Bill Sitkin. Professor Whitesitt. English 101. February

Bill Sitkin Professor Whitesitt English 101 February 16, 2017 We Are What We Eat ‘The nutritional content of what we eat determines the composition of our cell membranes, bone marrow, blood, and hormones. Consider that the average adult loses roughly 300 billion cells to old age every day and must replace them. Our bodies are literally manufactured out of the food we consume.’ Katz, Prevention Magazine 2010 (1) Basically - we are what we eat! Eating clean food or foods that are minimally processed and as direct from nature as possible considerably improve our chances for well-being both mentally and physically whereas junk (I am lumping fast and processed foods under the junk food name) foods have the total opposite effect.†¦show more content†¦The next hurdle rushes up to meet you square on because junk foods are designed to be addictive and quitting an addiction is another story. In a report written by food scientist Steven Witherly, PhD ‘Why Humans Like Junk Food’ (2) the science of food addiction is explained thus. ‘When you eat tasty food, there are two factors that make the experience pleasurable. There is the sensation of eating the food; what it tastes like (salty, sweet, umami, etc.), what it smells like, and how it feels in your mouth (known as orosensation) can be particularly important. Food companies will spend millions of dollars to discover the most satisfying level of crunch in a potato chip. Their scientists will test for the perfect amount of fizzle in a soda. These factors all combine to create the sensation that your brain associates with a particular food or drink. The second factor is the actual macronutrient makeup of the food — the blend of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that it contains. In the case of junk food, food manufacturers are looking for a perfect combination of salt, sugar, and fat that excites your brain and gets you coming back for more.’ The report goes on in detail about how dynamic contrast, salivary response, rapid food meltdown and vanishing caloric density, sensory