Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

Stone age bodies living in a modern world ftw.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

imo a lot has to do with flavor enhancers and stuff which they put in processed food to "trick" you into thinking it tastes good so you eat more so you buy more.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

Calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium are all ESSENTIAL to function. It's natural that we like them.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

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"trick" you into thinking it tastes good

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I don't think you can trick someone into thinking something tastes good. It tastes good or it doesn't.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

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For most of the history of humankind, we have lived on the edge of starvation. This means that eating any kind of high calorie food when the opportunity presented itself was a survival enhancing move. Also, putting on a nice load of fat provides you with "famine insurance". Constantly pigging out on high-calorie, but otherwise now nutrient food isn't good for you, but that's not an opportunity most people had, until fairly recently in human history.

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I believe you're talking about a time in human history when small groups of people had to hunt for their own food everyday. Never think that the entirety of humanity was near starvation. It isn't true. Small groups of hunter/gatherers may have starved to death, but the human race has never been in danger of extinction via starvation.

Chocolate is good because it releases endorphins into the blood which makes you feel pleased. The same result occurs when you defecate and when you have sexual release. As to why sugary food/fast food tastes good, I've no idea, other than that sugar is tasty.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

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Quote:
"trick" you into thinking it tastes good



I don't think you can trick someone into thinking something tastes good. It tastes good or it doesn't.

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not true at all, MSG and other stuff works by stimulating the taste bud receptors, thats what I mean by "tricking". thats also why they put a bunch of it in processed foods, so they taste better.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I believe you're talking about a time in human history when small groups of people had to hunt for their own food everyday. Never think that the entirety of humanity was near starvation. It isn't true. Small groups of hunter/gatherers may have starved to death, but the human race has never been in danger of extinction via starvation.

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I think dna analysis has shown that all humans descend from an "eve" or small group of women 50k years ago or so, so it seems to me the human race must have been on the verge of extinction at that point for all of us to be descended from 1-10 or 1-20 females or whatever.

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

"not true at all, MSG and other stuff works by stimulating the taste bud receptors, thats what I mean by "tricking". thats also why they put a bunch of it in processed foods, so they taste better.

By your logic you trick people into thinking cereal tastes good by adding sugar or strawberries to it...

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Quote:
"trick" you into thinking it tastes good



I don't think you can trick someone into thinking something tastes good. It tastes good or it doesn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

not true at all, MSG and other stuff works by stimulating the taste bud receptors, thats what I mean by "tricking". thats also why they put a bunch of it in processed foods, so they taste better.

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But it still tastes good. What you are talking about is something other than "taste"

Re: Why do we like junk food?
 

I think this is what he means by tricking:

Taste evolved to help us select food. Edible stuff tastes good. Inedible stuff tastes bad. High-calorie food tastes REALLY good. These are helpful tasting traits.

However, when something is genuinely bad for us but has been engineered to make the taste buds like it, that's going against the evolved purpose of the taste buds. The purpose of taste buds is to select good food.

The taste buds are being "tricked" when they make bad food taste good. If I picked up a tasty shoe and took a bite out of it, my taste buds would be "tricked," because the shoe is not good for me. It SHOULD taste bad.

(correct me if I'm wrong, goodcallyouwin)