"Salt, Sugar, Fat" by Michael Moss

I began reading the book, "Salt, Sugar, Fat" by Michael Moss some time ago. I am still trucking along and finished the sections on sugar and fat. Now I start the final section on salt. It has taken me some time due to the science involved in the book as well as facts and studies included. A good read don't get me wrong, but not one that I am able to breeze through by any means imaginable. I came across information in the section devoted to fat in the foods we eat that actually made me stop reading, look up, and say outloud to no one in particular, "Wow, THAT explains it!" What am I referring to? Let me start from the beginning to establish context. As Michael Moss brings out in "Salt, Sugar, Fat" Aristotle was the first among the food scientists to begin exploring our ability to detect the flavors in the food we eat. The five categories of our official roster of primary tastes include the following: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and also umami which is a meaty, savory type of flavor. One might think that fat may be included in sweet but sweet classifies sugar content and fat would be part of an oily category. Fat or oily is not included in our five primary tastes because it cannot meet one important prerequisite. Scientists must understand how each taste interacts with our taste buds. Simple, right? Think again! All of those other five taste are picked up and detected in our tongue by specific receptors. Those receptors deliver that flavor or taste to the brain. No receptors have been found for fat or oily. I would start to feel bad for fat if it wasn't so tricky a thing! The section on sugar plainly explained that food companies find the "bliss point" of sugar in foods. That's the point where the food isn't too bland or too sweet. It's the point where it's just right (think of Goldilocks and the three bears) and it's here where consumption increases and where people find themselves returning for more. Too little sugar and too much turns consumers away but ahhh, once you find that bliss point it's smooth sailing from there. Unlike sugar, where too much of it in a product turns people away fat does not have a bliss point. So no matter how much fat a product contains the fat was so appealing to the brain people did not know when to stop eating. Our bodies want fat when we eat it it generates pleasure from the reward center of the brain. The book, "Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects" brought out that the compulsion to overeat or overindulge fat products could be suppressed by the same drugs that doctors use to block and counter the effects of heroine. This was actually the earliest evidence suggesting the connection between obesity and drug addiction! Fat doesn't hit us hard like something with too muh sugar, it actually coats the tongue leaving these receptors less able to detect flavors. Wow, THAT explains it! My love as well as many other's love for fat, rich foods. (Fortunately I have found many great alternatives to what products line the shelves. Simple switches will be discussed in another post!) Americans consume so many products most high in sugar, salt, and fat but you have to take into consideration how our bodies work. In connection with fat our bodies are working against us. The brain connects fat with life. It makes sense, the more fat in food the more fuel there is available to use for energy or to store for later, like a time of famine. Thankfully but also unfortunately we live in a time when food is easy to come by. Fast, cheap, and convenient. But I'm not quite sure how "convenient" hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes are...just something to think about.