point

of the professor's theory, apparently.

[sandnsea]

40. Nobody really knew 30 years ago

How can beef, bread, cheese and vegetables be crap?? We didn't know what they were putting in our food. I know that we know now, but it still takes time to sort out the facts from the hysteria. Just trying to keep corn syrup out of our diet is a challenge, let alone decipering the difference between dextrose and fructose and sugar alcohols. Then you have to do the same with fats, cholesterol and sodium. It isn't all that easy. And if you're fighting changes in brain functioning too, well cripes, no wonder people fail at making eating changes.

[Frustratedlady]

3. I still believe the culprit is high fructose...

It's in everything! Check your labels. Some potato chips even have it. Why do you need sugar in potato chips? I understand they are using it as a preservative. Go figure.

[Poppyseedman]

5. Oh, horse shit.

I spent the last twenty years sitting on my ass eating whatever I wanted and guess what: I gained about 100 lbs, got hypertension, and onset diabetes type II and destroyed one knee from being obese.

In the last 6 months, I have joined a gym exercising 4 days a week, (1.5 hours), cut out sugars and limited my calorie intake to about 2,200 a day eating regular wholesome food in normal potions and have lost 40'lbs so far.

It's about self control unless you have a medical condition.

[skids]

7. You cut out sugars? May want to read that article again.

As a person who eats nearly no refined sugar, but used to, I know it is no small task to eliminate it from your diet, unless of course you are a hermit. People are always pushing it into your face, and it's in almost all prepared foods.

Try for example, buying a breakfast cereal that doesn't have suger in it. No, not raison bran. Nope, corn flakes have it too. Third guess is Cheerios? Sorry.

Here are your choices, as far as I've been able to determine:

Shredded Wheat
Bulk Oatmeal

Until about a year ago when Splenda Coke came out it was impossible to find any caffeinated beverage that had neither sugar or aspartame in it other than certain brands of iced tea. Still, about the only place you can get Splenda Coke is in a grocery store -- convenience stores generally don't tend to stock it, and often don't have the non-nutrasweet iced teas either.

You had a life threatening medical condition to motivate you. Most others don't. Self control does for sure play a part, but only a part, and saying it all comes down to just that is just an excercise in blaming the victim.

[Virginia Dare]

18. I cut out sodas completely...

gave up most refined sugars and switched to skim milk, and dropped over 20 lbs. in about 3 months. I fully believe it was the sodas (diet by the way) that were keeping the weight on me.

[emcguffie]

27. I gave up sodas about 30 years ago.

I still have had weight problems on and off.

I gave up white bread too.

It just isn't as simple as people would like to make it. I think it is truthful to say -- and I could be wrong -- that you just cannot know what it is like to be someone else. You cannot know how hungry they are. You cannot know what is driving them to continue any self-destructive activity. Anybody who is obese is not obese because they like it. Sheesh. Being hungry has to be one of the strongest instincts that any of us has ever felt. It is well nigh impossible to be really, really hungry and not eat food that is right in front of you.

Sure you can not eat food that is right in front of you, when you are not hungry. But if you are really, really hungry, I do not believe the skinniest among you cannot forego that food.

And personally, one of the very skinniest people I know on the face of the earth is my brother, who eats a desert after at least two meals a day, if not three.

He eats everything he wants. At any time. Hollandaise sauce. Ice cream. Cake. chocolate. It just doesn't matter what it is. He can eat it, and he never gains an ounce. Other people can eat one quarter what he eats and be very overweight.

I think it is oh, so easy for thinner people to judge overweight people. But they just don't know what it is like to be one of those people. They have no idea. Me? I have been both. Skinny, fat, in between, I'm always going from one to the other. I have to keep every size in my closet, because I know, just as soon as I get rid of the 14's, or the 5's, I will need that very size. And it is never when I am trying. I know what it is like to be always ravenous; I know what it is like to be never hungry; I know what it is like to be hungry, but not to be able to eat much; I know what it is like to be about six different people. And it just is what it is. And you cannot help what it is, that is what it is. You are what/who are you are. Hungry, not hungry, fat, skinny, there's just not that much one can do about it. You can eat a lot and be skinny, and you can eat not very much and be fat.

Right now, I am losing weight, but I am always ravenous and always eating. Would someone like to explain that to me?

Excuse me for telling anyone what to do, but I would suggest you don't judge anyone else, because honestly you do not have any idea what it is like to be that person.

[Feron]

35. From what I've read,

once you lose 10% of your body weight, your body increases hunger in order to gain back the weight. I know that I have had constant hunger since I hit that marker three weeks ago. It's not fun, but it's manageable. It certainly beats going back to my former size. Formerly I was ,like Pizza the Hut, eating myself to death.

It's all a tradeoff. I'm willing to be hungry if it means I'll be healthy. I'm not starving since I eat about 2k calories a day (sometimes more) plus I have loads of energy. Altoids can help though along with water.

Growing up, it was unfair that my brother could eat anything he wanted and remain super slim, however now age is leveling the playing field. :D

Back on topic:
While refined carbs do make you hungrier faster, it mainly comes down to portion size. Most people eat more than one serving and eat more junk than healthy food. Thousands of calories a day and a sedentary lifestyle will pack on the pounds or Garbage In, Garbage Out. I eat refined carbs and still lose weight because I try to make them a small portion of my daily food intake. In fact I find that the longer I go on this lifestyle change, the less appealing refined carbs become.

While undoubtedly there are those who are sensitive to HFCS and refined carbs, I don't think it explains away the obesity epidemic.

And certainly a toxic enviroment can play a role by shorting out people's thyroids and the like. However, most overweight and obese people do not have a medical problem. And most of those with medical issues can lose the weight even though it will be harder.

Money isn't an insurmountable obstacle either. It's a lot cheaper to buy a half pound of turkey and a loaf of bread than it is to eat at McDonald's for lunch all week.

I packed on thirty pounds because I ate excessively and sat on my butt. End of story.

I'm not a preacher and if someone chooses to be overweight that's fine. Their body. But there are very few people who have absolutely no control over their weight.

[undergroundpanther]

36. GREAT POST!

It's the TRUTH too!

[Virginia Dare]

38. Sorry if you took it to be a judgement...

I was just giving a personal anecdote. It was not a suggestion that any one-size fits all solution is out there. Also, it's possible that any solution could be temporary. As a person who has been through it, I certainly empathize with anyone who is struggling with a weight issue.:hi:

[femrap]

20. or unless you're poor. I don't know many poor people who

join the YMCA or a gym.

[undergroundpanther]

26. I did

Until I couldn't get to it anymore.

[Caria]

6. We've been joking for years that fast food is addictive

Hardly ever eat it and don't want to, but when we DO hit a fast food joint - and it doesn't matter which one - something strange happens: all fast food suddenly becomes appealing over the next few days. Then after we get over that period of desiring it, we start to think of it as gross again. So we have this no-longer-private-now -that-I've-shared-it-with-DU joke that that they put powerfully addictive drugs into American fast food.

[femrap]

21. I think there is something to what you say.

I, too, feel there is something in that food that affects your brain chemistry....telling you that you are still hungry. The same thing applies to those damn Lean Cuisines....they make me so hungry.

[niyad]

30. on the other hand, when I give in to the rare instance and actually get

something from mickey d's or even wendy's (across the street from each other) I feel sick for about two days, achy and leaden all over. on the whole, my hypoglycemic attacks are preferable to this.

[AnnieBW]

9. Lots of Problems With American Food Supply

There are a lot of problems with the American food supply in general, but I'm not blaming any of them for my obesity. Generally, it's between the ears that the problem lies. However, if we're being flooded with hormones, anti-biotics, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, etc., it can't be good for us. And a lot of people don't have the choice to buy organic.

[TexasProgresive]

10. In 1994 we spent a month in Ireland-

This was when the Celtic Tiger was still a nursing kitten and Ireland still had strong agriculture. All the food we ate was fresh and local. The cheeses we ate came from farms within 30 miles mostly less, the fish was the catch of the day and the vegetables were from out of local fields and the dairy products were the best.

We ate like bears out of hibernation and both of us lost about a stone (13 pounds) each. BTW the Irish ate more than us an were thin.

In this country it is very hard to find really fresh foods. Eggs can be up to 6 months in storage and apples 2 years. My theory is that as food ages enzymes form that our bodies detect. The old food enzymes tell our bodies that starving time is coming and the body goes into famine mode- storing every thing possible. This would be a survival thing going back to the days when spring to early summer were starving times. Those who were able to store up survives while the less efficient died.

When I was growing up there were lots of fruits and vegetables that were only available in season. Know everything is available year round.

[smirkymonkey]

23. I have spent time in Europe from anywhere from two weeks to

3 months at a time and every single time I ate heartily and LOST weight. I think it's a combination of the purity of the food and the lack of stress compared to the US.

I also have lost a lot of weight just from not working (taken little "sabbaticals" here and there. I strongly subscribe to the idea that a very stressful lifestyle contributes to weight gain (adrenal depletion, which affects thyroid and insulin levels, etc.).

I live in NYC and I buy mostly "whole foods" but I also eat on the go a lot. I must say it is quite costly here to eat healthfully.

[Karenca]

37. I too lost weight in Europe

particularly when I spent some time in Italy.

I had to comment on your:
"I must say it is quite costly here to eat healthfully."

The food here in NYC is ridiculously expensive!

I'm thinking that I might start
buying from FreshDirect?

BTW, the fructose crap is banned from
soda in England. I'm not sure if it's allowed in other products, but I
was quite surprised to see "sugar"
on the ingredient label instead of frctose/corn syrup.

[emcguffie]

28. I think you're on to something there.

But I also think it's the opposite.

The enzymes in the food die as they age, so you don't digest the food properly. In fresh food, there are enzymes. In food that isn't fresh, those enzymes are missing, and you do not digest it as well.

[shanine]

39. I'm convinced . . .

I have a family memeber with Crohn's Disease who recently spent a year in Europe with NOT ONE problem while there. Tells me something!!!!

[colorado thinker]

12. It is most definitely the high fructose corn syrup

It is in positively everything. Crackers, cereal (even "non-sweetened"), you name it it has the stuff. Want to know why you are insulin sensitive? Read the labels.

I've started buying only food without the stuff, and my pantry is pretty bare . . .

[OnionPatch]

29. Yep, that stuff is garbage

And it's in everything! It took me awhile, but I finally know what products to buy or not to cut that crap out of my family's diet. It's shocking to see how many products it's in, things you would never think would need any sweetener.

[no_hypocrisy]

32. Fructose. I read (probably on DU) that fructose is addicting the way

that nicotine is addicting. Say you have a soft drink (soda, Snapple, etc.) with a high content of fructose, you ingest it, and your body "craves" the "high energy" feeling you get from the hypersugar as a result, making you want to purchase and consume more of the same product that gave you that initial feeling. And this is highly unconscious on your part. You don't know why but you gotta have it. And it's a vicious cycle until you go "cold turkey" and it incrementally leaves your system.

[Virginia Dare]

16. Yes, there is no question in my mind...

our food is poisoning us. Especially the crap that is marketed for children. I have an acquaintance who is a dietitian in the school system. She claims that this is the first generation of children (the ones in the system now) who will not outlive their parents.

[femrap]

22. I agree....but I also think that the Boomers will not outlive their

parents. Processed food started when I was young....and it is killing us. I believe the food and pharma industries are in cohoots with each other. One creates the cholesterol and the other treats it!

[undergroundpanther]

25. He's onto THE TRUTH..

I eat very little sugar,not much white flour,No white bread..And no high fructose,And I'm still fat. Go figure.

I do think the food supply is poisoned. The whole Earth is..Air Pollution,MBTE, Pesticides,It's a toxic stew we live in.

Can't eat Tuna more than 2 times a week 'cause it is poisoned..Fetuses now have mercury in them and PCB's and other industrial toxins in measurable levels.. BEFORE BIRTH..
You think all that chemical stuff in the environment has NO EFFECT on us and our health or metabolism? . Prescription Drugs like Valium is showing up in measurable amounts in TAP WATER.I know for a fact some drugs pile on the weight ,side effects you know,I gained insane weight on some psych drugs....So THINK and quit puffing up your egos,..It's not just diet and exercise anymore.. We are being POISONED slowly by industrial wastes and by products of the must grow forever,profit driven insanity marketplace,makers of consumables that sicken us all..

[truedelphi]

31. Thanks for the discussion on crap food Here is real HELP

Anyone ever hear of something called cedar berries?

Me neither. Until about three weeks ago. Then my husband bought a pound of them for about $ 20 -- they come ground up and powdery like cocoa.

He is using this product to cut back on his insulin - and he puts one half teaspoon into a mug of hot water three to four times a day.

It dawned on me yesterday that maybe this stuff might be good for controlling my appetite. It seemed to me that he was eating less.

And it does. it is amazing. A true tonic. I can go three and four hours without thinking about food. I don't feel tired - nor do I feel raggged and on edge like caffeine makes me feel.

Mark had visited the website: Capricornslair.com and made the purchase there.

I highly recommend this stuff. itis nothing more than the crushed up powder of cedar berries. Helps diabetes. Helps kidney ailments. And relly aids in decreasing your appetite.

Neither he or I have any involvement with the folks at the above website (other than that he shopped there.) But if it can help anyone else regain their health, I would feel great about it.