This includes primal behaviors like eating 2. These chemicals include the neurotransmitter dopamine , which the brain interprets as pleasure. The brain is hardwired to seek out behaviors that release dopamine in the reward system. The problem with modern junk food is that it can cause a reward that is way more powerful than any reward the brain can get from whole foods 3. Eating junk food causes a release of dopamine in the brain.
This reward encourages susceptible individuals to eat more unhealthy foods. When a person repeatedly does something that releases dopamine in the reward system, such as smoking a cigarette or eating a Snickers bar, dopamine receptors can start to downregulate. If the brain observes that the amount of dopamine is too high, it begins removing dopamine receptors to keep things balanced. When there are fewer receptors, more dopamine is needed to reach the same effect, which causes people to start eating more junk food to reach the same level of reward as before.
This is called tolerance. Multiple studies in rats show that they can become physically addicted to junk food in the same way that they become addicted to drugs of abuse 4. Of course, all of this is a drastic oversimplification, but this is basically how food addiction and any addiction is believed to work. Frequent consumption of junk food may lead to dopamine tolerance. This means that a person will have to eat even more junk food to avoid going into withdrawal. A craving is an emotional state characterized by a desire to consume a certain food.
It should not be confused with simple hunger , which is different. A person might be doing mundane things like watching a favorite TV show, walking the dog, or reading. Then suddenly a craving for something like ice cream appears. Even though the cravings sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, they can be turned on by certain triggers, which are known as cues.
However, they can also be induced by certain emotional states, such as feeling depressed or lonely, a behavior known as emotional eating. A craving makes it hard to think of something else. The scientists even went on to examine the brains of the obese rats and discovered that the dopamine D2 receptor levels had declined in the same way seen in cocaine or heroin addicts. Drug addiction is characterized by changes within the brain reward system and the exact same result was seen in the rats who had become addicted to unhealthy food over time.
Not only do they gain weight, but they also develop an additional compulsion to seek out even more unhealthy food, trapping them in an ongoing cycle of eating and craving candy, fries, and burgers.
Another study showed that rats who were weaned off high-calorie diets suffered from similar withdrawal symptoms to drug or alcohol addicts who were going cold turkey.
In these days of fast food, most of us grab a burger or some fried chicken from a takeaway outlet a few times a month. People who have a food addiction also find that it impacts on other areas of their life too.
People who answer yes to some or all of these questions are probably already in the throes of food addiction. The effects on their personal life are very similar to those experienced when someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The level of impact is equally severe, with the consequences being almost the same. Social isolation, problems with employers and family upsets are all part and parcel of food addiction just as much as they are a key component of addiction to cocaine or hard liquor. Some other questions to ask yourself to find out whether you could be developing a food addiction relate to the withdrawal and psychological symptoms you experience if you stop eating certain foods, and the impact of your food choices on your feelings and emotions.
They include:. Some people struggle to see why they should get help for their food addiction or fail to recognize that it is actually a serious problem. We have become conditioned to thinking that people who are obese are just lazy and lack the essential willpower that they need to lose weight and shed the pounds.
While some people think the worst problem associated with food addiction is the aesthetic problem of gaining weight, in fact, the most serious issues are health-related. People who eat fast food regularly are more at risk of developing a wide variety of medical conditions including:. This only goes to show that there are lots of parallels between addiction to food and addiction to other dangerous substances. We acknowledge that those who are addicted to substances such as illegal drugs and alcohol are more at risk of developing heart, kidney and brain problems among other diseases.
You can wean yourself off an unhealthy diet and enjoy a better quality of life as well as better overall physical and mental well-being, but, like with any other addiction, getting the right support is essential for success. At present, scientists are still working on understanding the basics of food addiction and thus to develop appropriate treatments to help sufferers.
Some believe that recovering from a food addiction could even be more complex than recovering from other types of addiction. After all, an alcoholic can ultimately stop drinking alcohol, however, those who have a food addiction still have to eat food every day. Intensely addictive processed foods can spike your blood sugar, hijack your brain chemistry and drive you to seek out more. When these foods are readily available all around you, compulsively eating them can turn into habit, leaving you struggling with your weight or feeling sick.
How can you recognize and break the cycle of eating — and overeating — addictive foods? Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD , sheds some light. Food addiction is not an official medical diagnosis, though addictive food behaviors have been linked to medical conditions including obesity and binge eating disorder.
Albers says. It seems to be processed foods with some combination of ingredients that become problematic for people. Yet other researchers argue that food is indeed addictive. Certain foods light up pleasure centers in your brain and trigger the release of feel-good chemicals such as dopamine, much like other addictive substances do. They need to eat more and more of them to feel the same level of pleasure. And although they realize the negative consequences of their overeating and want to stop, nothing they try seems to work.
Albers notes. People become dependent on the process that happens — the good, soothing feelings and pleasure that go along with eating — rather than to the food itself.
0コメント