Aug 23 2010
10 Reasons To Never Eat Free Food
By D Sharon Pruitt
Most people’s eyes light up if free food is mentioned. But using “free” as an excuse to eat junk food is nothing to be proud of.
We are excited by the concept of free food because we perceive it as having value. But cheap, mass-produced food isn’t worth much in health, taste or even satisfaction.
Although we believe we are getting a great deal, foods typically offered as free don’t even fulfill our most basic nutritional (or emotional) needs.
Thus one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my 12 years of higher education is:
Just because it’s free doesn’t mean you have to eat it.
On occasion someone will offer you high quality food at no cost, but these times are few and far between. More often you will find yourself wading through a sea of donuts, pizza, cookies and other junk food.
Your best bet is skipping the empty calories all together when attending meetings, seminars and other public events.
10 reasons to never eat free food
- It’s cheap. You may be inclined to think that cheap food is a good deal, but if you take a minute to think about what you’re really getting you find it is not the value you may have thought. Cheap food means you are getting low quality, mass-produced calories made from industrial processes. Isn’t that the stuff we want to avoid?
- It’s flavorless. The right combinations of sugar, fat and salt, pretty easily deceive your brain, as these ingredients can strongly activate your neural reward pathways. But if you try and focus on the true flavor of food and eat mindfully, you quickly notice the tastelessness of industrial food.
- It’s bad for you. Evidence is mounting that processed foods are the cause of most “diseases of civilization” such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. When you wolf down a few of those Costco brownie bites at happy hour, you are contributing directly to your likelihood of developing these chronic diseases. Is that value?
- You aren’t saving money. You may tell yourself that this free meal will keep you from eating later, but there’s a good chance you will eat again anyway. Processed foods do not satisfy you, but actually stimulate your appetite and strengthen future cravings. Also, if you factor in your future health care costs, what you save by eating that $2 slice of pizza starts to seem rather trivial.
- You’ll feel gross later. Junk food makes you feel bad, both physically and mentally. If someone offered you a free headache, would you take it?
- It screws up your metabolism. Highly refined foods create rapid insulin spikes that induce insulin resistance over the next few hours, making your next meal more fattening. If you make a habit of eating cheap abundant food, this condition will become chronic and may develop into type 2 diabetes. What a bargain!
- You’ll gain weight. With insulin resistance comes weight gain, and with time you will gain more weight eating fewer calories. Unfortunately, people aren’t often giving away free plus-sized jeans.
- You’re eating empty calories. When you submit to eating cheap food, you are also choosing not to eat nutritious food. Choosing a diet rich in vitamins and other essential nutrients may be the single biggest factor in determining your risk for disease and overall longevity. Luckily, local, seasonal foods taste way better than anything your co-workers can pour out of a plastic bag.
- You don’t need it. Chances are you get plenty of calories in your typical day. So why do we feel like we need to eat junk food just because it is free? Healthy food does not have to be very expensive.
- It isn’t worth it. The truth is free junk food isn’t really free. Even if processed foods don’t cost you money, they still cost you your health, happiness and sense of well-being.
Why do you eat free food? 
Originally published September 21, 2009.
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Tags: diseases of civilization, free food, industrial food, junk food, processed foods
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I agree and the only time I accept free food is when it’s a fruit or vegetable. It’s amazing how the empty calories add up if you always give in to the temptation.
Haha great points! When I still worked in my old office, there was always free food and it was so hard to resist. I mean, it’s FREE! How silly though. It’s like giving out free poison. Great post.
Come one who doesn’t want a pair of plus sized jeans. We can upholster a sofa. Okay that was a bit not nice. But it makes you think.
Great reminders. I don’t come across free food very often, but I did just fend off a Pumpkin Spice Latte while typing in the comfort of mass produced Starbucks. Nice article, Darya.
Chandra
Wow, yeah, free food was a huge problem for me when I worked in a high school. In the teacher’s mailroom/copyroom, there was always free stuff. The PTSA had a basket of candies (including my weakness – those caramels with the white stuff in the middle), there was always some sort of free SOMETHING on the tables – anything from muffins to cookies to sheet cake. Not to mention the PTSA fed the faculty once a month, and the only healthy option on the menu was the salad (if you didn’t use dressing). There’d be a giant table full of cookies, brownies, blondies, lemon bars, fudge… ugh. No wonder I gained so much weight working there. ;p
Working at home makes it a lot easier. If I’m hungry I can grab an apple or a handful of almonds. I have choices (and very few of them are unhealthy ones). If I go back to a traditional workplace, I think it would have to be with a stockpile of healthy food so I could avoid the free junk.
I agree with each of the 10 reasons, but why oh why did you put that luscious picture of chocolate chip cookies? I had cravings as soon as I saw the picture.
Because I’m really mean!!
Oh absolutely! This was one of the hardest things for me to learn – I don’t have to accept food when it’s offered to me! Good post!
How timely! Last week my work held an all-staff meeting and we were notified that the Costco rep was going to be stationed outside with an assortment of food items (read: mass produced junk food). When I declined to take anything from the 12′ spread of brownies, cookies, muffins, tarts, donuts, cupcakes, pies, cakes, loafs, pretzels (all elegantly displayed in plastic tubs of course)…I was quickly labeled a “food snob” by a few of my fellow co-workers. I graciously accepted the title, of course.
Matt, I know what you mean about being labeled a food snob in those situations. Like you, I’ll graciously accept that title. And keep eating good food and turning down the junk, even if it is free (you get what you pay for!). Good points all, Darya.
Not only is this great advice for free food, especially as we go into party season, I found that a lot of your points can also apply to foods that have “free” on the label – aka mass produced “fat free” or “sugar free” foods. If your food needs a giant exclamation point to try to convince you it’s healthy, then it’s probably not.
It’s really a interesting post! I often get free food from my fellow co-workers in the office, now…maybe I will try to say “NO” next time.
I pass on the sweets and pastries, mostly, but pizza? It fills me up, I won’t eat again for a long time, and if it’s free? Bring it on! I feel the same way about sandwiches, barbecue, crackers/cheese, crudites, whatever. I’m unemployed, if I eat a big high fat meal, I won’t be hungry for a very very long time. I don’t advise this for everybody, but it works for me. I don’t consider most of these things health foods, but I don’t have to eat super healthy every meal, just most of them. I don’t have blood sugar/insulin issues (hello exercise!), white sugar/flour/fat doesn’t give me headaches, make me tired, or make my skin break out. If I eat two slices of free pizza for lunch, I can eat a salad for dinner, with a side of steamed kale. I balance, automatically.
That’s really a wonderful skill Julie. Nice work!
Such great timing for this post! I’m not even kidding – one of my co-workers brought in cans of SPAM to work. SPAM! A little easier to resist than glazed doughnuts (but just a little).
It is hard to say no to free food, but if you take a second to think about what you’re actually eating, it helps in turning it down.
I agree. I think for most of us free food is more of a reflex. But if think for a second how much better the food will be if you just wait and make your own, the decision is easy.
Something I should have read *before* BlogHerFood.
So true… there’s no such thing as a free lunch (especially when it’s frozen pasta. Ahem).
Fabulous meeting you tonight. Really enjoying your blog!
Had a blast hanging out with you guys. Thanks for stopping by!!
What are “processed foods”?
Flour is processed grain, hydrogenated oils are processed fats, sugar is processed cane, corn or beets. Any weird sounding chemical ingredients are also processed foods. Basically it’s foods that don’t come from the earth, but come from factories.
wouldn’t that also include almost every soy product, including soy milk and soy yoghurt?
Yes, though some benefits have been shown from fermented soy products.
People shouldn’t eat flour?
Not often. Here’s why http://mizfitonline.com/2009/05/21/when-is-a-calorie-not-a-calorie/
Some people are way more hardcore about this stuff than I am. Personally I think there’s room for anything in a healthy diet so long as the bulk of what you eat is healthy and in reasonable portions. A general shift away from processed foods toward whole foods can improve health/longevity tremendously. You might also like this post:
http://summertomato.com/intact-grains-vs-whole-grains/
Whole-wheat pasta and whole-wheat bread are made from flour.
Are those processed foods we shouldn’t eat or whole foods we should eat?
I tend to eat muesli since it is easy http://summertomato.com/healthy-breakfast-yogurt-muesli-and-fruit/ I’m planning a post for homemade muesli in the coming months (working hard right now on my dissertation, but will finish in the next few weeks).
But any kind of grains are fine. Oatmeal is one of my winter favorites (I add raisins, nuts, cinnamon and a splash of milk). I also like those 5 grain mixes they have at Trader Joe’s. Even granolas aren’t that bad if you’re careful to find ones low in sugar (<4-5 grams per serving).
Funny you should ask. I’ve written about whole grain pasta, and I feel the same way about bread. Basically I think your decision should be made on taste (your preference), with the understanding that these aren’t healthy foods so you should try to keep it to relatively few servings per week. If you’re actively trying to lose weight, the fewer processed foods you eat the easier it will be. If you are trying to maintain your weight, you can play around with the servings of these foods. In my experience more than 1-2 servings of processed grains per day make weight loss very difficult. But I’m a small, athletic girl. You need to test what works for yourself.
What breakfast cereals (hot and cold) should people eat?
Free junk food is worth even less than what you paid for it!
besides my dark chocolate covered espresso beans, free work food is about the only time I eat junkfood, and it truly is not that good.
way to keep us honest, darya
Smile!
“Free headache!” … You’re absolutely right. I look at the free spread at meetings in my office (muffins, pastries, cookies) and equate it with “Free sugar crash!” or “Guaranteed to lower your performance at work!” It is still hard to resist though…