Why do we Overeat?
There are many scientific theories behind what DRIVES US TO OVEREAT.
It’s all about our BRAIN.
The Body is in Search of NUTRIENTS… fresh fruit, vegetables and meats have less nutrient value than they once had, from less than ideal farming practices, to industrialization, transportation and accessibility. And don’t even get me started on the revolution of shelf-stable, processed foods, and how these are manufactured, less expensive and more easily available. We are driven to eat more to obtain more nutrients from foods with less nutrient value.
Another theory is hyper-palatable foods. What are HYPER-PALATABLE FOODS?
We are wired to search out energy-dense foods, the brain loving glucose for fuel, so evolution taught us to seek out the sweet! We gathered fruits and vegetables like tubers (sweet potatoes & turnips), berries, and raided honeycombs! We craved animal fats for energy storage, and those inevitable periods of days without food. However, our landscape has changed and today we find ourselves surrounded by sweet and fat, the combination together especially dangerous, sending our senses into overload, forcing us to fight evolution not to eat everything in sight! Baked goods, anyone?
A third theory is PROTEIN.
We need sufficient protein for almost all the processes in our body to run smoothly, to transport nutrients, to build and maintain structure, and yet the average person doesn’t get nearly enough. The RDA values for protein and other nutrients were set in a time of war and scarcity to avoid major disease, and nowhere near the optimal amounts for health. So again, we see the brain in search of nutrients.
Okay, but what do we do with this information? I think it is helpful to understand how our brain has evolved, to recognize our present food landscape doesn’t play well with our highly-evolved brains. We need more nutrients, we need to feel full, we need to fix the signals our brains are telling our guts.
1. Eat more Fiber and Protein! This looks like vegetables, whole grains, and seeds, and not just once per day! Protein comes in many forms, aim for whole food protein sources like lean meats, some dairy and beans, seeds and nuts, even some vegetables have protein! Each meal, every time you eat, should include both fiber and protein.
2. Prioritize Whole Foods! Fruits and veggies, leans meats, seeds and grains. Avoid packaged foods and take-out, white flours and sugar. Be super wary of the sugar-fat-salt combos like pizza, bakes goods and ice cream, these are hard not to overeat!
3. Drink Water, and STOP with the sweetened beverages, these include fancy coffees, sodas, energy drinks, juice, even some “smoothies!” Don’t be a fool and get fooled by marketing, our industry plays on our conscience with the labels “healthy,” “all natural,” and other trigger words.
It’s a place to start. I promise if you start with even just one of these suggestions, you’ll start to see and feel some progress! Get out there and stop listening to your brain! (;
