The ACMZONE Journal

When it comes to potato chips, cookies or chocolate, it’s extremely difficult to stop eating after just having one. Researchers Paul M. Johnson and Paul J. Kenny of the Scripps Research Institute in Florida have recently shed light on this matter. Their findings suggest compulsive eating triggers some of the same addiction-like responses in the brain as heroin and cocaine.

For the study, published online in Nature Neuroscience, Kenny and colleagues headed to the grocery store. “We basically bought all of the stuff that people really like Ding-Dongs, cheesecake, bacon, sausage, the stuff that you enjoy, but you really shouldn’t eat too often,” he said.

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After successfully derailing discussion of a federal tax on soft drinks last year the major bottlers are facing a new battle at the state level, where legislators from New York and California are determined to tax sweetened beverages.

The industry spent at least $18 million on lobbying and millions more in campaign donations to key officials to impede progress on taxing soft drinks as a means of helping fund a federal healthcare overhaul. The industry also partnered with community and minority groups to oppose a federal tax, based on the argument that a tax on sodas would disproportionately affect poor people.

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The FDA is considering several changes to the way nutrition labels are written and presented on packages. Not only would the FDA require nutrition labels to appear on the front of boxes, but it would also require food manufacturers to increase the standard serving size. Proponents of the new regulation believe the serving size is  understated and does not reflect the actual amount of food consumed by most Americans in an average sitting.

Barbara O. Schneeman, director of the FDA office supervising nutrition labels said, “We are actively looking at serving size and evaluating what steps we need to take. Ultimately, the purpose of nutrition labeling is to help consumers make healthier choices, make improvements in their diet, and we want to make sure we achieve that goal.”
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