The Western diet is associated with obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Evidence from the nutritional literature shows that part of the reason for this association is the presence of metabolic toxins within the diet. In particular, refined carbohydrates and sugars as well as trans and oxidised fats are responsible for causing dysfunction in the liver and disrupting correct metabolic function. However, part of the problem with the Western diet also originates from the palatability of the food. Food manufacturers invest large sums of money in ensuring that Western food is addictive, and it is this that drives overeating. In fact, animal and humans studies show that the Western diet is physically addictive and can cause changes to behaviour in a similar way to addictive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines. This is reflected in activation of brain areas associated with reward, and these reward pathways ensure that repeated feeding with similar foods is prioritised in individuals who have easy access to it.
Sugar, fat and salt make food palatable. Such ingredient comprise a large portion of the content of the Western diet and this creates addictivity. Overeating such foods is detrimental to the health because of the high concentrations of metabolic toxins contained within. Under normal circumstances, overeating is not likely as the body maintains very tight regulation over energy balance. For example, when excess energy in consumed, the hypothalamus can upregulate the thermic effect of food (TEF), the thermic effect of activity (TEA) and the resting metabolic rate (RMR) to increase energy expenditure, and at the same time increase satiety to decrease subsequent energy intake. These counterregulatory mechanisms ensure maintenance of a constant body weight and prevent weight gain. However, these mechanisms rely on a functioning metabolism absent of metabolic dysfunction, and also require that the food is not addictive. Traditional diets fulfill these criteria, which is why they do not cause weight gain.
The ability of palatable food to activate particular regions of the brain has been investigated. For example, in one study1, researchers measured the energy intake from a palatable and bland foods and monitored various areas of the brain for activity using a magnetic resonance imaging technique. The results showed that activation of areas of the brain associated with attention, gustatory processing and reward were activated when anticipating palatable food, and correlated positively with subsequent energy intake from the food. In addition, the adiposity of the subject correlated with activation of these areas of the brain and the energy intake. In contrast, when subjects consumed a meal with low palatability, there was no activation in these areas of the brain and energy intake was reduced. Therefore, these results suggest that energy intake, and not adiposity is the cause of the heightened sensitivity in certain regions of the brain. Adiposity is therefore likely just a by product of overeating caused by activation of particular brain areas.
Although completely overlooked by the authors, this study shows the cure for obesity. High quality foods tend to be more bland than Western foods because they contain less fat, salt and sugar and more fibre and protein. Because such foods do not stimulates the reward centres of the brain they are not addictive. Therefore overeating is not possible without considerable willpower and effort on the part of the individual. Regular consumption of bland foods causes considerable and rapid weight loss because they limit energy intake, but most importantly are absent of the metabolic poisons that cause metabolic dysfunction which drives the obesity disease. Initially such diets appear unpalatable, but as with all addicts, once a period of adjustment has been expended, the lack of fat, salt and sugar is not missed. However, as consumption of a bland diets continues, it is Western foods that become unpalatable due to their strong taste. Diets such as the prudent diet and Pritikin are bland and cause weight loss this reason.
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