There is a great interview on gourmet.com with former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler about his new book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. Kessler’s book talks about how “highly processed foods fundamentally alter people’s brain chemistry, causing us to seek out these foods (and overeat them) again and again”.

The entire article is very eye-opening. I really like when Kessler explains that “adults are addicted to baby food.” which is “modern processed food, it goes down in two or three chews. And that’s why you reach again for the next round of stimulation. We used to think food was going to fill us up, food was going to satiate us; now food is designed just to stimulate us, and there’s no satiation”. Adult baby food, what a great term, right?

As I write this blog post I’m watching a show I Tivo’d on the Travel Channel called “Extreme Pig Outs” featuring a greasy burger place called The Heart Attack Grill with an ER-themed décor playing off the fact that the food is so fatty and rich, it could cause a heart attack. The restaurant’s tag line is “taste worth dying for” and f you are over 350 pounds you can eat at The Heart Attack Grill for free. So yes, I totally agree with Dr. Kessler that this country needs better eating-education.

Check out the full interview here.