Give Your Body What It Needs, Not What It Wants

“You should give your body what it wants” – Said no one ever to a drug addict.

I find it peculiar that society has a completely different stance when it comes to food. The majority of people have this preconception that if your body craves it, then it’s perfectly acceptable to give it what it wants. Food affects the body in exactly the same way as drugs; you still activate reward pathways and your opiates are stimulated too. The only difference between food and drugs is that drugs are much more damaging once you get past the ‘high’.

There’s a reason why people are addicted to these things, besides the fact we are creatures of habit ; your body is a sensation whore, and will desire any sort of stimuli that it comes into contact with. Food companies are well aware of this and they love to capitalise on it in the name of profit. It’s no coincidence that you really can’t stop once you pop a Pringle, or why people clearly state they’re addicted to certain foods. They really are, they’ve just not consciously acknowledged it . Hundreds of hours have gone into research of how to give you the best taste sensation, the perfect texture, the most memorable flavour and much more. A culmination of thousands of scientific minds trying to biologically manipulate the human body into wanting more utilising all kinds of ingredients. They want you addicted.

This is why I’m forever upset by some women who almost utilise their pregnancy to get away with eating junk food under the pretence that its no choice of their own but their obligation as a mother to feed their unborn child this bereft produce. The sad part is, they really believe it too. All part of the illusion that it’s necessary, because after all, what the body wants can’t be bad…can it? The very idea that a child is addicted to sugar and fast food before they’ve even entered this world is truly horrific to me, and one that I feel should be addressed. I know it’s not really a conscious process for people, it’s just down to ignorance, but that’s not okay.

Corporations only desire profit and have no regard for our health. You are seen as a cash cow, and so it’s your responsibility to look after yourself – at least thats how they see it. If you feel I’m being overly cynical, take a look at what you can purchase legally. cigarettes for example, which serve no purpose other than to limit the longevity and quality of your life, but they’re still on sale. It took me a minute to realise actually how crazy that sounds; you’re buying a product that kills you slowly, and in what world are we living in where that’s seen as a viable option. I can see the Dragons Den episode now. Take a second and try to pitch that to your hypothetical dragons knowing what you know about cigarettes. It’s utterly preposterous.

What I’m really trying to say here is, look out for yourself. Don’t suffer the consequences. Don’t be another statistic, another dot on the chart. Educate yourself.