Weight watchers has a very helpful definition of
trigger foods. “A
trigger food is a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where
control is lost. The most common trigger foods are calorie-dense, highly
palatable foods that are often combinations of sugar and fat (e.g. ice cream,
cookies) or fat and salt (e.g. nuts, potato chips, French fries).”
Trigger
foods go even deeper then this! It has everything to do how foods relate to
your metabolism! Understanding what foods YOUR body metabolizes well and what
ones disrupt your bodies functions is key, especially important for anyone
endeavoring to lose weight.
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| Courtesy of Public Domain Pictures |
Is
there any hope for a hardcore Oreo addict? There is once they understand how
the food impacts them and what alternatives are available that don’t affect
them in the same way. Many people eat trigger foods and don’t realize its
impacts as it affects how the metabolism functions and shifts the body into fat
storage. This imbalance leads to excess fat storage resulting in being
overweight and obese.
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| Courtesy of Public Domain Pictures |
“It's
basically encoded in our DNA to binge on salty, fatty, and sugary foods or on
various combinations of the three. Back in the day, foods with high levels of
these nutrients (and ergo, lots of calories) were rarely found in nature, so
when our hunter-gatherer ancestors discovered them, they ate them to completion
to ensure they wouldn't, you know, die of starvation later.” The Foods You're Most Likely To Binge On, Stephanie
Eckelkamp, Prevention Magazine
How can
people deal with trigger foods?
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| Courtesy of Public Domain Pictures |
Change
starts with awareness. Make a list of the foods that you know you have
difficulty with every time. Whether its that you can’t stop at just one, or you
observe bloating and weight gain after eating them. Those foods could include
salmon, hummus, pizza, doughnuts, tortilla chips, peanuts, Girl Scout cookies
of any variety, fried chicken, Chinese food, pasta, cheese, chocolate cake,
vanilla cake, pineapple upside down cake – the list of possible trigger foods
could go on and on.
Make
note of variations in form that change the way you react to a food. For
example, someone might lose control when eating salted peanuts, but might not
have a problem at all with unsalted peanuts. Or, perhaps muffins with chocolate
chips are a problem while plain muffins are not.
After
you have begun to identify your trigger foods, you can start taking steps to
avoid them. First, stop buying foods that cause problems for you. That sounds
incredibly simple, but there are people who know which foods are a problem and
continue to keep those foods in the house. Even though they have a problem
every time they eat it, they keep it around. Don’t do that if you don’t have
to.
If
someone else in your home likes your trigger foods and keeps them around, you
might not be able to keep them all out of your house. If possible, have those
stored either out of sight or somewhere behind healthier foods.
The
NutriMost program educates people about trigger foods. It also helps people to
identify their own trigger foods and to develop strategies for avoiding them.
If you’d like to find out more about NutriMost.
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In this
article, I have discussed trigger foods, how they work, to recognize them, and how to
avoid them.
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Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His
practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center, is located in the Mandarin section of
Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his
athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water
Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning
from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated
his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective
for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively
toward a body that functions optimally. Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on
First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He
also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles
to improve the health of residents throughout Jacksonville.
The real problem is that supermarkets are set up to broadcast trigger food everywhere you look. They should be required to put the Surgeon General's warning on the aisles that contain cookies and ice cream.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that sometimes when things taste good, they're actually bad for you.
ReplyDelete