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Gonzalez 1 Joseph M. Gonzalez Professor Sara Talpos English 225 Section 16 19 November 2010 Fighting Our Physiology I made it. Seven days without consuming a single carbohydrate. The weeklong Atkins diet marathon of counting calories, reading food labels and abstaining from breads, starches and sweets had left me drained both physically and emotionally. I had endured the temptations by my mocking roommates of “Mmm this pasta is so good” and “Hey, want to go to No Thai? … oh wait, you can’t!” while simultaneously ignoring the ever-present existence of sweets and junk food in my apartment. The high protein, low/no carbohydrate regimen that I had put myself through taught me not only about self-control, but also that this style of dieting and other fad diets like it can’t be healthy or how our bodies were designed to function. Being a “health nut” myself, I was inspired to explore the reasoning behind some of the cravings I experienced while on the diet as well as the presence of processed foods in shaping our eating habits and lifestyles. Before going on the Atkins diet, I did some research as to what exactly it was about as well as what I could and couldn’t eat. I learned that I was to eat foods high in protein while consuming little to no sugar or carbohydrates. By doing so, my body would, in theory, “transform from a carbohydrate-burning machine into a fat-burning machine” as stated by the mission statement explaining the science of the diet on atkins.com. (Thoughtful 1) My diet was to consist of low glycemic index foods such as meat, milk, cream, cheese, nuts, high fat foods and fibrous vegetables. (Fisher 1) With this being said, I deliberated about where exactly my body would be getting its energy from since it had been drilled into my head from my Biology 105 (Biology of Human Nutrition) class that the body’s main source of energy is glucose extracted from Gonzalez 2 carbohydrates and sugars. (Bird-Bredbenner 172) Meanwhile, I wondered what the premise was behind not eating carbohydrates; why would such an obscure concept work? Study after study would go on to say that “It is argued that a low carbohydrate diet is more natural for the human body because grains in the form of wheat, rice, etc, only became a regular part of our diet 10,000 years ago so our bodies have not had time to evolve to cope with them satisfactorily.” (Fisher 1) This brought me to determine that if such a diet was good enough for the cavemen and the gladiators, then it was good enough for me to give the old college try for a week too. Day 1. The morning of Monday, November 1st started out like any other—start hitting snooze at 8 am, admit defeat and crawl out of bed at 8:07, walk in a trance to the bathroom, then finally choose something to eat in the kitchen for “the most important meal of the day.” Before I ate, however, I made sure to weigh myself in the event that I would lose some amount of weight over the course of the week—my starting weight: 158 lbs. With my new diet in mind, I looked past the inviting package of whole-grain Thomas english muffins perched upon the cool granite countertop and instead peered into the refrigerator in favor of some protein. Ten minutes later I had in front of me a plate of piping hot scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, a glass of orange juice (I guess I wasn’t thinking about the sugar content) and a kiwi to get my day started. As the day went on, I daydreamed in my English class about my next protein-intensive meal as well as how I was going to survive the rest of the week without pasta or bread. Lunch would consist of some leftover grilled chicken and roasted vegetables and later around 6:30 pm I would have salmon and asparagus for dinner. With my first day of, in a sense, “cold turkey” dieting out of the way, I felt quite confident that this process wouldn’t be half as bad as I had imagined it to be— unfortunately, I was wrong. As the days wore on, it became more and more of a challenge to find variety in what I wanted to eat while maintaining such stringent anti-carbohydrate criteria—no bun with my Gonzalez 3 cheeseburger; no pasta with my chicken; and no oatmeal, cereal or toast for breakfast. Even foods like yogurt and granola I found had a significant amount of carbohydrates and were thus struck from the short list of things I could eat. I would find later that this is a common struggle by many Atkins and low calorie dieters as “the apparent choice of food on the Atkins Diet is not a sufficient inducement to keep people on it.” (Fisher 1) I noticed by about day four that I didn’t have as much energy as I normally did at that point in the week either. I attributed such a happening to my lack of carbohydrate and sugar intake as I usually feel quite energized and rested after the nine hours of sleep that I religiously get on Wednesday nights. Wondering if my physical struggles were resulting in any weight loss or progress, I promptly weighed myself on day 7, Sunday, November 7th, and was met with the same number as I started with—158 lbs. In a way, I was a little disappointed with the fact that I hadn’t lost a single pound given my struggles and the fact that I complimented my dieting with a daily five-mile run. This being said, I’d imagine it would take more than a week for the body to transform into a “fat burning machine.” Realizing my need for carbohydrates, I wondered what the best way to get “healthy” carbohydrates was or if such a thing even existed. As it turns out, all of the media emphasis on whole grains and complex carbohydrates has some merit. According to the Whole Grains Council, a whole grain food is defined as one “containing all the essential parts and naturallyoccurring nutrients of an entire grain seed.” (Whole 1) Complex carbohydrates, like those found in whole grains, take longer to digest and serve as a long-term energy source for the body. Whole grain foods have also proven to reduce blood pressure, asthma, stroke risk, and type 2 diabetes. As a healthful tip, it is recommended that one substitutes ordinary breads and pastas (carbohydrates) for whole grain alternatives as a good way to reach/maintain a healthy weight while sustaining a higher level of satiety. In other words, not all carbohydrates are bad. (Whole 1) Another unwelcomed happening of the Atkins diet that I endured was that of intense Gonzalez 4 cravings for sweets and carbohydrate-containing foods. I noticed intense hankerings for sugary candies, greasy, salty junk food and fast food as the week went on. In an odd and uncomfortable way, I felt more as if I was experiencing the cravings of an expectant mother than I did those of the health-conscious athlete that I had known myself to be. In an effort to understand what I was feeling, I curiously did some research and discovered that by restricting carbohydrate intake, “the body can develop a compelling hunger, craving, or desire for carbohydrate-rich foods” while experiencing “an escalating, recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, junk food, or sweets.” (Carbohydrate 1) Intrigued that these were the exact effects that I was experiencing, as my stint with the Atkins diet drew to a close, I grew increasingly interested in why my body craved sugary, salty and fatty foods instead of healthier, natural, more beneficial options for itself. If fatty snack foods and fast food didn’t exist in ancient times, then why was my body craving those things now? My curiosity would lead me to an intriguing answer—our own human physiology is to blame. Thousands of years ago, in the “bad old days” as my biology professor, Professor Estabrook, would call them, food was not readily available as it is today. People did not eat three balanced meals every day with a snack in-between as is the case in the present nor did they go to the grocery store for their food. On the contrary, humans scrounged for food in the wild outdoors to nourish themselves through hunting and gathering—sometimes going days or even weeks without so much as a bite to eat. (Bird-Bredbenner 174) As these eating patterns emerged, humans developed the taste for sugar and salt so that they would know to eat such foods when they encountered them in nature. During these times, sodium was difficult to come by and thus when a source of sodium was discovered, the internally bred desire for sodium signaled humans to take advantage of such resources. Our developed taste of sugar is no different. The sugar in foods such as fruit became an attractive taste so that when a source of sugar was found, humans would Gonzalez 5 consume the fruit and in turn benefit from the vitamins and nutrients it contained. (BirdBredbenner 172) In today’s modern world, adequate intakes (“AI” in medical terminology) of salt and sugar are exceeded on a daily basis. It is suggested by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that adults intake no more than 2300 milligrams (about one teaspoon) of salt per day. (Lowering 1) Meanwhile, according to a study done by the Wall Street Journal: Today, adults consume more than 3,400 mgs of sodium on average; not including salt they use in cooking or sprinkle on food from a shaker; more than twice the amount recommended for most people. Middle-aged men are eating on average about 54% more salt today than in the early 1970s; for women, consumption has jumped 67% in that time. Such numbers are both staggering and unsettling to those of us who are health-conscious or suffer from the side effects of high sodium intake such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Looking to learn more about the overconsumption of salt and sugar by today’s population, I summoned the expertise of my family friend and physician, Dr. Lee Goldman, M.D. During our phone conversation, I asked him exactly where all of this extra salt was coming from in our diets and how we can stop eating so much of it. He had this to say: In my opinion, such extravagant and excessive intakes of sodium are a result of the food industry; in particular, processed foods. Almost anything that you can buy in a box, bottle, or can has been infused in some way or another with sodium or sugar. These unnecessary additives play off of our body’s ancient physiological desires to consume salt and sugar for survival. Dr. Goldman would go on to agree with Professor. Estabrook in that the food industry is, in essence, taking advantage of our body’s outdated physiological software. He suggested that in an effort to lower salt and sugar intakes, one should “eat whole, natural foods with ingredients you Gonzalez 6 can pronounce. That puts out most junk foods, but at the same time, you’ll be doing a world of good for your body in the long run.” (Goldman 1) With this insight in mind, I took a trip into my kitchen to explore just how far the food industry has gone. In the refrigerator, I examined the nutrition facts of various beverages to see their sugar and salt contents. I was shocked to find that an eight ounce glass of Ocean Spray cranberry juice packed a whopping 30 grams of sugar while an eight ounce glass of Guernsey chocolate milk supplied a staggering 28 grams of sugar. My roommate’s Campbell’s Chunky soup contained 800 milligrams of sodium while a can of my favorite Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda had 42 grams of sugar. Numbers like these proved exactly what Dr. Goldman had suggested—the processed food industry is turning our physiological desires against us in a parasitic effort to make a profit. By experimentally following the Atkins diet, I quickly learned through experience that not only is cutting out carbohydrates and sugars from one’s diet a difficult task, it is also unnatural. We as a society have fallen under the impression that being “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” is a good thing and that Campbell’s Chunky Soup “Fills You Up Right.” The reality that we as a society are either unaware of or choose to ignore is that the processed foods we consume are loaded with excessively high levels of sugar and salt that are actually doing our bodies harm. The body’s inborn physiological tendency to gravitate towards and crave foods with high sodium and/or sugar contents is a weak spot being exploited by processed food manufacturers. Through the consumption of natural, whole foods and whole-grain complex carbohydrates, we as a society can stop the growing trend of obesity that is sweeping our great nation. We must recognize that more isn’t always better when it comes to some foods and that in the case of processed food, less is ultimately more. Gonzalez 7 Works Cited Bird-Bredbenner, Carol, Moe, Gail, Beshgetoor, Donna and Berning, Jacqueline. Wardlaw’s Perspectives in Nutrition – 8th edition. New York, New York. McGraw-Hill. 2009. Print. Pgs. 172-175. “Carbohydrate Cravings” lowcarb.ca. 2 November 2010. http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips007.html Fisher, Carol. “The Atkins Diet - Pros and Cons.” dietsnutrition.allinfoabout.com. 2003. 2 November 2010.http://dietsnutrition.allinfoabout.com/features/atkins.html Goldman, Lee. Personal Interview. 3 November 2010. “Lowering Salt in Your Diet.” fda.gov. FDA, 18 May 2010. Web. 1 November 2010. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm181577.htm McKay, Betsy. “The Salt Hiding in Your Diet --- Even Your Taste Buds May Not Know: Culprits Include Cereal, Sliced Bread And Roast Chicken (but Not Chocolate)”. Wall Street Journal. New York, New York. 3 August 2010. Online Scholarly Journal. 1 November 2010. http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=2098544651 &SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VNa me=PQD&TS=1289273498&clientId=17822 “Thoughtful Approach. Powerful Science” atkins.com. September 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. http://www.atkins.com/Science/ScienceBehindAtkins.aspx “Whole Grains Council” Web. 18 November 2010. http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/definition-of-whole-grains