[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] "My hand goes, my hand goes~" It's definitely an addiction!

Dr. Takushi Shirasawa's Guide to Overcoming Snack Addiction
Filled with Addictive Ingredients Like Sugar, Salt, Flour, and Oil
One Week of 'Brain Reset' Needed to Overcome "The Thought 'A Little Is Okay' Is Dangerous"

Research shows that when people are stressed or overwhelmed by negative emotions, they tend to eat something. They are more likely to reach for foods containing carbohydrates, fats, or both. Eating sweet or greasy foods triggers feelings of happiness and pleasure. This is a way to soothe psychological stress through food.

Stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. It excites the brain and puts the body’s muscles in a state ready to respond. Energy is delivered to the brain and muscles, causing blood sugar levels and blood pressure to rise. The body tenses up to respond immediately to any emergency. Maintaining this state places considerable strain on the body. Conversely, when stress is absent, the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated, lowering blood pressure and blood sugar. The nerves and muscles relax.

It is impossible to completely eliminate stress. External stimuli are always present for modern people. The only option is to manage it so it does not persist for long periods. Most people try to temporarily create a pleasant state to mask their suffering. They cover a brain full of stress hormones with pleasure hormones for a short time. The easiest way to do this is by eating. Nowadays, with convenience stores open 24 hours everywhere, food is available anytime and anywhere. The most commonly chosen products at these times are snacks.

There are many research reports on the correlation between snacks and stress. A representative example is a study conducted by Dr. Matthew Brian and his team at the University of California, Davis campus. They first divided 19 women aged 17 to 40 into two groups. Each group drank beverages containing either sugar or the artificial sweetener aspartame three times a day for two weeks. Before and after consumption, cortisol (a hormone that increases in the body when stressed) secretion was measured, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to observe the hippocampus, which governs memory.

The group that drank the sugar-containing beverage showed hippocampal activation without an increase in cortisol. This means they did not respond to stress. However, this is not good news. Drinking such beverages whenever negative emotions arise can easily lead to obesity. It also triggers other appetites, leading to cravings for even sweeter foods. The group that drank the aspartame-containing beverage fared worse. Their cortisol levels increased, suppressing hippocampal function. Rather than relieving stress, their bodies fell into snack addiction.

This is why snacks and beverages containing artificial sweeteners are dangerous. The book How to Escape Snack Addiction explains in an easy-to-understand way how snacks affect our bodies. The author, Dr. Takuji Shirasawa, calls snacks “ultra-processed foods with various mild drugs added.” Mild drugs refer to highly refined and addictive substances such as sugar, salt, flour, fats, and preservatives. They are not narcotics but have a similar level of addictiveness, making them dangerous.

"When in an addicted state, even though you think, ‘I should stop because eating more will make me gain weight,’ or ‘I shouldn’t eat because my blood sugar is rising,’ you cannot resist and keep eating. If you cannot quit snacks, it is easy to blame it on ‘weak willpower,’ but this is not about willpower; it is because you are addicted. (...) The scary thing about snack addiction is that you fall into it without realizing it. Moreover, once addicted, you cannot escape and keep eating. Yet, not many people are aware of this risk."

Snack consumption may be an instinct for survival under excessive stress. Most people do not even recognize that they are addicted. Some become accustomed to the pleasure felt when eating snacks and seek stronger stimuli. Snacks are not as addictive or dependent as narcotics, but when tired or stressed, people unconsciously reach for them. It is a frightening temptation that is hard to escape.

The author emphasizes that to break free from snack addiction, the brain, which has become insensitive to pleasure, must first be reset. "Elements like excessive sugar, artificial sweeteners, and stress themselves stimulate appetite, but fundamentally, the reward circuits are overstimulated, causing appetite to explode."

The most effective reset method is to quit snacks. Temporary efforts are insufficient. If you eat thinking, ‘A little is okay,’ the brain will not reset. Quitting snacks without resetting the brain can cause extreme stress. You may become unable to resist and end up binge eating.

Once abnormal appetite is reset, you will no longer be captivated by the desire to eat snacks. You may think of snacks again when stressed, but the frequency will gradually decrease. How to Escape Snack Addiction does not simply advise avoiding snacks. It recommends healthy snacks that benefit the body and encourages healthy lifestyle habits?all under the premise of resetting the brain.

"First, try quitting snacks for a week. It is easy to give up if you think you can never eat snacks again, but setting a fixed period like a week makes it easier to follow through. If a week feels too hard, three days is fine. Set your own period for ‘not eating snacks’ and try it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.