Just as the nicotine content in cigarettes is increased to ensure addiction, processed foods are full of sugar (which is addictive itself), high fructose corn syrup, MSG, synthetic flavors, chemicals and salt, so that you become addicted to them.

When the rats were fed a high-sugar diet, they showed all the signs of drug withdrawal when the researchers tried to eliminate sugar. The study clearly showed a link between pleasure chemicals in the brain (called opioids) and cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods. The changes in the brain chemistry of the rats were the same as those of the drug addicts!

You can be addicted to certain foods. In fact, refined white sugar is more addictive than cocaine! And if you read labels carefully, it’s a main ingredient in almost all packaged foods, even the ones you’d never expect.

If you eat a diet made up mostly of high-sugar processed foods, you stimulate areas of your brain that cause you to cancel your built-in self-control and create an addiction. As I mentioned in the first June newsletter, if you eat these excessively sweet, salty, and chemically altered “foods,” real, fresh, nutrient-dense whole foods will seem bland to you.

The most destructive result of eating these foods is the negative impact on insulin levels. It is believed that the positive outcome of breaking this addiction to processed foods would actually have a bigger impact than if everyone who smokes quit, simply because elevated insulin levels underlie all chronic disease.

So what is the answer?

I know it probably sounds like a broken record, but the more fresh, whole foods you eat, the healthier you’ll be. Your body craves living food. Life begets life! When you continually eat fake, synthetic, dead “foods” (I use the term loosely!), what do you think happens to the cells in your body that are crying out for real nutrition?

Scientists have shown that the more sunlight a food can store, the more nutritious it is. Fresh naturally grown vegetables and sun-ripened fruits are rich in this light energy. The ability of a food to store this energy is an indication of the quality of that food. The more light energy it stores, the more nutritious it is.

This will affect your DNA, the production of enzymes and hormones and every process in your physical body. So my suggestion if you’re eating a lot of processed foods is to start phasing them out of your diet. Take small steps, but start cutting them out of your diet today.

It will take some time, but once you’ve eliminated them, your body and taste buds will start to reset. Real food will start to taste good again! Those cravings you used to have will be a distant memory and your enthusiasm and energy will overflow. It requires some effort and discipline, but it is more than worth it.