Is your mind hacked

I have previously shared one of my favorite YouTube talks: Sugar, the Bitter Truth. It is given by Dr. Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist at UCSF, who works on childhood obesity. Anyone who has a weight problem, or has friends and relatives with such problem, should watch it. The only way we can deal with the obesity epidemic is to educate ourselves and take care of ourselves and our loved ones. No one else would do it – government, educational institutions and media are not interested in helping us with our health problems, and 75% of these problems are due to our dismal, sugar-laden diet.

Since Dr. Lustig is on my radar, I recently found out that he has published a new book, The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains. 

I am currently swamped in mind-numbing activities at my job and these spill over my time at home. Therefore, I will not be able to read the book any time soon; however, I was happy to hear the summary of the book made by the author himself. I sincerely recommend the YouTube video of 32 minutes, The Hacking of the American Mind with Dr. Robert Lustig. 

The distinction between happiness and pleasure is clearly made by Lustig. So many of us substitute pleasure for happiness today, without being aware of it! 

The second valuable lesson from the book is the knowledge of the four “Cs” of happiness. According to the book author, direct Connection with people, Contribution to others, Coping, and Cooking are the four pillars of happiness that we have neglected.  None of these are for sale – we cannot buy them, but we can make time for them. In a whorl of rushed mindless activity, Lustig reminds us of what truly matters and how we can stop the vicious cycle in which government, profit, and media have thrown us in.