Fast Food Addiction?

     Today in class, one of my fellow students mentioned his topic question for a project we are doing. "Do fast food restaurant put addictive ingredients in food to keep us coming back?" In an earlier post, I researched Taco Bell and the lack of beef in their "beef." I have always wondered about what really is in fast food. I have noticed that the freshman 15 is slowly creeping up on me and that has so much to do with all of the fast food that I am eating. But why do I keep going back? What is it in those McDonald's Chicken McNuggets that always have me coming back for more? What about those meat fillers at Taco Bell do I find so irresistible? What is this "addictive ingredient in fast food?" After doing some research of my own, I found out that some of the key factors in this "addictive" fast food are simply fat, salt, and sugar. These ingredients all trigger dopamine in the brain. Ever noticed how happy you feel while you are eating fast food? Well, exercise does the same thing...and it is a whole lot healthier.
     This also leads me to wonder, why would the fast food corporations put things like this in food? Obesity is obviously a growing problem in America, this could be directly linked to the addictive ingredients in fast food. Studies have also showed the use of other ingredients that contain minor amounts of opiates, thus giving us that feel good feeling as well as keeping us coming back. My question is why would the corporation do this to people? Shouldn't the people that are essentially in control of our daily lives be looking out for our best interests? Is it all about the money, and if so, why? This is just one more way that the corporation has their say in what happens in our everyday lives. So I present a challenge, before you hop in your car for that late night fourthmeal after studying for hours, consider what is in the food you are about to eat, and who put those ingredients there.

Social (Revolution) Networking

     Like any teenager, I am "slightly" addicted to social networking. More recently, I have noticed how much I check my Facebook and Twitter, before I even get out of bed in the morning I catch myself up on everything I missed out on while I was sleeping. Just the thought of not having that easy access, is not something I like to entertain.  I read an article on the New York Times website this morning about how the government opened up public access to websites like Facebook and YouTube after THREE years! I can't imagine what my life would be like if it weren't for these websites. Though, you never really think about the power that a website like Facebook can hold until something major happens. Sure every now and then we see a fight between some high school girls that leads to more than just internet word fighting, but you never think about the fact that a huge revolt could occur. It just doesn't really pop up in my mind that all it takes is to make a simple page on Facebook dedicated to an anti-government protest to start a revolution of sorts. Also, the fact that the government can just block off my access makes me curious as to whether or not they can/will look into my actual Facebook page. We never think about the fact that someone somewhere probably can log in and view those things we expect no one to see. Hearing this news just really opened my eyes to how much of a hold the social networking corporations really have on my day to day life.

Beef, It's What's For Dinner....Are You Sure About That?

     Like any college student, when midnight rolls around, my stomach gets to rumbling. The average college student would refer to this hunger as the need for "Fourthmeal," a term made famous by Taco Bell. For me, it was a perfect meal...cheap, quick, and close to my dorm. I always knew that eating that late at night was not necessarily healthy, much less eating Taco Bell late at night. However, I never realized how bad Taco Bell was until here in the last few days. The Taco Bell website provides an Ingredients Statement  full of things that the average person, much less college student, would have no idea what it really is. I know that I have no clue what "sodium alginate" is, do you?
     Like the average college student would, I just brushed off the accusations I heard about how awful Taco Bell really was until I saw a FoxNews article about a lawsuit over the quality of the Taco Bell beef. First off, it grosses me out that the USDA only requires the beef to be 40% actual beef. Much less the fact that the beef from Taco Bell was only 35% beef. Of course Taco Bell then tried to cover up and published a statement saying, "Of Course We Use Real Beef!" I know that I would believe FoxNews way before I would believe Taco Bell. The lack of information on what the beef taco filling is horrible. It makes me wonder what is going on in my body with all of the "mixture containing just 35 percent beef, with the remaining 65 percent containing water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch." Frankly, I want nothing to do with Taco Bell after finding out the truth. It also raises questions about what other fast food meals contain. I for one am going to cut back if not totally cut out fast food. If I never touched a Taco Bell taco again, it would be too soon.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/25/wheres-beef-taco-bell-sued-ingredients/#ixzz1CxjLh3h9

Taco Bell