Sabotage On Our Reward System.

Decades ago, in an Army testing facility a formula was developed to maximize soldier calorie intake. After years of testing on soldiers, it was taken to the public, specifically the food industry. This is the history of the "bliss point": the engineered ratio of fat, salt, and sugar that hijacks dopamine pathways, turning meals into addictive triggers.

In the 1970s, psychophysicist Howard Moskowitz tested it on 8,000 troops. Results: a 40% increase in consumption, dulled reward signals, and the foundation for modern ultra-processed foods. What started with increasing M.R.E. (meal ready to eat) consumption was then sold to civilian markets. Primarily to the advantage of processed foods, for example: Jell-O, pasta sauce, snacks, driving obesity rates from 15% to 42% in decades. Brain scans show the damage: neural changes mirroring those from drugs or gambling.

This episode uncovers the declassified documents, industry data, and human cost: kids targeted like smokers (same marketing techniques), rising chronic illnesses, and dis-regulation of motivation.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Dopamine Desensitization & Intro to Bliss Point

0:45 - Ties to Chronic Disease & Processed Food Rise

1:20 - Howard Moskowitz: The Psychophysicist Behind It

2:25 - Army's 7-Year Experiment on 8,000 Soldiers 3:40 - From Military Gold Medal to Industry Playbook

4:20 - Real-World Tweaks: Jell-O, Prego, & $600M Sales

5:00 - Brain Hijack: Nucleus Accumbens & Reward Shrinkage

5:50 - Key Studies: MRIs, Calorie Overload, & Addiction Parallels

7:00 - The Human Cost: Kids, Obesity Epidemic, Eroded Drive

8:30 - Reclaiming Control: Practical Steps Forward

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Read the full article, including the Army documents: https://solutions2wellness.org/bliss-point-food-addiction-obesity/

Listen to the Podcast: https://sites.libsyn.com/596530