cookbook club

The End of Overeating

by Laura Meisner, Relish staffer.

This book was a real eye opener for me. I had no idea to what ends the food industry was going to seduce me into purchasing and consuming their foods. The idea that the right combination of sugar, fat, and salt called “layering” could not only stimulate an individual to eat, but actually crave that food even when it was not around was a new concept to me.
   I certainly understand the draw of aromas (i.e. the smell of frying bacon, the fresh bread baking in the oven), but this concept of layering food was new to me. The food industry has actually done studies on what combinations of sugar, salt and fat will cause a person to become addicted to their food. ADDICTED!! All these years when I’ve craved those potato chips, the gooey desserts, the entrees with their special sauces, I felt it was a weakness on my part that I just could not resist. No! This is the food industry attacking the part of our brain that deals with satiety! Their attempt to lure us with their appealing food is really the same as the cigarette industry drawing people in with their nicotine. Unfortunately, we cannot make food an illegal substance so what are we to do?
   Dr. Kessler’s book goes through the science of how certain foods are created to entice us and how it does affect our brain. The beginning part of the book is a little slow to get through because of the science and personal stories, but at the end of the book, Dr. Kessler gives us advice on how to break the addiction, although it isn’t easy.
   I highly recommend this book. Now I think twice about where I go out to eat and what I buy at the grocery store. Knowing that some items, like a bag of potato chips, should never come into my house! Lays® potato chips are right – “Betcha can’t eat just one!” They’re banking on that!