For nearly a century, we’ve all been part of a cult. Every single one of us.
A common ideology.
Daily brainwashing.
Blind allegiance to a charismatic leader.
Unquestioning self-sacrifice.
We engage in behaviours we’d consider completely irrational if we stepped outside the cult and logically assessed what we were doing.
But of course, we can’t just step outside the cult — that’s the nature of being in a cult. And maybe, we don’t want to step outside because we like what the cult offers: transient pleasure as a surrogate for meaning.
To be fair, it’s extremely difficult to break out of the cult. We’re up against a power that has infiltrated every corner of our existence. At just one of several cult headquarters, 500 psychologists, chemists and technicians conduct research costing 30 million US dollars a year to devise methods to keep us captive.
One room houses a $40 000 machine that simulates a munching mouth for the purpose of testing the perfect break-point for a potato chip. When a chip snaps at exactly 281 grams of pressure per square centimetre, that’s when it hooks us and we can’t stop until we’ve finished the packet.
Another tactic the cult employs is what’s known as ‘vanishing calorie density’. If something dissipates in your mouth very quickly, your brain is tricked into thinking that it doesn’t contain any calories and you just keep eating and eating and eating.
It’s all part of the apocalyptic science of snacking.
Welcome to the Cult of Fast Food.
Fast food — which includes junk food, snack food, soft drinks and convenience foods — is the greatest cult that ever was. Because it has managed to ensnare everyone. We should be utterly outraged that we are being drip-fed toxins and gleefully calling them treats. Wow. That’s serious mind control.
My point is not that fast food isn’t a top nutritional choice. Everyone knows that.
My point is that we’re not doing anything about it. Governments are passively allowing their populations to be poisoned. Sporting heroes, film starts, influencers on all levels — directly or indirectly — promote membership of the cult, oblivious of the harm. Doctors and health professionals aren’t even standing up to the cult.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a doctor who is appalled that 8 out of 10 people who come to see me are ill because of consuming edibles that slowly but surely erode their health.
We let the cult sponsor major sports events. We let them take up residence in Melbourne Children’s Hospital — and we call it benevolence. ‘Oh come on — a bit of junk food now and again won’t hurt.’ Deja vu anyone? Doctors prefer smoking Alpine cigarettes so they must be good for you.
We have awareness campaigns for a multitude of diseases but we don’t have an awareness campaign for the most deadly disease of all: denial that we’re on a persistent path of self-destruction. We are following the cult to the death. Death through heart attack, stroke, diabetes, dementia, cancer and countless other chronic disease.
We have to quit the cult.
The future of our children depend on it. If we remain trapped in the cult, we’ll be too sick to tackle the rest of the problems the world is facing.
Fast food is a much deadlier pandemic than COVID-19 ever was.
We have to quit the cult. How? It starts with awareness. Reading this and really taking it onboard is the first step. The second step is to slowly wean yourself off whatever junk food you can most easily give up. And of course, stay tuned for future Health-e-Bytes.
Please share this Health-e-Byte with everyone you care about.
