Unchaining Yourself from an Unhealthy Food Addiction
The cry of "I have no willpower!" often emerges from the consumers who jokingly surrender to their lack of will when it comes to eating something clearly unhealthy. However, scientific nutritional research has identified that something much more serious ? much more dangerous ? is often at work here. For many people, what they perceive as a harmless lack of willpower is actually an addiction an addiction to chemicals that the brain secretes in response to stimulation by certain foods, such as chocolate or cheese[i].As dangerous as this addiction is, however, recent studies suggest that it is actually much more frightening than it first seems. According to one notable study, the human brain can release dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter linked with feelings enjoyment, when a person merely sees or smells certain foods[ii]. As such, people who may be sensibly avoiding foods that release serotonin and other chemicals (such as chocolate) may still be susceptible to a sight and smell-based addiction to unhealthy food.Understanding this complex problem begins with understanding the word addiction.
Defining a clear-cut definition of addiction is in itself a challenge and a rather hotly debated pursuit at the moment. Still, there is enough unity among credible social and biological scientists to say that a person who is powerless to stop an action is addicted[iii]. When applying this rather grave concept to eating, it becomes starkly clear that choosing an extra slice of pizza or bar of chocolate may be the expression of a very serious addiction to unhealthy food.Remarkably, unlike how addictions to things like alcohol, drugs, and sexual activity viewed biological and psychological illnesses, addiction to eating is often ignored or, at the very least, diminished to be something that is based on willpower. The insulting advice of "just don't eat it if you don't want to get fat!" that some obese people actually hear from their doctors, relatives, or colleagues is one of the most common manifestations of this often well-meaning, but potentially harmful, ignorance.The bottom line fact ? and one that more medical professionals are accepting based on scientific evidence ? is that obesity and related eating disorders are often the results of an addiction they are a serious health condition that must be approached methodologically like other diseases[iv].Understanding that food addiction is indeed a problem ? a severe disease, in fact ? is a fundamental key in addressing this unique health challenge. At the same time, the notion of "willpower" should be removed, in most cases, from the eating disorder vocabulary, and replaced with the word "addiction".
This will make that extra piece of pizza or that third slice of chocolate cake be seen for what they often are: the means to satisfy a bonafide addiction.Once the "eating disorder as an addiction" paradigm is in place, then and only then can both unhealthy eaters and those supporting them take steps to solve the problem. While there are no overnight solutions, there are paths that eaters can take that head in the right direction: freedom from eating addiction. The first step on this path is to eat a complete and balanced source of nutrition.Taking this first step, like so much else associated with the addiction to unhealthy food, is easier said than done. Eating sensibly is unusually difficult in a time-starved culture and even more difficult when there are arrays of self-described nutritious dietary sources to choose from. Whether it is energy bars or fad diets, finding a simple, convenient, and practical source of balanced nutrition is hard to find.However, some exceptional products are garnering serious positive attention from scientific community.
These products deliver complete protein in a vitamin enriched formula. Furthermore ? and of critical value ? is that these products contain no carbohydrates, no unsaturated fat, and few calories none of which are from fat. These products are helping people unchain themselves from food addictions, and reflect a trend towards nutritious and ethical nutritional supplement manufacturing.Of ultimate importance, however, is that these products return eating choice control back to where it must always remain: with conscious and empowered consumers, and not to some hidden and potentially destructive addiction.About ProticaFounded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat.
Information on Protica is available at www.protica.com You can also learn about Profect at www.profect.comReferences[i] Source: "That's Why We Call it Junk Food". MSNBC. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3606198/[ii] Source: "Food on the Brain". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/free_forbes/2005/0110/063.html[iii] Source: "Addiction".
eHealth Connection. http://www.ehealthconnection.com/regions/ehealth/health_information/ 00036220.asp[iv] Source: "Obesity as a Disease". MPR News. http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/03/29_bensonl_desease/Copyright 2004 -
- http://www.protica.com.
Chocolate Is Good For You
Great news on the chocolate front!
Chocolate is good for you.
Under certain circumstances.Katherine Tallmadge, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says, in the February 9, 2005, WASHINGTON POST, that "cacao, or cocoa beans, contain ?flavanols,' naturally occurring plant compounds also found in tea, red wine, and apples.
Their properties have been studied as heart disease inhibitors."
Carl L. Keen, chair of the department of nutrition at University of California, Davis, states in the same article that "the flavanols in cocoa help maintain a healthy vascular system.
They reduce blood clotting -- an aspirin like effect -- reduce oxidative damage and improve blood flow."Unfortunately the flavanols in chocolate are bitter and are mostly removed from processed chocolate.
The level decreases with each step, from the bean to the cocoa powder, and ultimately to a finished product.
But big manufacturers like Nestle and...
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Weight Loss: Add Chocolate to Your Diet?
Copyright ? Donovan Baldwin
http://www.NoDiet4Me.com
Before you run out and stock up on chocolate bars, read the whole article please.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
There really ARE health benefits of chocolate, and it CAN be a part of a weight loss program.
There are a few things to know first.
First we talk about the boring stuff...free radicals, antioxidants, and flavonoids:
Free radicals:
These little rascals, I mean radicals, are unstable atoms or groups of atoms that occur in the body as a result of everyday atomic processes in reaction to such intrusive things as pollution, cigarette smoke, and sunlight.
They are a natural part of the process of being alive, but they can damage cells, and research seems to implicate them, at least to some extent, in the growth of cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes, cataracts, and other problems related to age.
Weight Loss: Add Chocolate to Your Diet?
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National Parenting Expert Recommends Cancellation of Mother’s Day
Atlanta, GA (ContentDesk) May 9, 2006 -- There should be no such thing as Mothers Day, says national parenting expert Hal Runkel, LMFT, author and creator of the award-winning and best-selling ScreamFree Parenting Program. Having a mothers day suggests that on this one day of the year, the husband, and all the kids should make everything special for mom, give her breakfast in bed, let her choose the restaurant to go to, and maybe buy her some nice gifts of chocolate, jewelry, or spa treatments. Hallmark is going to hate me for this. continued Runkel, whose ScreamFree Parenting program is creating revolutionary relationships in households everywhere.
While it sounds great to have a day when we recognize and appreciate our moms who do so much in our families, what about the other 364 days? he said.
Runkel has been counseling families for years on the ScreamFree method of parenting, and he has children of his own, so hes well aware of this Mothers day ritual...
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Why Blessing Your Food is So Important
Why Blessing Your Food is So Important
by Stephanie Relfe
If you want to maintain happy emotions it is very important to pray over your food and drink before consuming it. This is even more important to do if you want to grow spiritually.
Praying over your food and drink is especially important if you are eating food that has not been prepared yourself or at least by someone who has a good energy.
Food is made of energy. Your body, mind and spirit are energy. Energy can be transmitted by touch.
There are subtle invisible thought-forms that can pass from one person to another when one person prepares food and another eats it.
I will give a story to illustrate this. Like most people, I virtually never did bless my food. Then I met and married my husband Michael. He always prayed over his food and drink and blessed it in Jesus' name.
My food and drink received the same treatment, so I still didn...
Why Blessing Your Food is So Important
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New Vending Machines ? Where And How To Buy Them
When you purchase new vending machines, you are getting the latest models with all the bells and whistles that make them attractive to customers. However, you do have to look for the cheapest prices so that you can save as much money as possible in the investment of getting started in the vending machine business. This is one of the businesses that is easy to get started with and you can determine the type and number of vending machines you do want to start with. For example, you can start with a gumball vending machine or one that sells sandwiches or other food. A simple online search will give you the names of the distributors that sell new vending machines.
You won't realize how easy it is to start a new vending machine business until you start doing the research. You don't need any business experience and you can determine the size of your business. The locations you choose will determine the types of new vending machines that you want to buy. For example,...
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Split Bean Coffee Introduces Their Easter/Spring 2006 Collection
(ContentDesk) March 25, 2006 -- The 2006 Easter collection features a Marshmallow Bouquet consisting of Rose Petal essence from the Middle East; Jasmine essence from Asia; and Lavender from our friends at the Hood River Lavender Farms in Oregon. These heavenly pillows are hand-crafted using natural ingredients. Split Bean Coffees Dulces del Roc?o Marshmallows are available in over 20 flavors (including strawberry, cherry, coconut, vanilla, orange, green tea, chocolate, raspberry), and can...
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VoIP
For over a hundred years, traditional phones have enhanced the communication. When this medium crossed the oceanic borders, it set a revolution by bridging the distance amongst humans in real time. Toward the end of the last century, the arrival of Internet pushed the revolution by transmitting data, both text and visual, among computers. The amalgamation of the traditional phone system and the borderless world of web have advanced the communication capabilities of mankind.
The transmission...
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Providing Great Casino Customer Service Should Be Fun
(ContentDesk) September 21, 2005 -- Providing Great Casino Customer Service Should Be FunCome on, have some fun. Casino employees should make customer service into a fun experience for themselves and their guests.The following tip is provided by Robinson & Associates, Inc., a customer service consulting firm to the gaming industry, and its Web site http://www.CasinoCustomerService.com.Service tip:"Guest service should be fun because you're in the fun business. You're in the business of helping...
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2006 Real World Snow Tire Tests – On-Line
Fairport, NY (ContentDesk) February 5, 2006 - In an innovative move, The Snow Tire FAQ (http://www.snowtire.info) announced the availability of on-line, real-time snow tire reviews from its 2006 edition of The Real World Snow Tire Tests.In 2001, John Werner, the editor of the Snow Tire FAQ, introduced the The Real World Snow Tire Tests. The 2006 Real World Snow Tire Tests are the 4th set of tests to be run. The Tests provide both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of snow tires in the...
Chocolate Unchaining Yourself from an Unhealthy Food Addiction 2006 Real World Snow Tire Tests – On-Line toyo tires
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What is Life Insurance?
Life insurance protects you and your family from economic hardship as a result of death. It is an insurance company's obligation to pay the recipient of your choice a pre-determined amount of money when you die in exchange for timely payment of premiums while you are living.Do you really need life insurance? Well do you want to provide for your family and loved ones in a manner to which they have become accustomed in the untimely event of your death? If you are the primary breadwinner who will...
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