(This is Part 32 of a series. Go back to Part 31.)
The same phenomenon can and does happen with modern calorie-dense foods. Scientists have discovered that high-density foods—meat, fish, fowl, cheese, chocolate, sugar, chips, fries, sodas, etc.—actually have addictive qualities.
What this means is that "modern" highly processed and/or high-fat foods tend to create more intense taste sensations than whole natural foods.
Because of our genetic imperative to seek pleasure and avoid pain while conserving energy in the process, we're naturally attracted to those foods that are available and have a high caloric density. In nature this served us well. When we lived in the trees we were naturally attracted to sweet-tasting fruits and raw nuts.
During the Ice Ages we became hunter-gatherers and were attracted to fruits (when available), vegetables and wild game—though it's been established thatf we were always much more "gatherers" than "hunters". No more than 25% of our calories ever came from animal protein and fat together. (Today it's more like 60%.)
Then during the Agricultural Revolution 11,000 years ago cooked starchy foods became widely available and, except for royalty, we mostly ate an unrefined, low-fat vegan diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
But in the last two centuries, and especially in the last few decades, animal foods has gone from being a rare luxury item to the centerpiece of every meal. In addition, food technologists have identified those flavor compounds that are the most intense and have created processed foods that are more flavorful than whole, natural foods.
This situation creates a deadly trap where the foods we tend to be most attracted to are the least healthy for us, while by comparison whole natural foods seem (and are) less intense. It works like this:
When we eat a whole, natural, low-fat diet we experience the normal range of taste sensations (level 100). But when exposed to "magic" calorie-dense foods (as we invariably are in industrialized society), we experience greater taste sensations (level 150). This is the primary effect.
As a consequence, we tend to prefer and to gravitate more and more towards these high-protein, high-fat, high-sugar, high-refinement foods.
Of course, as we have seen, these foods are damaging to our health as time goes on and tend to lead to the modern degenerative diseases. This is the secondary effect.
Here's the interesting kicker: There is strong evidence that over time we develop a "tolerance" to these high-density foods. That is, our brain gradually neuroadapts to these foods just as it does to, say, bright lights or stimulants, so that our overall sense of pleasure goes down to "baseline" again—that is, to level 100.
Moreover, during this addiction to high-density foods a natural, low-fat, plant-based diet can seem dull, flat and uninteresting by comparison. In other words, the addiction deceives our natural instincts and we tend to be attracted to unhealthy foods instead of to healthy ones.
It goes further: Over time, as discussed, our high-density diet gives us the same pleasure (level 100) as a natural low-density diet. But if we now become aware that our high-density diet is not good for us and we switch to a low-density one, at first our range of pleasure will fall to a sub-normal level (50) as the high-intensity foods leave.
This phenomenon is comparable, of course, to the harsh withdrawal symptoms experienced when we remove an addictive drug from our life. It doesn't feel good; it is a level 50 experience for awhile.
However, if we stick with our new low-density natural diet and continue to avoid high-density foods, we'll find that after 30 to 90 days our natural level of pleasure has come back (level 100) and that we derive the same level of pleasure now from whole, natural, low-density foods that we used to get from a high-intensity diet.
When our nervous systems have returned to normal we once again enjoy the luscious flavors of fresh fruits; we delight in the various greens; we can take full pleasure in a simple meal of brown rice and vegetables.
And as a kind of side-benefit, a low-fat, low-density diet will naturally tend to lead us over time to a more natural weight, without a sense of deprivation, as well as toward a higher level of health, vitality and longevity.
(This is the end of Part 32. Go to Part 33.)
—jim sloman, 10.27.04 for May 26
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