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December 23, 2022- by Steven E. Greer, MD
I made an interesting hormone and diet observation about myself. I have never been interested in potato chips or the salty snack aisle at the stores. Well, for this whole miserable year, I have been buying that sort of thing at the grocery store. I have also been eating three servings of sugary ice cream or chocolate a day.
Fortunately, my muscle mass allows me to process that garbage. I have only gained a little bit of weight. But it is abnormal for me. Why?
It has been all related to the extreme stress that I have been under this year. That triggers hormones to make you crave food.
Well, for the last couple of weeks, I have gone to the grocery store and have not purchased any of that. I have not had a single chocolate or salty snack in a week. It was not by choice. I just stopped doing it. I am no longer under the same levels of stress.
The point of this observation is that our dietary decisions are not purely conscious. The brain is controlled by hormones. External factors trigger hormones, and those control our urges to eat.
Also, the amount of daylight and temperature affects us. I have mentioned this before. People in Southern California are, on average, naturally thin. It is not because they have great diets by choice. The weather triggers hormones that makes them eat well. I saw it happen on me when I stayed out there for two-weeks.
We are no better than squirrels or bears going into hibernation. We have little control over what we eat. It is highly controlled by external factors like weather, daylight, poisons, and stress.