Food Addiction

I know this is a very controversial topic, but I think everyone should read the following two articles that discuss food addiction. Feel free to comment.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/food-addiction-a-serious-problem-with-a-simple-solution.html

http://authoritynutrition.com/how-sugar-makes-you-addicted/
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Replies

  • For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    I like how all the supporting information links in the first article link you to another article on the same site or that authority nutrition site. Oh, look, the author's free e-book on food addiction is available on….the authority nutrition site!
  • For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    I like how all the supporting information links in the first article link you to another article on the same site or that authority nutrition site. Oh, look, the author's free e-book on food addiction is available on….the authority nutrition site!

    Exactly! *giggle*
  • For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324
  • addysolari
    addysolari Posts: 181 Member
    I heard if you quit food, you die from the withdrawl
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    The cry of someone uneducated and closed minded.
  • It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    The cry of someone uneducated and closed minded.

    The cry of someone all butt hurt that others aren't buying what you're selling.
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    The cry of someone uneducated and closed minded.

    The cry of someone all butt hurt that others aren't buying what you're selling.

    I'm not selling anything. I was trying to spark an intelligent debate. But it appears the trolls showed up.
  • Natmarie73
    Natmarie73 Posts: 287 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    Seems to me it would be difficult for you to have a serious conversation about much at all *giggle*
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    Seems to me it would be difficult for you to have a serious conversation about much at all *giggle*

    i76nj7c.gif
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324

    Lol!

    http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdf

    Seems legit, if you were addicted to food, why even list specific categories of food?

    "This survey asks about your eating habits in the past year.
    People sometimes have difficulty controlling their intake of certai
    n foods such as:
    - Sweets like ice cream, chocolat
    e, doughnuts, cookies, cake, candy, ice cream
    - Starches like white bread, rolls, pasta, and rice
    - Salty snacks like chips, pretzels, and crackers
    - Fatty foods like steak, bacon, ha
    mburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries
    - Sugary drinks like soda pop

    As for your other links, I'm sorry, are we talking about rodents or humans, confused
  • This content has been removed.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324

    Lol!

    http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdf

    Seems legit, if you were addicted to food, why even list specific categories of food?

    "This survey asks about your eating habits in the past year.
    People sometimes have difficulty controlling their intake of certai
    n foods such as:
    - Sweets like ice cream, chocolat
    e, doughnuts, cookies, cake, candy, ice cream
    - Starches like white bread, rolls, pasta, and rice
    - Salty snacks like chips, pretzels, and crackers
    - Fatty foods like steak, bacon, ha
    mburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries
    - Sugary drinks like soda pop

    As for your other links, I'm sorry, are we talking about rodents or humans, confused

    I'm not surprised that you are confused. You did know that most legitimate research begins with animals, right? For example, zinc deficiencies and brain development http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137936/.

    Since you don't seem to know much about research, let me explain. If scientists were to attempt to conduct research on ALL categories of food, the research would be so immense that the information would become confused just because of the enormity of it, therefore, scientists narrow the research to specific parameters. In the case cited above, the researchers narrowed the field to "zinc" and brain development rather than "all minerals" or "all nutrients" and brain development. In the case of food addiction, they narrowed the field to the most popular "binge" foods - fat and sugar - instead of just "all food" to get a more concise result.

    Conducting first level research on humans is considered unethical so they begin with animals, however, CT scans of the brains of those suspected to have food addiction have concluded that the brains of those addicted to food closely resemble those with other types of addictions. Also, those with primary food addictions, just as those with other addictions, often have a "crossover" addiction. Those with alcoholism often (but not always) have addictions to other things such as gambling or narcotics. Those with food addictions often have a secondary crossover addiction of alcohol.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324

    Lol!

    http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/addiction/FoodAddictionScale09.pdf

    Seems legit, if you were addicted to food, why even list specific categories of food?

    "This survey asks about your eating habits in the past year.
    People sometimes have difficulty controlling their intake of certai
    n foods such as:
    - Sweets like ice cream, chocolat
    e, doughnuts, cookies, cake, candy, ice cream
    - Starches like white bread, rolls, pasta, and rice
    - Salty snacks like chips, pretzels, and crackers
    - Fatty foods like steak, bacon, ha
    mburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries
    - Sugary drinks like soda pop

    As for your other links, I'm sorry, are we talking about rodents or humans, confused

    I'm not surprised that you are confused. You did know that most legitimate research begins with animals, right? For example, zinc deficiencies and brain development http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137936/.

    Since you don't seem to know much about research, let me explain. If scientists were to attempt to conduct research on ALL categories of food, the research would be so immense that the information would become confused just because of the enormity of it, therefore, scientists narrow the research to specific parameters. In the case cited above, the researchers narrowed the field to "zinc" and brain development rather than "all minerals" or "all nutrients" and brain development. In the case of food addiction, they narrowed the field to the most popular "binge" foods - fat and sugar - instead of just "all food" to get a more concise result.

    Conducting first level research on humans is considered unethical so they begin with animals, however, CT scans of the brains of those suspected to have food addiction have concluded that the brains of those addicted to food closely resemble those with other types of addictions. Also, those with primary food addictions, just as those with other addictions, often have a "crossover" addiction. Those with alcoholism often (but not always) have addictions to other things such as gambling or narcotics. Those with food addictions often have a secondary crossover addiction of alcohol.

    I'm glad that results from animal/rodent studies must mean it is applicable to humans. This was a thread about food addiction in humans, so posting a study involving rodents is not evidence of food addiction in humans.

    Also if so called food addicts can not moderate their intake of "food" then the actual type should not matter. Wouldn't the questionnaire be more accurate if they questioned people who binge on vegetables, eggs etc vs hyper palatable foods that some people lack will power to eat in moderation.

    Of alcohol and other such addictions, which ones made it into the DSM V? Just wondering
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324
    ^^^^

    The-credible-Hulk-400x273.jpg

    Food addiction is very real. Those who tell you otherwise are:
    1) Ignorant
    2) In denial
    3) Selling something
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    In......for reading about people making excuses to absolve themselves of personal responsibility.

    Nope. I'm addicted and I've had sort of "blackout binges," like an alcoholic blackout, but I did it, no one forced me. I've been trying for 30+ years to find some way to stop it. But just like an alcoholic has to take control of his/her own drinking I have to take responsibility for my overeating and deal with it the best I can. I've had the discipline to raise three productive, wonderful kids to adulthood (mostly alone), work a full time job plus a part-time one, put myself through school and complete a master's degree and will be working on a Ph.D once the rest of my school loans are paid, and do volunteer work at an animal shelter. Tthis seemed to be the one thing with which I struggled (in other words, I'm not weak in other areas of my life). No excuses, just knowing that the problem is biological AND psychological helps me combat it.
  • This content has been removed.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324
    ^^^^

    The-credible-Hulk-400x273.jpg

    Food addiction is very real. Those who tell you otherwise are:
    1) Ignorant
    2) In denial
    3) Selling something
    Oh brother. Typical response from you.


    If people want to start comparing eating to drug addiction and start ranting about dopamine release, you know what else increases dopamine?

    Thrill seeking activities
    Setting goals and achieving them
    Thyrosin
    Sleep
    Exercise

    Why is it people don't take one of those routes but instead choose cake, cookies, McDonalds etc.....

    No alcoholic blackout. Have you ever suffered from alcoholism? Have you ever been addicted to drugs? People love to compare them without ever having first hand knowledge.

    No, but I'm a nurse and I work with alcoholics and drug addicts literally every working day.
    No [food] blackout. Have you ever suffered from [food]holism? Have you ever been addicted to [food]? People love to compare them without ever having first hand knowledge.

    Actually, thrill-seeking personalities do have a kind of addiction to the adrenaline rush of thrill-seeking activities. People with depression tend to sleep - a lot - and chronic depression is known to be an imbalance of brain chemistry. I've known people who will exercise to the point of exhaustion or injury . . . hmmmmmmmmmm
  • This content has been removed.
  • DivaMaria225
    DivaMaria225 Posts: 70 Member
    Thank you,and much appreciated!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    I like how all the supporting information links in the first article link you to another article on the same site or that authority nutrition site. Oh, look, the author's free e-book on food addiction is available on….the authority nutrition site!

    Yep


    I have dealt with both addiction and with compulsive behavior. They are two *VERY* different things. Counseling is how I pulled out of compulsive behavior, but I still can't kick the addiction.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    In......for reading about people making excuses to absolve themselves of personal responsibility.

    snl-high-five.gif
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member

    Food addiction is very real. Those who tell you otherwise are:
    1) Ignorant
    2) In denial
    3) Selling something

    compulsive behavior =/= addiction


    I've dealt with both, still trying to overcome addiction. So yeah....not ignorant...not in denial....not selling anything. I am fully aware that only I am responsible for my own actions. I fully admit that I have hurt myself, my family, and others. I have nothing left to sell.


    These are real words with real meaning. Trying to conflate two different conditions and call them the same doesn't change facts.
  • eimaj5575
    eimaj5575 Posts: 278 Member
    Ok whether or not food addiction exsists. You still have to be responsible for your actions and chioces. You cant just think its a addiction and take no responsability for the poor choices.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    +1. There are peer-reviewed articles with excellent research showing the effects of eating/overeating on the brain. Those with food addiction have the same change in dopamine receptors as those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, gambling and sex.

    Now I'm giggling - at you rushbabe!

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    Peer-reviewed articles (you DO know what a peer-reviewed article is, right RushBabe? :huh: )
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0074832
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11280926
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12055324
    ^^^^

    The-credible-Hulk-400x273.jpg

    Food addiction is very real. Those who tell you otherwise are:
    1) Ignorant
    2) In denial
    3) Selling something
    Oh brother. Typical response from you.


    If people want to start comparing eating to drug addiction and start ranting about dopamine release, you know what else increases dopamine?

    Thrill seeking activities
    Setting goals and achieving them
    Thyrosin
    Sleep
    Exercise

    Why is it people don't take one of those routes but instead choose cake, cookies, McDonalds etc.....

    No alcoholic blackout. Have you ever suffered from alcoholism? Have you ever been addicted to drugs? People love to compare them without ever having first hand knowledge.

    No, but I'm a nurse and I work with alcoholics and drug addicts literally every working day.
    No [food] blackout. Have you ever suffered from [food]holism? Have you ever been addicted to [food]? People love to compare them without ever having first hand knowledge.

    Actually, thrill-seeking personalities do have a kind of addiction to the adrenaline rush of thrill-seeking activities. People with depression tend to sleep - a lot - and chronic depression is known to be an imbalance of brain chemistry. I've known people who will exercise to the point of exhaustion or injury . . . hmmmmmmmmmm
    You being a nurse means nothing in knowing how people actually feel. I work in EMS and respond to 911 emergencies every day here in NYC, that doesn't mean I know what my patients feel. I love can imagine what they feel and maybe sympathize. I have knowledge gained through the teachings and the years I've been working but that doesn't actually mean I "know" how it feels when my patients are having an MI or or a CVA. We know the signs, symptoms would feel like and we can provide treatment but that doesn't mean we actually know what it feels like.

    I can't even tell you how many nurses every day want to talk to me about food and what they should eat, how many times, what pill they should take, how much cardio to do and how they heard Dr. Oz say something great. Being a nurse does not hold you on a higher platform because I see the ignorance and misconceptions running rampant daily in the health care field.

    And what was the purpose of changing my quote to say food over and over.

    If I don't know what it's like to be an alcoholic, you don't know what it's like to be a foodaholic. THAT was my point.

    If you are an EMT then you know this: ETOH turns to SUGAR in your system, right? What did the studies on food addiction show? That most food addicts are addicted to SUGARY foods. Is it really such a stretch to believe that if one can be addicted to sugar in ETOH form, another can be addicted to sugar in food form?

    Cocaine also indirectly effects the blood sugar: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/recreational-drugs/cocaine.html .

    You say you listen to your patients' symptoms and equate them with diagnoses, but you won't listen to those of us dealing with this problem OR the scientific data to support our position? I'm glad you're in NYC. Stay there because we don't need another closed minded EMT here.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    No alcoholic blackout. Have you ever suffered from alcoholism? Have you ever been addicted to drugs? People love to compare them without ever having first hand knowledge.

    And.....I have had blackouts from alcohol without being addicted to it. Binge drinking, like binge eating, is often a behavioral disorder. I can drink alcohol now without abusing it. It's not a coping mechanism for me anymore. But nicotine? *sigh*


    People often use the word "addiction" to mean something different from what it actually is. Addiction is a medical condition. Binge eating, bulimia, anorexia, etc, are all psychological conditions that may or may not lead to a health condition down the road. That's not to say that one is worse/better than the other, but simply to point out that they are different things. I firmly believe in calling things what they are, not what they are not.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member

    If I don't know what it's like to be an alcoholic, you don't know what it's like to be a foodaholic. THAT was my point.


    I would never use either of those words, but based on your perspective of them, I have been both.


    ETA: Counseling is what taught me the difference between addiction and compulsion and how to change the things I can, to accept the things I can't, and to honestly deal with the things I must without hurting myself.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    For kicks and giggles I began reading the first link.

    I'm still giggling....

    If you want to have a serious conversation, fine. If you're just going to be condescending, just leave and don't come back.

    It's difficult for me to have a serious conversation about "food addiction" when I think it's a load of BS, but whatever.

    *giggle*

    :wink:

    Wow, you have no compassion whatsoever.

    Food addiction is REAL. I live with someone that is addicted to sugar. Has withdrawal symptoms just like an alcoholic or drug addict.

    Are you so perfect that you think that it is made up or something??? Well, its NOT.