Michael Prager doesn’t go near junk food. After he eats a frozen pizza, candy bar or packaged pastry, his head will throb. Then, a craving will hit. Prager, 65, a retired journalist and author in Arlington, Massachusetts, is not alone. One in eight adults ages 50 to 80 show signs of addiction to ultraprocessed foods, or what we call junk food: sugary sodas, salty chips, and fatty fast food according to a 2023 report from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, sponsored by AARP.
Eating Wisely!
Nearly half of older adults experience at least one symptom of junk food addiction, such as intense cravings, an inability to stop eating once they start, or withdrawal symptoms when they try to resist.
The term “ultraprocessed” refers to foods that have been altered by the addition of super-flavoring agents to create irresistible tastes; preservatives to prolong shelf life; food dyes to alter hues; and refined fats and carbohydrates that have been stripped of fiber and other nutrients to improve their texture and appearance.
Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy fare: From candy bars to chips, from cookies to pastries, these foods have been created to be hyper-palatable so that you’ll come back for more. And it’s easy to do just that, considering they’re all around
us. They line checkout counters in gas stations and grocery stores, and they’re stuffed in vending machines at high schools and hospitals.
Today, almost 60 percent of the calories consumed by Americans comes from ultraprocessed food. That figure may help explain why the U.S. has the world’s highest obesity rate among high-income countries.
A pivotal 2019 study from the National Institutes of Health found that participants who ate a diet chock full of processed foods: packaged muffins, frozen fish sticks and canned ravioli ended up eating more food and gaining more weight in a two-week window than participants on a more natural diet: oats, fish filets and barley even though the meals and snacks prepared contained a similar number of calories and other nutrients.
The brain is hardwired to favor high-calorie foods. It’s an evolutionary trait that helped keep humans alive long before the age of grocery stores. The smell or taste of something sweet or fatty floods the body with feel-good chemicals like dopamine, Gearhardt says. That’s because refined carbs and fat found in highly processed foods and often found in combination can trigger a release of dopamine at levels that surpass what is seen when, say, an apple is digested. In fact, several experts in the field say the response is more like what we see with nicotine and alcohol.
These foods have also been linked to numerous health issues that plague the 50-plus population, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia. For people looking to dial back their intake, small steps can make a big impact: Cravings build, but they eventually peak and disappear. Next time you get a craving, try waiting it out. Avoid triggers. Become aware of what environments or situations trigger your food cravings, such as binge-watching TV, and if possible, avoid them.
Packaged doesn’t have to mean unhealthy. Lentils come pre-steamed; brown rice can be cooked in one minute in the microwave. Canned beans, frozen vegetables and frozen fruit are other healthy shortcuts.
Don’t skip meals. Hunger will make you more vulnerable to cravings. So will giving up foods you enjoy. Aim for three minimally processed meals a day, Gearhardt says.
And then there’s abstinence. That’s what eventually worked for Prager, who, along with seeking therapy, decided to cut out refined sugar and flour. Article courtesy of AARP.