Top 10 Ways the Restaurant Industry is Hijacking Your Brain

Is the food industry taking its cues from the tobacco industry?
In the 21st century, the food industry is creating and marketing unhealthy food in much the same
way that tobacco companies manufactured and sold cigarettes in the 20th century. David Kessler,
.D., the dynamic and controversial head of the !D" who took on big tobacco in the 1##0s, now
takes on the food industry in The End of Overeating.
$vereating doesn%t only a&ect people who are overweight. In fact, more than '0 million "mericans
have become conditioned to overeat, and it a&ects people of all di&erent weights. Dr. Kessler pulls
back the curtain to reveal how the food industry and its scientists really operate.
1 !ost of the foods ser"ed at restaurants combine tempting amounts of sugar# fat# and
sa$t (hey are either loaded onto a core ingredient )such as meat, vegetable, potato, or bread*,
layered on top of it, or both. !or instance+
,otato skins+ (he potato is hollowed out and the skin is fried, which provides a substantial
surface area for -fat pickup.. (hen some combination of bacon bits, sour cream, and cheese
is added. (he result+ fat on fat on fat on fat, loaded with salt.
/u&alo wings+ (he fatty parts of a chicken get deep0fried. (hen they are served with creamy
or sweet dipping sauce that%s heavily salted. 1sually they%re par0fried at a production plant,
then fried again at the restaurant, which doubles the fat. (he result+ sugar on salt on fat on
fat on fat.
2pinach dip+ (he spinach provides little more than color3a high0fat, high0salt dairy product
is the main ingredient. (he result+ a tasty dish of salt on fat.
% &onditioning our brains !ood scientists create -hyperpalatable. foods. (hese foods stimulate
the appetite and prompt us to eat more even after we%re full. (hese foods layer sugar, fat, and salt in
optimal amounts in a way that conditions our brains to eat more and more. Instead of satisfying our
hunger, we are setting ourselves up to crave them again.
' The food industry de"e$ops -fun foods.. /y creating hyperpalatable foods that are
entertaining, widely available and socially acceptable, the food industry contributes to this vicious
cycle. illions of "mericans report loss of control in the face of food, lack of feeling satis4ed, and a
preoccupation with these foods.
( The food industry creates )adu$t baby food* !un food literally melts in your mouth+ by
eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techni5ues allow us to eat faster and
consume more calories. ,rocessing meat and produce3a techni5ues employed by many restaurant
chains and food manufacturers3creates a kind of -adult baby food.. (he harder0to0chew0elements3
such as 4ber and gristle3are removed. (he result is food that can be eaten 5uickly, and without
much e&ort.
+ ,aster consumption and cost-sa"ing steps 6onsider 6hili%s boneless 2hanghai chicken
wings+ " food designer says that about them, -taking it o& the bone is like taking the husk o& the
nut.. (hat processing step reduces the need for chewing, making the food faster to consume. (he
wings contain a solution of up to 27 percent water, hydroly8ed soy protein, salt, and sodium
phosphate. (he water is there to bulk up the chicken3the industry calls this -reducing shrinkage..
9ater is also cheaper than chicken breast, so it%s less costly to produce. "nd 4nally, water makes
the food softer and chewing easier.
. /When in doubt# thro0 cheese and bacon on it* is a standard joke in the 0or$d of chain
restaurants But it 0orks "long with enhancing melt and making food easy to eat, these layers
are cheaper to produce than the central ingredient )such as meat or 4sh* they :avor. (hey%re also
visually appealing, straightforward, and familiar. ;<ample+ (.=.I. !riday%s ,armesan06rusted 2icilian
>uesadilla, is described on the menu as follows+ -,acked with saut?ed chicken, sausage, bruschettta
marinara, @andA bacon and oo8ing with onterey Back cheese. 9e coat it with ,armesan and pan0fry
it to a crispy, golden brown, then dri88le it with balsamic gla8e..
1 ,ood is assemb$ed# not actua$$y cooked# in chain restaurant kitchens (hese restaurants
make use of -individually 5uick fro8en. foods. 2hrimp, potatoes, and chicken nuggets are blasted
with cold air, cold nitrogen, or cold carbon dio<ide as they travel along a conveyor belt so they
free8e in discrete pieces. (hey are often partially fried before they are 5uick0fro8en. (hen they are
plunged, straight from the package and still fro8en, back into fat for a second frying.
2 Think you3re eating hea$thy 0hen you order gri$$ed# marinated chicken? Think again "
common way to get marinade into meat is through needle inCection. Dundreds of needles are used to
pierce the meat, tearing up the connective tissue, to add solutions of salt, sugar, and fat. (hese
inCections not only increase :avor, but they also make the meat fall apart in our mouths.
4 5ugar by another name If a food containes more sugar than any other ingredient, federal
regulations dictate that sugar be listed 4rst on the label. 2o, to trick health0conscious mothers who
scan food labels for the word Esugar,E manufacturers hide the amount of sugar by listing its di&erent
sources separately, pushing each down the list. /reakfast cereal, for e<ample, often includes some
combination of sugar, brown sugar, fructose, high0fructose corn syrup, honey, and molasses3each
listed separately.
10 &reati"e chemistry 6hemical processing evolved to e<tend the shelf life of products and to
lower food costs. ore recently, the industry has directed its creative chemistry toward increasing
sensations like -mouth feel. and 4nding new ways to arti4cially simulate real :avors using :avor
enhancers. It%s all about creating novelty and impact.