From Triggers to Triumph: How to Outsmart the Food Industry and Reclaim Your Health

The corporate food industry has the general population eating processed food out of the palm of their hands. They implement established tricks of the trade to their benefit at the expense of the general population by taking advantage of hard-wired human psychology. This is possible because, as highly visual beings, we respond well to cues from our surroundings.

In a nutshell, environmental cueing is a psychological process by which our surroundings subtly influence our behaviors and choices, often without our conscious awareness. The food industry knows how to tap into these 4 powerful cognitive pathways, essentially nudging us in the direction they want.

• Automaticity and habit formation. It’s like locking your front door before you leave the house. It happens so naturally that you often forget you even did it.
• Less decision fatigue: Choosing what to eat takes a lot of time and energy. A simple impulse often leads to the quick and easy decision of fast food.
• Priming the subconscious. Advertisements serve as a constant reminder of the food's deliciousness, something we're always exposed to. These influences shape future decisions.
• Cognitive ease. When something feels familiar and straightforward, it affects judgements and decisions often without us realizing. Eg. We pick familiar chips because their packaging makes choosing easy.

This isn't a psychology lesson, but a breakdown of how big food companies manipulate us into eating unhealthy processed food.

Part of the corporate food industry’s wheel house is to take advantage of underlying human psychology, not just to buy their foods, but to get us hooked, so we continue to line their pockets with profits. They use simple but effective psychological tactics to influence consumer food decisions at the expense of worsening public health. You see this every day when you go grocery shopping.

• Eye level shelf placement
• End caps (display sections at the end of each aisle, facing the main pathways where customers walk)
• Kid friendly placement
• Bright stimulating colors
• Realistic and appealing visuals of foods
• Underestimate calorie consumption (packages look single serving but contain multiple)

Despite knowing processed foods are high in calories and low in nutrients, we continue to overeat them.

Research has consistently shown that individuals often underestimate their calorie intake by about 20-50%. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that even trained dietitians misjudged their own intake, underestimating by around 10%, while non-dietitians missed the mark by 20-30%. Obviously, there must be an underlying psychology to this issue.

In another study, researchers compared people who ate a lot of ultra-processed food compared to those who ate whole foods. The UPF group's risk of obesity increased by 20%. Consuming excessive sugar, unhealthy fats, and calorie-dense foods lacking nutrients will lead to weight gain.

The food we consume affects the bacteria in our gut. Studies revealed that unhealthy gut bacteria are associated with chronic inflammatory states and poor metabolic health. Processed foods nurture harmful bacteria, causing an overgrowth that pushes out the beneficial bacteria vital for optimal health. The challenge is overcoming many mental, behavioral, and environmental obstacles blocking our path to better change. It’s hopeful to be mindful, but it falls short when there is no action to reinforce the behavior.

I always advocate for healthy eating and try to live by it, but I sometimes cave to psychological temptations.

Take, for example, a few weeks ago during the Halloween festivities. I purchased a giant bag of candy for the local trick or treaters. Unfortunately, not that many kids showed up for the candy treats (luckily no tricks). We naturally ended up with a giant bag of candy.

Picture a Snickers candy bar. My favorite and weakness of mine. For just a few days, I resisted the urge before giving in. I ate one and before I knew what happened ended up scarfing down 4-5 of the mini Snickers bars in two shakes of a lamb's tail. I blame my killer sweet tooth, but if that candy bag was not in the house, that sugar/dopamine spike would’ve been dead in the water.

We rarely talk about the underlying psychology of our eating habits and how it can have a large effect on our health.

We already know processed foods are horrible for our health, so we should figure ways to avoid them and instead of being victims of behavioral psychology, we should use the same principles to our advantage.

Principles to change our eating habits to eat healthier

1. Cue control

Get rid of unhealthy food from the house or just hide it. Out of sight, out of mind is the better option. Place healthier food options in more accessible or visual areas of the house. Think of a fruit basket on the countertop.

2. Visual Cues

Use smaller plates or bowls. Perfect for encouraging appropriate portion sizes. I do this when I want a serving of ice-cream and put it in a teacup.

3. Behavioral Substitution

Meal prep to avoid impulsive decision. It also helps to reduce decision fatigue and prevent the habit of choosing easy but unhealthy food options.

4. Psychological detachment from triggers

Mindful eating is the answer when you need to break free from unhealthy triggers. It's difficult, but being aware of your food choices, taste, and hunger cues is crucial.

5. Break the habit loop

Disrupt unhealthy patterns or environmental cues that lead to unhealthy eating. Instead of dessert after dinner, try drinking a glass of water. It will not only curb your hunger but also keep you hydrated.

6. Leverage the power of the “default”

Make healthy foods the default option for meals or snacks. Simple and effective.

Summary

The food industry researched human psychology, making people crave and rely on processed food. Decades of overeating and microbiome disruption contribute to obesity. The average person can use these same underlying principles. We can change our behavior and break free from the programming of the past. The food industry uses the illusion of choice to control what we eat. Now is the opportune time to cast off the shackles of our limitations and pursue a path of independence.