Junk Food Withdrawl In Lockdown

Have you been getting Junk Food Withdrawl In Lockdown?

Nando’s, MacDonald’s, KFC, Hungry Jack’s (Burger King), the list goes on. Names synonymous with convenience in the modern world. Many are go to restaurants that are easy to order from on your way home from the treadmill of life that has become home-work-home. Now that most of the world is in some stage of ‘lockdown’ the work landscape and home landscapes have changed. Whether you are now unemployed, on government benefits, working from home, surrounded by your family or living alone- your life has invariably been turned upside down. So where exactly do those fast foods now fit in your life?

Many are now delivering with a no-contact delivery option but does that really satisfy the consumer? Whether you are germ aware and avoiding deliveries or looking at the budget, the fact remains that the marketing, the lights, the sensory triggers to the smell of the restaurant, the brand association with the signage and the contact with staff are all integral components of your fast food order. Whether you like it or not, fast food logos, smells and sales lines (‘Would you like fries with that?’ as an example) are all part of your fast food experience. Without the complete experience the food just won’t be the same.

There are many long-term consequences with fast food marketing that include activating the reward centres of the brain, social behaviour changes and social acceptance of poor nutrition. Any one of these can be damaging, put together- they are a cocktail of pitfalls that can affect the mental and social health of an individual with a scar for life.

Now that we are increasingly encouraged to enter ‘lockdown’, many people are feeling depressed, lost or disassociated from their regular lives. It is important to have the knowledge that this is temporary and that the ‘lost’ feeling is more due to a lack of access to foods that are directly linked to marketing throughout your years. Food is an essential to life but in many cases, the foods people see as a ‘go to’ resource are the mass produced, fast foods with all of their marketing convincers attached to them. It is vital at this time to break the link between FOOD and MARKETING. Food is a necessity but only if it supports your health, boosts your immune system and provides you with the vitamins and minerals that your body needs.

Studies completed in 2019 have looked in depth at the marketing and sensory triggers of the fast food giants of today’s world.

Fast food ads are] primed for you to be motivated to seek out ultra-processed foods. So you’ll start scrounging around in your kitchen and you might not even make the link between what you’ve seen on the TV and why you suddenly have a hankering for food.– Ashley Gearhardt of The Food and Addiction Science and Treatment lab.

If you suspect that you may have junk food withdrawal in lockdown, it is important to know that you are able to beat it with support. Like any addiction, it may be a difficult task to accomplish but the rewards are endless.

The team at Wholistic Natural Health Australia are offering a complimentary Health Strategy Session to help you break through your junk food withdrawl. There are limited spaces on offer, all you need to do is contact us here.

In the subject line, write the topic JUNK FOOD and the team will schedule your session.