Monday, February 8, 2016

Paleo Changes You: Commercials Have Less Sway Over You

     I grew up watching TV. I can remember the commercials of my childhood, the jingles were especially catchy back then. I would buy cereal because it had my favorite cartoon characters on it. Remember Smurf Berry cereal? It was so artificially colored that it turned your poop purple. I had to try all the ones from my favorite shows, movies, and franchises: Barbie, Batman, E.T., Ghost Busters, Rainbow Brite, Dunkin' Doughnuts; heck, I once got a cereal just because it came with a CD that featured the theme song to my favorite show. And that's just cereal.

     Candy and packaged cakes and treats were even worse for me. I ate cereal every day but with no real love. Candy, however, was my kryptonite, and if it had a funky, funny, or interesting commercial, then it was going home with me. Sure, I had my favorites: circus peanuts, candy-covered chocolate pieces, anything with peanut butter and chocolate, and chocolate-covered cherries. Then there were cookies. I once tried a cookie with rainbow bits, peanut butter, and chocolate because the commercial was so fun and funky. They were disgusting! Then there were some other cookies with peanut butter cups, and they were okay, but the peanut butter tasted waxy. I continued to eat them because I liked the commercial and they were addictive.

     Now things are very different. I don't even shop in the aisles with all that junk. I see those commercials and laugh. I can still appreciate the time and creativity that went into them, but the products themselves have no sway. I can't imagine putting that junk into my body anymore. It's the Monday after the biggest commercial Sunday of the year, and I've heard people talking about their favorites. A corn chip is coming in on top, and people are talking about how much they want to get a back, and I'm just thinking about how gross they actually taste once you get over the addicting science that goes into making them the perfect combination of fat, salt, and sugar: the trifecta of food addiction.