Can Food Really Be Addictive? (July 22, 2014)
Some people definitely have addiction-like problems with foods (especially sugar). They crave it to the point of feeling like they are having withdrawal symptoms if they don’t get it, they lose control and overeat it even to the point of feeling physically ill when it’s available, and they use the food to alter their mood. Is this food addiction the same as drug addiction?
The consumption of addictive drugs activates the reward pathways of the brain (the mesolimbic system, just in case anyone asks you) both when they are taken and when the addict anticipates taking them. Additionally, taking the drugs causes dopamine release in those same pathways, reinforcing the behavior. Much the same does seem to happen in people with food addiction.
The reward pathways of the brain are there to reinforce survival behaviors. Anything that activates them will be interpreted by the individual as an activity that is necessary for his/her survival. So, anything that produces that particular response in your brain offers the possibility of addiction to that substance. However, that does NOT mean that a sugar junkie is in the same boat as a morphine addict.
The “rush” a substance produces as well as the speed with which that occurs plus the individual genetics of the person we’re talking about and his/her experiences associated with the substance all influence addiction experience and behavior. (Plus probably a ton of other things we don't know yet.) Regarding food addiction in particular, no one has ever knocked over an elderly woman to buy Twinkies. Plus, one study of people with characteristics of food addiction found that those with stronger addictions were NOT heavier than those without, meaning just because you are a food/sugar addict you are not Eternally Doomed To Fatness. So food addiction and drug addiction are not quite the same thing. Many factors influence addiction. If you are a food addict, then, you CAN eat and live healthily -- you will probably just have to work harder at it than someone who isn't.
We are genetically programmed to seek out sugar. Humans don’t make their own vitamin C and in nature sweet foods tend to have a lot of vitamin C. Salt and fat are two other nutrients that are hard to find in nature and that we find very desirable when they are present. But divorced from the accompanying vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that accompany them in nature, all three of these nutrients can rapidly become problems in themselves, which is why processed foods are best kept to a minimum in anyone's diet. My conclusion here if you are a food addict? Figure out what you need to do to control it, because you actually can, and your health is at risk if you don't.
--dr. diane holmes
Copyright © 2014
Some people definitely have addiction-like problems with foods (especially sugar). They crave it to the point of feeling like they are having withdrawal symptoms if they don’t get it, they lose control and overeat it even to the point of feeling physically ill when it’s available, and they use the food to alter their mood. Is this food addiction the same as drug addiction?
The consumption of addictive drugs activates the reward pathways of the brain (the mesolimbic system, just in case anyone asks you) both when they are taken and when the addict anticipates taking them. Additionally, taking the drugs causes dopamine release in those same pathways, reinforcing the behavior. Much the same does seem to happen in people with food addiction.
The reward pathways of the brain are there to reinforce survival behaviors. Anything that activates them will be interpreted by the individual as an activity that is necessary for his/her survival. So, anything that produces that particular response in your brain offers the possibility of addiction to that substance. However, that does NOT mean that a sugar junkie is in the same boat as a morphine addict.
The “rush” a substance produces as well as the speed with which that occurs plus the individual genetics of the person we’re talking about and his/her experiences associated with the substance all influence addiction experience and behavior. (Plus probably a ton of other things we don't know yet.) Regarding food addiction in particular, no one has ever knocked over an elderly woman to buy Twinkies. Plus, one study of people with characteristics of food addiction found that those with stronger addictions were NOT heavier than those without, meaning just because you are a food/sugar addict you are not Eternally Doomed To Fatness. So food addiction and drug addiction are not quite the same thing. Many factors influence addiction. If you are a food addict, then, you CAN eat and live healthily -- you will probably just have to work harder at it than someone who isn't.
We are genetically programmed to seek out sugar. Humans don’t make their own vitamin C and in nature sweet foods tend to have a lot of vitamin C. Salt and fat are two other nutrients that are hard to find in nature and that we find very desirable when they are present. But divorced from the accompanying vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that accompany them in nature, all three of these nutrients can rapidly become problems in themselves, which is why processed foods are best kept to a minimum in anyone's diet. My conclusion here if you are a food addict? Figure out what you need to do to control it, because you actually can, and your health is at risk if you don't.
--dr. diane holmes
Copyright © 2014