During this quarantine, I have read a book called, Your Brain On Food, by Gary L. Wenk. This is a nonfiction book with the genre thesis, as he tells the audience about how food can influence the brain.
Wenk has brought up the thin line between food and drugs. He talks about how drugs are defined as a substance that the brain wants and produces a psychological affect, while food is defined as a nutritious substance that the body needs to function.
Personally, I think foods are drugs, for example chocolate, the sweet snacks that we have all had since little, the delicacy that can be found almost everywhere in stores. Chocolate can even be a symbol of childhood as it's found in cookies, ice cream, and other sweets that also reminds us of our childhood after all. However, is chocolate a food or a drug? Sure compared to nicotine, chocolate is viewed in a better way, but what if it's just as bad.
Like drugs, over eating chocolate can lead to a life time of problems such as diabetes, and also... affect people's behavior's. In the book, the author has mentioned how chocolate can cause people to become more aggressive. Wenk states that, "Chocolate contains phenethylamine (PEA)...When chocolate is eaten, PEA is rapidly metabolized by the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO)...Chocolate also contains small amounts of the amino acid tyramine. Tyramine can powerfully induce the release of adrenaline, increase blood pressure and heart rate, and produce nausea and headaches. The tyramine and PEA in chocolate may slow each other's metabolism. The consequence is that if both of these chemicals remain in the body too long, high blood pressure, a fast-beating heart, heightened arousal, racing thoughts, anger, anxiety, and rage would ensue" (Wenk 88).
From my own personal experience, food is addicting and can be considered a drug no matter what kind it is. Food is what the body needs to function, but we can overeat due to its taste. When we eat more than what our bodies need, it is our brains craving it now and not our bodies. Craving food can give us different moods and temperaments.
Do you think food is not a drug or it can be a drug? If we eat certain foods in moderation will it not be considered a drug then? What food is like a drug to you?
I agree that any food can act as a drug. I think energy drinks such as Monster, produce greater psychological effects than other common foods like sandwiches, whether that be due to the ingredients and chemicals in the drink or the expectancy of such effects (like a placebo). Even if foods were eaten in moderation I would still consider them a drug, just as if someone where to take a drug occasionally they would still be taking a drug. Nonetheless, consuming things in moderation will likely decrease the effects and may even build tolerance to the smaller reaction. As you have noted food and drugs are quite similar, and both can be dangerously addictive.
ReplyDeleteI think that certain foods or ingredients like coffee should be considered a drug. I think a drug should be defined on how much of a dosage is needed to create psychological affects. For example after eating one or two chocolate bars I or others don't feel that I have changed in anyway psychologically. For coffee all it takes is one cup to stay up a little bit longer, so you could consider it a drug. The problem with foods that you could consider drugs is not that they are classified as drugs, but because people abuse them to an extent that is harmful for their well being - such as people drinking a ton of coffee everyday to keep up with their work schedule then having headaches when they don't drink it. I think in a lot of situations the problem with drugs isn't the drug themselves but rather the user is in an environment where they abuse the drug as a means to accomplish something or fill a hole inside them. I think rather than banning the drug or overly regulating it (which often causes more drugs to be smuggled with higher doses), we should fix the systems that cause people to abuse foods that could be considered drugs, such as coffee.
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