Y = f (x)
We all have this equation. A formal definition would be, “A function (f) is a consistent relationship such that when an initial value is repeated (the x), we get the same result (the y, or f(x)).”
A simpler definition might be, the outcome – the “y” is the result of the inputs ‘ the “x”s, and this is what this article is all about. The inputs – those “x”s that the food industry has chosen to put into our food supply and the outcome on our nation’s overall health – the “y”.
The combination of salt, fat, and sugar is irresistible, unless you know it’s there and what it does to your and your children’s heath.
You can see clearly the Y = f (x) formula at work in the above image.
“The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” is a fascinating read about how the junk food we eat is constructed. Every wonder why that bag of salt and vinegar potato chips tastes so good? Wonder why we are the fattest nation in the world and so my of our kids are obese?
“In 2011, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that shed new light on America’s weight gain. The subjects — 120,877 women and men — were all professionals in the health field, and were likely to be more conscious about nutrition, so the findings might well understate the overall trend. Using data back to 1986, the researchers monitored everything the participants ate, as well as their physical activity and smoking. They found that every four years, the participants exercised less, watched TV more and gained an average of 3.35 pounds. The researchers parsed the data by the caloric content of the foods being eaten, and found the top contributors to weight gain included red meat and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and potatoes, including mashed and French fries. But the largest weight-inducing food was the potato chip. The coating of salt, the fat content that rewards the brain with instant feelings of pleasure, the sugar that exists not as an additive but in the starch of the potato itself — all of this combines to make it the perfect addictive food. “The starch is readily absorbed,” Eric Rimm, an associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the study’s authors, told me. “More quickly even than a similar amount of sugar. The starch, in turn, causes the glucose levels in the blood to spike” — which can result in a craving for more.”
Click the following equation and read his NY Times Magazine article: Y=f(x).
Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Moss’s book, “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” is now available on Amazon at SALT SUGAR FAT
What Does This Mean for Prostate Cancer?
Research clearly links higher rates of prostate cancer to overweight and obese men. Having these foods in your diet increases your weight and your risk of prostate cancer. Are they worth it?
What’s Your Current Prostate Cancer Risk Level?
Men should begin testing for prostate cancer with the simple PSA blood test at age 35. Then, create a free account at ProstateTracker.org and look for any increase in PSA value from the year before. A rising PSA value could be an early sign of prostate cancer. Men with a rising trend should talk with their doctor or medical services provider immediately.
1 comment
Ram
March 7, 2013
Hello,
thanks for sharing the study!
How much of the eating of junk food do you think has to do with the fact that price of eating fast food is so much cheaper than eating healthy? Not saying that everybody would switch over healthy food if the prices were cheaper. However, I think it will have an affect on the population that has no other choice but to eat unhealthy because it is cheaper.
Ram
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