Download Running head: FOOD HOLDS POWER 1 Food Holds Power Ashley

Running head: FOOD HOLDS POWER
Food Holds Power
Ashley N. Jacquez
University of Texas at El Paso
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FOOD HOLDS POWER
Abstract
This paper will illustrate and dissect the addictive qualities of the food we eat and what
triggers the food cues in the brain that forces humans to either overindulge or suppress food
cravings. Using information from scholarly journals such as, Appetite and Eating Behaviors, aids
in the analysis as to why humans eat impulsively and not out of necessity. This paper will look
further into the distinction between hunger and the desire to eat; “hunger represents a biological
drive and the desire to eat represents a psychological motive”, Appetite (2008).
Keywords: dualism, monism, magnetoencephalography
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FOOD HOLDS POWER
Food Holds Power
Eating is an unconscious action that the vast majority of humans commit on a daily basis;
however, there are people on the other end of the spectrum who are overly conscious of eating.
Being that we live in a world where we are constantly surrounded by food and its temptations, I
think it’s vital for people to know why our brains respond so intensely to these desires. People
should understand the psychological reasoning behind why they eat because there is a distinct
difference between a hunger for food and a craving for food; being unable to distinguish these
two concepts could lead to detrimental health problems.
To fully understand how the brain and body function psychologically looking at the
human body from a philosophical point of view will aid in our understanding—“Rene Descartes
a French philosopher was a proponent of dualism, the idea that the mind, a nonmaterial entity, is
separate from (although connected to) the physical body” (Acrobatiq). Understanding the
concept of dualism justifiably explains the several different scenarios that could potentially occur
when a person is eating. According to Appetite (2013), there are different types of distractions
that a person could come across while eating. One scenario that correlates and is explained by
dualism is the idea of mindless eating; eating while watching television or carrying on a
conversation encourages a person to overeat because the brain did not acknowledge the food that
was eaten during the distractions.
The concept of dualism is highly debated by most philosophers and people of the like, as
well as psychologists. “Psychologists subscribe to monism and believe that consciousness (and
thus the mind) exists in the brain and is not separate from it. In fact, psychologists believe that
consciousness is the result of the activity of the many neural connections in the brain and that we
experience different states of consciousness depending on what our brain is currently doing”
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(Acrobatiq). Although the concept of monism seems ideal to psychologists because there were
studies that were conducted to ensure the soundness of monism, there are some aspects of
monism that are questionable. According to Appetite (2013), an experiment was conducted by
the faculty of psychology at the Maastricht University using the idea of classical conditioning,
which “refers to learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus
that naturally produces a specific behavior.” (Acrobatiq) This experiment is essentially
conducted by introducing a stimulus such as food to the participant, which then produces a
naturally specific behavior such as salivation.
Everyone has participated in classical conditioning whether they are mindful of it or not;
when a person sees food they want to eat the automatic response is salivation, which is why the
concept of monism is being questioned. As previously stated monism defends the idea that our
consciousness and brain are not separate entities, however in the case of classical conditioning
the participant’s response was unconscious and innate. Other studies of classical conditioning
have been conducted using animals and the results were conclusive with those of the human
participants.
While classical conditioning has given some insight as to why people react in the manner
that they do when presented with food, more in depth studies have been conducted using the
technology of magnetoencephalograpghy (MEG). “MEG is a noninvasive technique that detects
and records the magnetic field associated with electrical activity in the brain.” (Acrobatiq) An
article was published in Brain Research (2014) which detailed the experiments that used the
MEG technology to detect and record the brain’s neurons and their responses to food. This study
showed how the brain responds when food is presented and why people react in such a way; the
study showed how the brain suppresses food cues. An article in Eating Behaviors (2014), titled
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“Impulsive reactions to food cues predict subsequent food cravings” illustrates how food cues
can have an influence on people’s food cravings. The article went on to show how a picture of
food could signal and instantaneous response. Living in a world where we are surrounded by
food and food advertisements, it could be quite difficult to avoid these types of food cues;
however it’s crucial to avoid acting on those impulses because they could potentially lead to
obesity and other health problems.
According to Brain Research (2014),” the pleasure obtained from food intake can provide
reinforcement for intake exceeding the homeostatic requirements and thereby lead to
overindulgence in highly palatable foods.” In addition to nourishing people, food, also provides a
sense of pleasure for some people. A person can be in a state of euphoria when they are eating
which is why it’s crucial for people to try and separate emotions and food. If a person were to
give in and submit to every craving and food cue one had, the effects would be shocking.
Obesity would be one of the primary health problems a person could face if they overindulged;
as well as heart disease and diabetes, just to name a few. Understanding the science of eating will
hopefully deter people from eating in excess and will help people begin to be conscious of why
they are eating.
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FOOD HOLDS POWER
References
1. Appleton, K. M., & Soysa, S. (2008). Subjective ratings of “hunger” and “desire to eat” are
associated with preference for different foods. Appetite, Vol 50 (issue 2-3) p. 555
2. Gornick, L. (2014) Introduction to Psychology [Acrobatiq]
3. Jansen, A., Akker, K., Frentz, F., & Havermans R. C. (2013). Impulsivity makes more
susceptible to overeating after contextual appetitive conditioning. Appetite, Volume 70,
p.73-80
4. Muele, A., Lutz, A. P. C., Vogele, C., & Kubler A. (2012). Impulsive reactions to food- cues
predict subsequent food- craving. Eating Behaviors Vol 15 p. 99- 105
5. Ogden, J., Coop, N., Cousins, C., Crump, R., Field, L., Hughes, S., & Wooder, N. (2013).
Distraction, the desire to eat and food intake. Towards an expanded model of mindless
eating. Appetite Vol 62 p. 119- 126
6. Yoshikama, T., Tahaka, M., Ishi, A., Fujimoto, S., & Watanabi, Y. (2014). Neurons regulatory
mechanism of desire for food: Revealed by magnetoencephalography. Brain Research
(1543) p. 120- 127