HOW JUNK FOOD ADDICTION WORKS.

Junk food addiction is a serious epidemic that affects society globally.

Brain chemistry goes bonkers under the consumption of junk food’s 
ingredients – setting the stage for addiction.

The composition of food is either natural or highly-processed. 
Junk food is always overly processed with synthetic chemicals, such 
as high fructose corn syrup and MSG, and unholy amounts of salt 
and sugar. In addition to that, did you know processed food makes 
up over 60% of the average American diet? These ingredients 
overwhelm the dopamine neurotransmitters of the brain, which house 
the “reward system” that makes us feel happy and satisfied. 
Because of junk food’s chemistry, the feelings we receive from 
continuously consuming it causes an overwhelming craving to them, 
which ultimately leads to addiction.

Junk food and drug addiction go hand-in-hand.

Believe it or not, a junk food addiction is exactly like a drug 
addiction. What’s worse, both possess equally frightening similarities: 
the user will do anything it takes to acquire their addicted 
substance, hide their addiction from others, and continuously 
indulge in the substance even if it threatens their health and 
overall well-being.

The urge to stop eating is uncontrollable.

It doesn’t matter if you just finished a full-course meal – you still
 want more despite being full. It’s a never-ending emptiness that 
can only be satisfied with eating more junk food. Also, attempting 
to quit is may feel nearly impossible because your brain and body 
desires synthetic and addictive ingredients to fuel its desire to 
feel “rewarded”. Unfortunately, it is common to relapse back into 
excessive consumption of junk food when an individual genuinely 
tries their best to stop eating unhealthily.

No one should ever feel guilty with what they are eating. If you 
suddenly find your relationship with food and perspective of it 
shift into a focus of guilt, shame, and anxiety – there is an issue 
that needs to be confronted. Making excuses to eat a certain food 
or convincing oneself that it is okay to “treat themselves just one 
more time” is a mindset that causes someone to give in to their 
addictive impulse and leave them feeling miserable, only to 
repeat the thought process and cycle once again.

Junk food addiction can become a disorder – or contribute to an 
already existing one. Junk food addiction can cause someone to 
develop or worsen their existing depression and current mental 
and physical conditions because of their experiences and actions.
This addiction affects millions of people around the world, 
increasing the risk and development of diabetes, obesity, and 
mental disorders.

It’s never too late to set life back on track and be healthy and 
well once again. But most importantly, one should see food as 
a friend rather than the enemy.


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Is Chocolate a Health Food?

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Chocolate is rich, creamy, sweet and complex in flavor! Just like a good bottle of wine depends on grapes and wine making, chocolate depends on cocoa beans and processing.
Chocolate is made from processing cocoa mass (or chocolate liquor) with sugar, cocoa butter and in the case of milk chocolate, added milk solids. Other ingredients may also be added. In order to obtain a high concentration of flavonoids, the chocolate must be made with a high concentration of cocoa nibs (from the inner kernel of the fermented, dried and roasted cocoa beans), which give chocolate its deep flavor and color.

Unsweetened cocoa powder that is naturally processed (as opposed to Dutch-processed). After the beans are fermented, dried and roasted, the inner kernel - also referred to as cocoa nibs - are ground into a paste and the fat is pressed out. The remaining cocoa solids are pulverized into a fine powder. “Dutch” or European cocoa powders are processed with alkali, which reduces the flavonoid content.

Very dark chocolate - 80 to 100 percent. To make chocolate, the cocoa nibs are ground into a liquid cocoa mass called chocolate liquor or cocoa mass, which encompasses the cocoa solids and cocoa butter naturally occurring in the nibs. Then sugar, extra cocoa butter and possibly other ingredients like lecithin (an emulsifier) are added. Package labels often state the percentage of cocoa in dark chocolate. However, it is misleading because the percentage combines the amount of cocoa mass and added cocoa butter. The flavonoid content varies widely depending on the factors outlined earlier.

Milk chocolate is made with the addition of milk solids and generally contains more sugar. It has less cocoa solids, resulting in a low concentration of flavonoids.

White chocolate is made with cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, and other flavorings. It has no cocoa mass and no flavonoids.

Ingredient labeling of chocolate is complicated. Many manufacturers mix cocoa beans from different countries as opposed to having a single source or variety. Often more cocoa butter is added during processing yet not listed on the label as an ingredient.

Chocolate was originally a drink discovered by the Mayans of Central America as early as 600 AD. Cocoa beans (criollo variety) were treasured and used as currency in many parts of Latin America until the 19th century.

Similar to how cocoa beans are processed today, they were harvested, fermented, dried and roasted. After shells were removed, the rest (nibs) was ground into a paste. The paste was mixed with hot water and spices. The mixture was poured back and forth between two containers to froth.

Chocolate made its way to Spain and then England. In 1657, the first chocolate house opened in London - a place to sip chocolate and play cards. It was a stimulating drink because of the naturally occurring caffeine.

Europeans started plantations in their overseas colonies with a new variety of cocoa bean called forastero, which is not as tasty. Today, 90 percent of cacao is forastero.

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How to Learn Cooking by Yourself : Practicing Your Skills.

   1 Make at least two meals per day at home. To effectively learn to cook, you              must do so often. Make a commitment to completing at least two meals per day at home       when you are starting out to get your “sea legs,” so to speak, and build confidence.

• Avoid complicated recipes that call for 2-3 hours of prep. Instead, shoot for recipes with only 30 minutes of prep time to keep your interest level high and your cravings low.

2 Make a meal plan. When you are starting out, you will most likely need some routine and simplicity in place. To streamline your cooking, make a meal plan for each day of the week, and set aside or mark each recipe you choose. That way, cooking is not a chore.

• Meal planning helps you feel some confidence and strength in your cooking, and it also makes grocery shopping a lot easier each week.

3  Make new dishes at least once per week. When you are just beginning, every dish is a new dish. As you begin to grow comfortable with the food items you’ve mastered, incorporate one new meal each week to keep your meals fresh and interesting, and to keep building your skill.

• Again, the key is to practice, not to make extravagant dishes. Your new dish can be as simple as graduating from a frittata to a quiche, as long as you are incorporating a new skill.

4  Cook for your family and friends. Start small, by hosting a brunch or similarly low-  key event. Inviting family and friends to try your dishes will give you confidence, and will force you to truly focus in and hone your craft to avoid embarrassment or unsafe cooking practices. 

• When cooking for family and friends, choose a recipe (or recipes) you have truly mastered and feel confident in.

5  Complete meal prep ahead of time. As you work on practicing your craft, prep your meals ahead of time. One of the biggest pitfalls in home-cooked food is the prep time. Between cutting vegetables, creating stock, and fluffing rice, you can quickly run out of time to make your meal.

• Chop your veggies in advance, make a stockpile of chicken (or beef or vegetable) stock, and make a large batch of grains to eat throughout the week.

6 Make time for your meals.Make time for your meals. Once you’ve cooked your meals, make a nice ritual of eating. Create a ritual surrounding all of your meals, and make them special. This will encourage you to continue cooking, and will make not only the process of cooking fun, but also the process of eating and savoring.

• For breakfast, open the blinds, turn on some music or a podcast, and prepare a cup of coffee or tea.
• For lunch, you might set your plate next to a cloth napkin, and sit down to eat and ruminate.
• For dinner, you could light a candle and eat in dim lighting.

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