You Plough Mass Review: Salt, Sugar, Fat
Michael Moss is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who has made a career writing nigh the United States of America of America nutrient system. In his latest book, Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, he attempts to explicate how the processed nutrient manufacture has been as well as thence successful at increasing its command over United States of America of America "stomach share". Although the mass doesn't focus on the obesity epidemic, the relevance is obvious. Salt, Sugar, Fat is required reading for anyone who wants to empathize why obesity is becoming to a greater extent than mutual inwards the United States of America of America as well as throughout the world.
The greatest line of Salt, Sugar, Fat is its detailed insider perspective on the workings of the processed nutrient industry. Similar to doctor David Kessler's mass The End of Overeating, Moss interviewed a number of high-level electrical flow as well as erstwhile nutrient manufacture executives, every bit good every bit manufacture as well as academic scientists, who were remarkably candid inwards explaining how the nutrient manufacture gets people to purchase its food. He also pigeon deeply into historical records that explicate how the processed nutrient manufacture became the behemoth it is today.
In contrast to The End of Overeating, Moss places a greater emphasis on advertising as well as societal changes that receive got driven the need for processed food, rather than focusing solely on the palatability/reward value of the nutrient itself (and the cues that brand us crave it). The moving painting that emerges is that the processed nutrient manufacture is an extremely sophisticated organization that uses every tool inwards its tool belt (including quite a fleck of science) to teach y'all to purchase as well as swallow its food. Companies create what they tin ship away to exploit the hard-wired nutrient alternative systems inwards our brains.
Rather than demonizing the processed nutrient industry, for most of the mass Moss takes a fairly balanced watch of its motives as well as actions (though he does demonize at certainly times). One of the most interesting as well as unexpected aspects of the mass is the seemingly sincere efforts unopen to processed nutrient manufacturers receive got made to attempt to better the populace wellness comport upon of their products, including imposing limits on the salt, sugar, as well as fatty content of their foods. Nevertheless, every bit Moss relates, the costless marketplace dictates that these efforts typically neglect or are eviscerated, because companies that impose constraints on their products are chop-chop out-competed past times companies that don't. Adding insult to injury, publicly traded companies are savaged past times Wall street investors if they endeavour to consider anything other than earnings inwards their recipes as well as marketing.
Part 1: Sugar
Part 1 begins amongst an exploration of a phenomenon that nosotros all intuitively recognize: people similar sugar, as well as they seek it out. To pose that into scientific terms, refined saccharify is palatable as well as rewarding. As Moss explains inwards a chapter titled "exploiting the biological scientific discipline of the child", this is especially truthful of children, who receive got a hard-wired preference for refined saccharify from birth.
The championship of chapter 2 is also especially telling: "how create y'all teach people to crave?" This chapter is nigh the highly scientific efforts to create upwardly one's heed the "bliss point" for combinations of sugar, flavorings, as well as other ingredients that maximize the enjoyment as well as "craveability" (reward value) of soda as well as other foods-- ultimately driving purchase as well as consumption behaviors.
The adjacent few chapter launch into a fascinating history of the United States of America of America cereal industry, from its pocket-size roots amongst John Harvey Kellogg's unsweetened corn flakes, to his blood brother Will's betrayal past times turning corn flakes into a sweetened cereal as well as ultimately founding Kellogg foods, to the modern cereal marketplace inwards which unopen to cereals are to a greater extent than than one-half refined saccharify past times weight.
Also inwards this component comes i of Moss's scientific errors. He states that the belatedly Harvard physiologist doctor Jean Mayer is "credited amongst discovering how the wishing to eat is controlled past times the amount of glucose inwards the blood as well as past times the brain's hypothalamus, both of which are greatly influenced past times sugar". Dr. Mayer was a proponent of the "glucostatic hypothesis of appetite", inwards other words, that appetite is regulated primarily past times blood glucose concentration (and/or glucose utilization), as well as that nutrient intake subserves glucose homeostasis. Although doctor Mayer made a number of of import contributions to the agreement of nutrient intake as well as blood glucose rule past times the brain, many of which even as well as thence stand upwardly today, the glucostatic hypothesis was largely discarded decades agone because it is also simplistic as well as it doesn't foursquare amongst a number of basic observations (1). Furthermore, I'm non certainly what Moss meant when he wrote that blood glucose as well as the hypothalamus are "greatly influenced past times sugar". On a gram-for-gram basis, starch influences blood glucose to a greater extent than than sucrose, as well as every bit far every bit I know refined saccharify itself has non been shown to receive got whatsoever special effects on the hypothalamus relative to other types of carbohydrate.
Part 2: Fat
This chapter begins amongst an interesting historical intelligence of fatty including Aristotle's watch of it, followed past times a little scientific error: Moss states that no gustation receptor for fatty has been found. In fact, gustation receptors for fatty receive got been clearly identified inwards rodents, as well as emerging prove is suggesting that the same may endure truthful inwards humans (2, 3). The query inwards humans is ongoing, but I would non province confidently at this indicate that no fatty receptor has been found.
Part 2 touches on the neuroscience query that is used to exploit your hard-wired nutrient alternative behaviors. This quote from Unilever scientist doctor Francis McGlone was especially telling:
In chapter 10, Moss assails the USDA for its alleged failure to effectively limit the country's consumption of fat, as well as especially saturated fatty (even undermining its ain nutrition guidelines past times aggressively promoting cheese consumption). I empathize that opinions differ on the dietary fatty as well as saturated fatty issue, but Moss's perspective seems stuck inwards the 90s when he discusses the dangers of fat, cheese, as well as meats. To endure fair, I concur wholeheartedly that added fats as well as cheeses inwards processed foods tin ship away contribute to overeating as well as obesity, but I watch the number every bit to a greater extent than nuanced than the black-and-white moving painting Moss paints. Moss's intelligence of how nosotros came to eat as well as thence much cheese inwards the United States of America of America (hint: it's added liberally every bit an ingredient inwards processed foods) is real interesting.
Part 3: Salt
Salt is unopen to other palatability/reward ingredient that is used past times processed nutrient manufacturers to teach people to purchase their food. Without salt, many processed foods gustation awful, amongst rigid cardboard, metallic, as well as bitter flavors. Chapter 12, "people honey salt", contains a dainty intelligence of the vantage value of salt, including reference to a newspaper titled "Salt Craving: the Psychobiology of Pathogenic Sodium Intake", which describes people who are literally addicted to tabular array salt (4):
This chapter contained unopen to other scientific error, gleaned from the epidemiologist doctor Eric Rimm, who allegedly said the next nigh murphy chips:
Conclusions
Salt, Sugar, Fat is a real valuable mass for anyone seeking to empathize the electrical flow obesity as well as wellness crises inwards the affluent world. The book's greatest line is its in-depth insider line of piece of job organization human relationship of how the processed nutrient manufacture wins American tummy percentage past times clever marketing, maximizing palatability/reward, as well as maximizing convenience. The book's principal weakness is Moss's brief but sometimes shaky scientific excursions. Fortunately, these create non undermine the principal thrust of the book.
The greatest line of Salt, Sugar, Fat is its detailed insider perspective on the workings of the processed nutrient industry. Similar to doctor David Kessler's mass The End of Overeating, Moss interviewed a number of high-level electrical flow as well as erstwhile nutrient manufacture executives, every bit good every bit manufacture as well as academic scientists, who were remarkably candid inwards explaining how the nutrient manufacture gets people to purchase its food. He also pigeon deeply into historical records that explicate how the processed nutrient manufacture became the behemoth it is today.
In contrast to The End of Overeating, Moss places a greater emphasis on advertising as well as societal changes that receive got driven the need for processed food, rather than focusing solely on the palatability/reward value of the nutrient itself (and the cues that brand us crave it). The moving painting that emerges is that the processed nutrient manufacture is an extremely sophisticated organization that uses every tool inwards its tool belt (including quite a fleck of science) to teach y'all to purchase as well as swallow its food. Companies create what they tin ship away to exploit the hard-wired nutrient alternative systems inwards our brains.
Baca Juga
Rather than demonizing the processed nutrient industry, for most of the mass Moss takes a fairly balanced watch of its motives as well as actions (though he does demonize at certainly times). One of the most interesting as well as unexpected aspects of the mass is the seemingly sincere efforts unopen to processed nutrient manufacturers receive got made to attempt to better the populace wellness comport upon of their products, including imposing limits on the salt, sugar, as well as fatty content of their foods. Nevertheless, every bit Moss relates, the costless marketplace dictates that these efforts typically neglect or are eviscerated, because companies that impose constraints on their products are chop-chop out-competed past times companies that don't. Adding insult to injury, publicly traded companies are savaged past times Wall street investors if they endeavour to consider anything other than earnings inwards their recipes as well as marketing.
Part 1: Sugar
Part 1 begins amongst an exploration of a phenomenon that nosotros all intuitively recognize: people similar sugar, as well as they seek it out. To pose that into scientific terms, refined saccharify is palatable as well as rewarding. As Moss explains inwards a chapter titled "exploiting the biological scientific discipline of the child", this is especially truthful of children, who receive got a hard-wired preference for refined saccharify from birth.
The championship of chapter 2 is also especially telling: "how create y'all teach people to crave?" This chapter is nigh the highly scientific efforts to create upwardly one's heed the "bliss point" for combinations of sugar, flavorings, as well as other ingredients that maximize the enjoyment as well as "craveability" (reward value) of soda as well as other foods-- ultimately driving purchase as well as consumption behaviors.
The adjacent few chapter launch into a fascinating history of the United States of America of America cereal industry, from its pocket-size roots amongst John Harvey Kellogg's unsweetened corn flakes, to his blood brother Will's betrayal past times turning corn flakes into a sweetened cereal as well as ultimately founding Kellogg foods, to the modern cereal marketplace inwards which unopen to cereals are to a greater extent than than one-half refined saccharify past times weight.
Also inwards this component comes i of Moss's scientific errors. He states that the belatedly Harvard physiologist doctor Jean Mayer is "credited amongst discovering how the wishing to eat is controlled past times the amount of glucose inwards the blood as well as past times the brain's hypothalamus, both of which are greatly influenced past times sugar". Dr. Mayer was a proponent of the "glucostatic hypothesis of appetite", inwards other words, that appetite is regulated primarily past times blood glucose concentration (and/or glucose utilization), as well as that nutrient intake subserves glucose homeostasis. Although doctor Mayer made a number of of import contributions to the agreement of nutrient intake as well as blood glucose rule past times the brain, many of which even as well as thence stand upwardly today, the glucostatic hypothesis was largely discarded decades agone because it is also simplistic as well as it doesn't foursquare amongst a number of basic observations (1). Furthermore, I'm non certainly what Moss meant when he wrote that blood glucose as well as the hypothalamus are "greatly influenced past times sugar". On a gram-for-gram basis, starch influences blood glucose to a greater extent than than sucrose, as well as every bit far every bit I know refined saccharify itself has non been shown to receive got whatsoever special effects on the hypothalamus relative to other types of carbohydrate.
Part 2: Fat
This chapter begins amongst an interesting historical intelligence of fatty including Aristotle's watch of it, followed past times a little scientific error: Moss states that no gustation receptor for fatty has been found. In fact, gustation receptors for fatty receive got been clearly identified inwards rodents, as well as emerging prove is suggesting that the same may endure truthful inwards humans (2, 3). The query inwards humans is ongoing, but I would non province confidently at this indicate that no fatty receptor has been found.
Part 2 touches on the neuroscience query that is used to exploit your hard-wired nutrient alternative behaviors. This quote from Unilever scientist doctor Francis McGlone was especially telling:
There is non a lot to endure gained from bespeak people why they similar something, because they don't bloody know. These are real low-level processes that drive these key behaviors, as well as I'd gotten into [functional MRI brain] imaging because it's a skillful agency to form of bypass the mouth, if y'all like, as well as thence y'all tin ship away run into only what neural processes are underpinning a behavior.They are using fMRI to pattern e'er to a greater extent than appealing foods, looking straight at the activation of reward/pleasure regions rather than relying on peoples' imprecise accounts of what they are feeling. This is what consumers are upwardly against.
In chapter 10, Moss assails the USDA for its alleged failure to effectively limit the country's consumption of fat, as well as especially saturated fatty (even undermining its ain nutrition guidelines past times aggressively promoting cheese consumption). I empathize that opinions differ on the dietary fatty as well as saturated fatty issue, but Moss's perspective seems stuck inwards the 90s when he discusses the dangers of fat, cheese, as well as meats. To endure fair, I concur wholeheartedly that added fats as well as cheeses inwards processed foods tin ship away contribute to overeating as well as obesity, but I watch the number every bit to a greater extent than nuanced than the black-and-white moving painting Moss paints. Moss's intelligence of how nosotros came to eat as well as thence much cheese inwards the United States of America of America (hint: it's added liberally every bit an ingredient inwards processed foods) is real interesting.
Part 3: Salt
Salt is unopen to other palatability/reward ingredient that is used past times processed nutrient manufacturers to teach people to purchase their food. Without salt, many processed foods gustation awful, amongst rigid cardboard, metallic, as well as bitter flavors. Chapter 12, "people honey salt", contains a dainty intelligence of the vantage value of salt, including reference to a newspaper titled "Salt Craving: the Psychobiology of Pathogenic Sodium Intake", which describes people who are literally addicted to tabular array salt (4):
Salt, the authors concluded, was similar inwards this agency to "sex, voluntary exercise, fats, carbohydrates as well as chocolate, inwards its possessing addictive qualities".Of course, most people are non literally addicted to salt, as well as never volition be, but the fact that it tin ship away endure addictive inwards unopen to people emphasizes its meaning vantage value. Its vantage value is exactly why it is a ubiquitous additive inwards commercial food.
This chapter contained unopen to other scientific error, gleaned from the epidemiologist doctor Eric Rimm, who allegedly said the next nigh murphy chips:
"The starch is readily absorbed," he told me. "More chop-chop fifty-fifty than a similar amount of sugar. The starch, inwards turn, causes the glucose levels inwards the blood to spike, as well as this is a concern, inwards relation to obesity."Really! I don't hateful to pick on doctor Rimm specifically, because this thought is widely repeated, but it has no scientific basis. First, murphy chips receive got a relatively depression glycemic charge because they're to a greater extent than oftentimes than non fat-- inwards other words, they don't spike blood glucose every bit much every bit an equivalent serving of plainly potatoes or bread. Second, increases inwards blood glucose if anything promote satiety, non hunger (5). Some would say that rapid glucose spikes are followed past times dips, as well as that these dips promote hunger, but i time again although little post-meal dips are sometimes observed next the consumption of rapidly digested carbohydrate, these receive got non been convincingly linked to increased hunger or nutrient intake. Furthermore, these dips would endure less probable to occur next murphy chips than next an equivalent serving of plainly potatoes or whole wheat bread, due to the smaller glycemic charge of the chips. Blood glucose spikes don't explicate why murphy chips favor overeating as well as fatty gain. People overeat murphy chips because they're calorie-dense as well as they gustation awesome.
Conclusions
Salt, Sugar, Fat is a real valuable mass for anyone seeking to empathize the electrical flow obesity as well as wellness crises inwards the affluent world. The book's greatest line is its in-depth insider line of piece of job organization human relationship of how the processed nutrient manufacture wins American tummy percentage past times clever marketing, maximizing palatability/reward, as well as maximizing convenience. The book's principal weakness is Moss's brief but sometimes shaky scientific excursions. Fortunately, these create non undermine the principal thrust of the book.
