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Food Addiction - A Different Perspective
PeachyCarol
Posts: 8,029 Member
in Debate Club
Food and specific food addiction are often contentious subjects on these boards and sensitive issues for many people. It's easy for some people to dismiss the idea of food addiction and just as easy for others to cling to it.
The research on the idea of it is far from settled, though. It remains a controversial subject within the scientific community.
Recent research focuses on the Yale Food Addiction Scale, and even its authors won't go so far as to say that food addiction exists, and it also relies on the bugbear of the scientifically minded--self reporting.
Back in 2008, there was a symposium on the topic of Food Addiction, and the findings from it are quite enlightening and might give some food for thought.
Source: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/617.full
I have links to other studies and reviews, some much more recent, which support this model of viewing food or eating addiction. If you'd like to see them, just ask.
This opens up a few areas for discussion. One being the point of getting "addicted" in the first place and what leads to it. If restricting leads to binging for a person (not necessarily BED as I was understanding from the literature, but rather over-consumption), I would tend to think that this would support the idea of not restricting in the first place.
However, what if it's too late for that, and you've already been down that road? The good news is that looking at this as an entrenched behavioral response to a cycle of repeated behaviors means you CAN change things. Knowledge is power. Notice that all of this literature says that the foods themselves are not addictive. Thought the body has similar initial neurotransmitter responses, there are further responses to drugs which occur that simply do not happen with fat or sugar in true substance dependency.
So what to do? The first thing is to change your mindset that the food is bad or you are bad. You've just developed a bad habit, and you're going to fix it.
You're not naughty when you have sweets or cheese or anything like that, okay?
Good.
The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
I hope that this is helpful to some of you.
The research on the idea of it is far from settled, though. It remains a controversial subject within the scientific community.
Recent research focuses on the Yale Food Addiction Scale, and even its authors won't go so far as to say that food addiction exists, and it also relies on the bugbear of the scientifically minded--self reporting.
Back in 2008, there was a symposium on the topic of Food Addiction, and the findings from it are quite enlightening and might give some food for thought.
Taken together, the articles from this symposium provide evidence that neurological similarities exist in the response of humans (6) and rats (7,9) to foods and to drugs. Two of the reports (6,7), as well as our own work (14–16), suggest that even highly palatable food is not addictive in and of itself. Rather, it is the manner in which the food is presented (i.e., intermittently) and consumed (i.e., repeated, intermittent “gorging”) that appears to entrain the addiction-like process. Such consummatory patterns are associated with increased risk for comorbid complications as well as relapse and make treatment particularly challenging. The topic of food addiction bears study, therefore, to develop fresh approaches to clinical intervention and to advance our understanding of basic mechanisms involved in loss of control.
Source: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/617.full
I have links to other studies and reviews, some much more recent, which support this model of viewing food or eating addiction. If you'd like to see them, just ask.
This opens up a few areas for discussion. One being the point of getting "addicted" in the first place and what leads to it. If restricting leads to binging for a person (not necessarily BED as I was understanding from the literature, but rather over-consumption), I would tend to think that this would support the idea of not restricting in the first place.
However, what if it's too late for that, and you've already been down that road? The good news is that looking at this as an entrenched behavioral response to a cycle of repeated behaviors means you CAN change things. Knowledge is power. Notice that all of this literature says that the foods themselves are not addictive. Thought the body has similar initial neurotransmitter responses, there are further responses to drugs which occur that simply do not happen with fat or sugar in true substance dependency.
So what to do? The first thing is to change your mindset that the food is bad or you are bad. You've just developed a bad habit, and you're going to fix it.
You're not naughty when you have sweets or cheese or anything like that, okay?
Good.
The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions
Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
I hope that this is helpful to some of you.
11
Replies
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Great post. So many people seem to jump from I'm addicted to x, so I must cut x completely from my diet. So much of weight loss is mental, and understanding cravings, where they come from, and how to include moderation as a tool is such a huge step.4
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My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
When a person posts that they are addicted and need help, giving information like in the OP is useful, while saying "No you're not" is not.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
When a person posts that they are addicted and need help, giving information like in the OP is useful, while saying "No you're not" is not.
Many people who claim an addiction have a certain mindset. They feel powerless. Sometimes what the person needs to do is realize that this is not the case; they do have power over what goes into their mouth. But they have to be willing to put in the effort to regain that control. It's not true for everyone, but sometimes taking that initial ownership can be a step in the right direction.2 -
Good post. I know it turned for me when I realized that I was in control. The thought that I was "addicted" was made absurd in my head due to the fact that I cannot detox, rehab, or just stop. eating. food. So I had to work my way around it, and it started with my mindset. It wasn't easy and I still stumble now and then but I've learned not to associate guilt or bad feelings with food. Food is just.....food.1
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I really like the emphasis you put on the fact the food itself is not addictive, and I think that's what many people who comment on threads like this don't understand. Simply, food is acting on the same neural pathways as drugs, sex, and all other pleasurable things in our lives, because of habits formed in life. thanks for this post!1
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kshama2001 wrote: »My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
When a person posts that they are addicted and need help, giving information like in the OP is useful, while saying "No you're not" is not.
Many people who claim an addiction have a certain mindset. They feel powerless. Sometimes what the person needs to do is realize that this is not the case; they do have power over what goes into their mouth. But they have to be willing to put in the effort to regain that control. It's not true for everyone, but sometimes taking that initial ownership can be a step in the right direction.
I absolutely agree that people do have power over what goes into their mouths and think 12 step programs do many people a disservice with their notion of powerlessness over addiction.
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Thank you for sharing this.Great article on a controversial issue.
I don't talk very much about the specifics of it all much on the forums, but I am one of the few that has been diagnosed with BED. For me BED is the closest thing clinically to the criteria for abuse or dependence aka addiction. However it is not the substance that is addictive as you stated so well, it is the trigger and then the binging as a response as self medicating or comfort.
I know what my trigger foods are and I could easily say I am addicted to them, but I know physically I am not. I did go to therapy (which I highly recommend for anyone who thinks they may have BED since it is not appropriate to self diagnose). Part of my treatment regimen was to identify the trigger foods, the trigger emotions and then to have an actionable plan in place when I am triggered in the future. It's a lot of self care activities, a healthy support system and some cognitive behavior techniques. Honestly, it is not a lot different than what happens often in and out of the rooms at AA and NA meetings.
However I am not addicted to food. I have a disorder where I pathological comfort with food.
I also know that for me it is not in my self care plan to deny myself in total my trigger foods. Well except in one circumstance....when I am triggered emotionally....I cannot consume those foods. They are off the table. Not because they ate bad or because I am physically addicted to them, but because I know my brain is trying to feed an emotional hunger and I refuse to engage it.
Thanks for bringing this up and I have hope that the forum can have an honest and respectful conversation about this.
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Great post. So many people seem to jump from I'm addicted to x, so I must cut x completely from my diet. So much of weight loss is mental, and understanding cravings, where they come from, and how to include moderation as a tool is such a huge step.
My understanding of the OP's last paragraph is that she did cut x completely from her diet for a period. Is that not what "time away from the foods" meant?1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
When a person posts that they are addicted and need help, giving information like in the OP is useful, while saying "No you're not" is not.
I disagree with this actually...I think when someone has the guts to confront a person laden down with excuses they help to fix them. When a number of people do, then that person may well stop and re-evaluate whether their reasons for being overweight are actually excuses.
I firmly believe that when people hide behind excuses they choose not to do something about it, because their weight problem is external, something they have no control over. A victim mentality is no basis to fix your life from...to me it's an emotional difference..
People are fat because they CHOOSE to eat too much and move too little
I was fat because I chose to eat too much and move too little
So are you and everybody on this website whose objective is to lose weight
I had a myriad of valid reasons...they turned out to be excuses, I turned out to have been too unmotivated or weak to deal with them...until I wasn't , until I took control ...part of taking control was people pointing out to me that I was in control...every valid reason was actually an excuse...and the only person those excuses affected was me.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:The second thing to do might be to look a little further to see if there's a reason the cycle of behavior became entrenched in the first place. Were you eating in response to emotional/mood triggers and then feeling remorse after indulging? Did you find yourself eating because you were stressed or mildly depressed (serious depression should be handled professionally), or bored?
Well, if you keep digging for answers, that's the first step to finding solutions Exercise is a great stress reliever and good for a case of feeling down. Some people like meditative hobbies like coloring or knitting helpful or woodworking... or actual meditation. Pampering activities like long showers or luxurious baths are good for both stress and mild cases of the blues. Replace the bad habit you've formed with food with a new habit in response to your emotional catalyst.
I'll share my personal experience. What worked for me might not work for you. If you have an extreme case, you might need something like cognitive behavioral therapy.
Personally, I just needed time. Time away from the foods I had trouble with and time to reframe my thinking. Once my head was on straight, and I stopped feeling guilt surrounding my consumption of food, I was ready to eat what used to be problematic food (ice cream, brownies, cheese) again. I no longer consider myself "addicted" and I can eat these things in moderation. I also incorporated exercise into my life and find it's an excellent stress reliever!
When a person posts that they are addicted and need help, giving information like in the OP is useful, while saying "No you're not" is not.
Many people who claim an addiction have a certain mindset. They feel powerless. Sometimes what the person needs to do is realize that this is not the case; they do have power over what goes into their mouth. But they have to be willing to put in the effort to regain that control. It's not true for everyone, but sometimes taking that initial ownership can be a step in the right direction.
Responses like this sound more like addiction than anything else I read in these type of threads. Because what you are describing is exactly the process most addicts take for recovery.3 -
OP ..a good post ..that must have taken a lot of time and thought..thank you for the time you have put into that and for actually caring enough to post it...I sincerely hope it helps people0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Great post. So many people seem to jump from I'm addicted to x, so I must cut x completely from my diet. So much of weight loss is mental, and understanding cravings, where they come from, and how to include moderation as a tool is such a huge step.
My understanding of the OP's last paragraph is that she did cut x completely from her diet for a period. Is that not what "time away from the foods" meant?
I think she's talking about the people that say "oh, i'm addicted to sugar and will never have sweets ever again!". If you identify a trigger food that you have trouble stopping eating, it is helpful for some people to avoid that food until they can reestablish good eating habits and a better relationship with food. But just saying you'll never eat cake again because it makes you eat more isn't the best route to take. That doesn't actually fix anything because if you just accept that you can never learn to control how much you eat, you'll never stay at your goal. But saying "i know if i start eating this i'll keep going, so i'm going wait a few months before having any" is a much healthier mindset. You give yourself time to retrain your brain and body to what proper portions are, and then you can add foods back in later.0 -
I had a lengthy reply typed out and my browser crashed.
This is a great post. I agree with it 100%. Knowledge is power.
Keep being awesome, Carol!
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You're not naughty when you have sweets or cheese or anything like that, okay?
This is so empowering, and so many of my friends (women over 50) refuse to separate from this flawed thinking.
Thanks for the post; lots of good information.
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kshama2001 wrote: »My position is that whether or not a person is actually addicted is not especially relevant. What's important is how are they going to manage their relationship with that food. If they feel that they are addicted, something's not working, and something needs to change. That change may take different forms depending on the person and where they are in their journey. There were several good examples in the OP:
I think you missed on of the salient points of the research, though. The foods themselves aren't addictive. I have a link from 2014 review which breaks this down, if you'd like to see it. It's not a substance-based issue.
The problem is behavioral, and yes, my post was meant to address the behavioral issue, regardless of whether a person met the addiction threshold or not. Currently, the disorder has not been recognized the DSM as being an addiction, so for the purposes of this discussion, no, it doesn't matter.
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Nice post 1 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Great post. So many people seem to jump from I'm addicted to x, so I must cut x completely from my diet. So much of weight loss is mental, and understanding cravings, where they come from, and how to include moderation as a tool is such a huge step.
My understanding of the OP's last paragraph is that she did cut x completely from her diet for a period. Is that not what "time away from the foods" meant?
I'm referring to people who say they can never eat something. I often agree with people that getting a trigger food out of the house for a period and then learning to incorporate it in in smaller portions is a good method for learning portion control and moderation.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Great post. So many people seem to jump from I'm addicted to x, so I must cut x completely from my diet. So much of weight loss is mental, and understanding cravings, where they come from, and how to include moderation as a tool is such a huge step.
My understanding of the OP's last paragraph is that she did cut x completely from her diet for a period. Is that not what "time away from the foods" meant?
Yes, but I am ultimately saying that it was part of undoing bad thinking on my part. If I had moderated in the first place, I would not have been caught in the cycle of overindulging on "naughty" food then feeling shame, then restricting.
I moderate now, and it's possible to get past what one considers to be addictive behavior with healthier behavior.
0
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