Food IS an addiction

TracieJ65

Last week there was a very controversy thread, mainly because it likened alcoholis to food addiction, here. Long story short the person was basically asking if food really is an addiction/disease. Anyway, on the Rachael Ray show, today, she had a psychotherapist & addiction expert on and the topic was "Food as an addiction." I found the whole segment quite interesting and it really put the whole subject in perspective for me. You can see/read the segment if you go to www.rachaelray.com and then click on the TV show box. You can read the entire segment, and take the quiz they gave the audience, but you only see about half of the segment. Very interesting!

emmaleigh47

Food is an addiction unfortunately.
People who naturally thinner do not think of food the same way that some of us (me included) think of food.
The hardest part about a food addiction is that you cannot just abstain from it like alcohol, youhave to learn to moderate it.
What do they say about alcohol and drugs -- complete abstinence is the best.

knelson422

Dr. Oz also had someone on in the beginning of the year about food addiction. It was a good segment, gives some hope for controlling this issue more. It is something I know I will struggle with for the rest of my life.

woja9640

I wouldn't say food in and of itself is an addiction.

I think to be more accurate certain foods along with over eating is the addiction. Eating is a necessity that we can not live without. So it's actually the behaviors regarding food that are an addiction and learned.

Humans can survive fine without drinking alcoholic drinks or taking drugs but we can not survive without food. We need to learn to change our behaviors and attitudes towards food.

Something I find very interesting is the fact that even in what we consider "good" restaurants like the Outback, one meal there with filet mingnon, the potatoe butter only, veggies, 1 serving of bread, and the side salad, (not counting any drink) is around 1200 calories. Even if a person were on a 2000 calorie a day diet, that is nearly the entirety of the person's energy for the day.

So it's not just us as a single person, we are being "enabled" by restaurants who serve larger portions sizes than is necessary.

But that's just my thoughts.

FitPhysique

I believe there is such thing as a food addiction. I was thin all my life except for the last couple of years and I know it's an addiction. Food addicts come in all shape and sizes so it'sa a misconception that only overweight people are addicts.

There's a show that is starting on OWN that deals with this very issue. Food can be like a drug because when you eat, it releaseschemicals that mimic the body’s natural painkillers, endorphins, sometimes termed “exorphins.” People use to think that mental illnesses were loony science and most of us know now that it's just like any illnesses be it be diabetic, hig blood pressure etc.

Here's an artcile I think that might shed some light on this issue.
http://www.allaboutlifechallenges.org/food-addiction.htm

sophiajackson99

Anything can be used in an addictive way, so yes it's possible for food to be one too. Texting, emailing, sports watching, running, eating, alcohol drugs, cigarettes - the definition of an addiction (to me) is anything that so monopolizes your time, that it begins to exert more control over your life than you do. The alcohol causes you lose your job. The sports take you away from your spouse. The thought of a cigarette makes you interrupt a conversation so that you can go have one. The food stuffing causes pain to the belly. The drugs numb you out.

All of these things can be used in a normal way too. Food has been my addiction. And cigarettes were too for a few years. Both were used in exactly the same way - to run away from or numb myself out of things I found hard to face. The solution to me, is to decide to enter life and be present.

sophiajackson99

Well maybe not the drugs or cigarettes. :0 Posted too quickly!

melsinct

Anything can be used in an addictive way, so yes it's possible for food to be one too. Texting, emailing, sports watching, running, eating, alcohol drugs, cigarettes - the definition of an addiction (to me) is anything that so monopolizes your time, that it begins to exert more control over your life than you do. The alcohol causes you lose your job. The sports take you away from your spouse. The thought of a cigarette makes you interrupt a conversation so that you can go have one. The food stuffing causes pain to the belly. The drugs numb you out.

All of these things can be used in a normal way too. Food has been my addiction. And cigarettes were too for a few years. Both were used in exactly the same way - to run away from or numb myself out of things I found hard to face. The solution to me, is to decide to enter life and be present.

Well said, and I completely agree.

ohnuts14

over-eating/binge eating is definitely an addiction. just about anything can turn into one. i have problems with addiction and have bounced around from drugs to alcohol to binge eating. binge eating usually being what i stuck to. i even became addicted to shopping. that was probably the worst because of the debt that followed. =( it didn't take long though for me to switch back over to binge eating lol. an addiction, in any form, is difficult to overcome, because they are all rooted from the same place. no emotional addiction is easier to overcome than another.

kayemme

i think that "food addiction" is way more complicated than alcoholism or other "typical" addictions because like someone already mentioned we need food.

but most of us don't actually eat food, we eat products that are loaded with chemicals. THAT is partially where the addiction starts.

the other part of the addiction comes in the form of advertising. the next time you're watching tv, just observe the advertisements and pay close attention to what they're really selling. it's not food, i guarantee you that.