Upstream | June 18, 2009 | 4 comments

Why we can't eat just one

source: http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/06/18/overeating/

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We do it for the bDr. David Kessler, 58, says that when he looks at a huge plate of French fries, he knows that if he starts eating them, he won't stop until he's wolfed them all down. Yes, even the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, who once oversaw the nation's health, struggles to eat well like the rest of us.

We do it for the buzz. Like drug addicts. How do we stop the constant craving?

In his new best-selling book, "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite," Kessler, a San Francisco Bay Area pediatrician, explains why certain foods loaded with fat, sugar and salt exert such a pull, despite our best intentions to avoid them. As he discusses the biology that leads to scarfing down a plate of fries, he delves into such puzzles as why the French fry binger is more likely to remember the pleasant stimulation of the fries' salt, fat, texture and flavor than the stomachache and self-recrimination that follow it.

The former dean of medical schools at Yale and the University of California, San Francisco, Kessler, who is also a lawyer, contends that the American food culture, including our mores about when, where and how often we eat, plays a large role in fostering what he calls "conditioned hypereating." He argues that the government, food industry and individual diner all have parts to play in combating that plate of fries. While Kessler is not offering a weight-loss solution or proposing some chimerical healthy eating plan, his book strips away the allure of some of the most appetizing and unhealthy foods. I spoke with Dr. Kessler about why so many of us can't eat just one.uzz. Like drug addicts. How do we stop the constant craving?
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4 comments // Why we can't eat just one

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  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • I know if I taste I will eat until there's none left. I know this stuff is bad for me and to do so is accumulative.
      So I avoid tasting. It's the only way. I take a deep breath, stand up straight and say I'll feel better and look better in the morning if I don't indulge. (cause the salt and the grease just mess with me bad time)
      Now if I do indulge I buy the best available and the smallest amount so I can feed the crave and limit the damage.

    • 2 years ago
  • MissAmanda
    • 0
      MissAmanda  

    • this is really awesome. i am lean and i find myself not taking the last bite of most of my food b/c I know there is a chance that i've already eaten too much and if i eat "the whole thing" that i'll get an upset stomach.

    • 2 years ago
  • pacificdaytakemeaway
    • 0
      pacificdaytakemeaway  

    • Ha That's the truth.
      I went to McDonalds yesterday with my family and no one ate their fries (which is like the only thing i'll eat at mcdonalds) so I ate like my weight in fries and still wanted more. It was horrible.

    • 2 years ago
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