Question: Do you think food is an actual addiction like drug

mish3131
mish3131 Posts: 276 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I personally from my own experience I believe this to be true. It was not for the longest time, but as stress emotional issues started I would use food as my escape. Isn't this what a drug addict or alcoholic does also? Even when full, I could still eat. All I would think about was what else can I eat.

Of course the biggest difference between drug addicts, alcoholics and food addicts is you need food to live. You do not need drugs or alcohol to live.

What is your opinion on this?

Replies

  • balance9
    balance9 Posts: 160
    Not food so much, but sugar -- yes. Lots of science on this. When we get a 'craving' its not that we want to go head first into the vegetable bin. Sugar releases dopamine and other neurotransmitters that light up the addiction center of the brain like a Christmas Tree. And sugar is in virtually all processed foods, to some degree.
  • mish3131
    mish3131 Posts: 276 Member
    I do agree with that, but my most weight gain was not eating processed food/candy/sugar etc. It was just food. Like a spaghetti dinner, or stew or chili. Always eating too much and then when upset going for more.
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
    I would say so. If you're that sort of person who needs a 'crutch' to deal with things, then food is definitely to be considered an addiction. I could've had any addiction - my mother and grandmother are alcoholics, a lot of my friends smoke, anyone can get hold of drugs - but food is the addiction I've learned to use since childhood. I'll always be a person with food problems. I just have to learn to cope without mountains of the stuff, and forgive myself when I have an 'off' day!
  • mish3131
    mish3131 Posts: 276 Member
    I would say so. If you're that sort of person who needs a 'crutch' to deal with things, then food is definitely to be considered an addiction. I could've had any addiction - my mother and grandmother are alcoholics, a lot of my friends smoke, anyone can get hold of drugs - but food is the addiction I've learned to use since childhood. I'll always be a person with food problems. I just have to learn to cope without mountains of the stuff, and forgive myself when I have an 'off' day!

    Yes, seems like our families have a lot in common. Dad, Mom, Grandmother, Grandfather etc. were/or still are addicted to something. My mom would have a bad day so we would go out to an all you can eat place. This is what I learned is ok and acceptable.

    BTW, you are doing great with your weight loss. I hope I can get to your weight soon.
  • fowlmeli1093
    fowlmeli1093 Posts: 199
    Trust me. I was addicted to drugs and alcohol at one point in my life. You know how they say that people with addictions move from one addiction to the other. Well, I moved to food. And the addiction feels the same. Like you, I used to eat just to eat and wonder what I could eat next. Now, I still LOVE food, but I have to cut back. I still think about food ALL THE TIME. The addiction, I feel, is the same (maybe worse).
  • canstey
    canstey Posts: 118
    I would say yes and no. How's that for ambivalent?

    Yes it is because of the pleasure it can bring and the difficulty stopping yourself but no because it does not have anywhere near the actual physical withdrawal symptoms that many drugs have. However food has the added bonus of requiring it to be consumed regardless of addiction so it isn't like you can quit it completely like drugs and alcohol. Not many alcoholics can ever learn to have "just one or two" and stop but with food addiction that is exactly what you need to do. About the best you can do is cut out all trigger foods.

    I am reminded of "Over the Hedge" with the slogan "Spuddies: One is never enough".
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
    Eating certain foods triggers your brain to produce certain chemicals that make you feel good. Chocolate, for example, triggers production of opioids (which dull pain & produce a feeling of well-being). Exactly like a drug. There are even chemicals in chocolate that act like THC, resulting in production of dopamine. Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a chemical related to amphetamines.

    I used to be straight-up addicted to chocolate. :embarassed: I actually had to cut my consumption down to nothing cold-turkey for 3 months before I could be trusted around it again. Now I can have one tiny piece (like 1 square of a dark chocolate bar) and be perfectly satisfied. Before it wasn't unheard of for me to eat 2-3 full size chocolate bars *each day.* (again, :embarassed: )
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
    I truly believe that YES, you can be addicted to food just like a drug. I certainly feel like I'm a recovering addict....but it feels really good to be in more control. I know I will need to treat my sugar problem like an addiction for the rest of my life as well.
  • Amandac6772
    Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
    100% yes
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    YES, food addiction is just as real as any other addiction. Have you tried Overeaters Anonymous? which is for compulsive overeaters? It really helps with food addiction. OA has really helped me get back on track and to face my demons and my food addiction.
  • 29bubbles
    29bubbles Posts: 126 Member
    Me too! I agree! I've always used food as a way to feel satisfied and fulfilled or to deal with stress.

    My youth was filled with confussing messages about food. My father allowed NO SUGAR in the house so my mom would buy things at the store, like ice cream and candy, and we would drive around in circles until we ate it all. So, lesson one was eating/binging in secret. Then after my parents split up it was all sugar and junk all the time. We would each get a half gallon of ice cream and we'd eat it while watching tv. All of it. I was a pre-teen eating a complete half gallon container of ice cream while watching Miami Vice and Dallas.

    I still want to dive into the chocolate bars and ice cream sandwiches today... but, I'm working hard to see food differently and I'm hoping that one day I will not crave that kind of stuff.
  • bocachula
    bocachula Posts: 3
    I agree food can be very addictive, I think people use drugs to fill a void and some of us use food. Just like drugs i don't think your cured of food addiction it's a change of life style and total commitment.
  • mish3131
    mish3131 Posts: 276 Member
    YES, food addiction is just as real as any other addiction. Have you tried Overeaters Anonymous? which is for compulsive overeaters? It really helps with food addiction. OA has really helped me get back on track and to face my demons and my food addiction.

    Actually Mollie, I am doing really well on here. I realize my issue, once and a while have a relapse, but I have not gained any of my 43lbs I lost back. So, I feel as though I have more control then ever.
  • jessicajoy87
    jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
    I completely agree with this. I have been struggling so bad with binge eating. I bought a couple over eating books that have the 12 step program in it. I am also going to see about opening up some overeaters annonymous meetings in my town.
  • islandnutshel
    islandnutshel Posts: 1,143 Member
    After reading posts from the BED topic, I would have to say yes. It could be how an OCD is manifest. My heart goes out to people struggling with this.
  • Skinnytime
    Skinnytime Posts: 279
    For me, "food" is not necessarily the addiction. It's all the patterns I've developed around food that are the problems. I was always too "tired" to cook dinner, so we'd order in. I was stressed from work, so I'd open a bottle of wine and start drinking it as soon as I got home. I'd make dinner for my kids and "taste" just a little too much. I'd eat way too many french fries while sitting in front of the tv. We'd be out shopping on a weekend and stop into a Fridays or Applebees for lunch.
    I've had to make many changes in my patterns in order to make a difference in my eating. All the take out menus are gone. I plan what I will cook so I have it in the house. I pour one glass of wine to have with dinner and then cork the bottle. I pre-measure my portions and put them in my plate before I sit down to eat. The only family-style plate left on the table is veggies. I allow myself as many of those as I'd like since I steam them without oil or butter.

    When my meal is done, I get up from the table. I don't sit around nibbling on things.

    Now, I can't take credit for all of this on my own. I started a very strict diet protocol which requires me to eat only a certain amount of certain foods. Because of this protocol I've made some serious changes in my eating patterns.

    For those who suffer from true food addiction, the best thing is to seek treatment. For those, like me, who have situational triggers, the best thing you can do is change your pattern of behavior if you can't avoid the triggers.
  • rose1617
    rose1617 Posts: 469 Member
    I certainly think it can be. In fact, anything can be an addiction if you obsess over it enough and let it control your life.
    The key is ANYTHING in moderation. I think that covers pretty much all addiction-potential items.
    Now, if there already is an addiction, usually the answer is weaning yourself off of it. Obviously you can't wean yourself off of food entirely, but you can wean yourself off of bad food.
  • HaesMom
    HaesMom Posts: 11
    Speaking from my own personal experience, I have smoked cigarettes, and indulged in drinking in the past, I feel that food is a much harder addiction to overcome than either of those things. When I quit smoking I just stopped and didn't have to think about them again because if I chose to I didn't have to be near or around them. However food is a totally different entity, for one thing its something we need, and all the stuff that tastes good is usually the worst for us. There is no way to go a day without thinking about food, and that in itself causes some to become addicited to food in the same way others may become addicted to drugs.
    I think it also depends if your the type of person that has an addictive personality. I know I am, I become interested in something and I want to know more about it to the point where I become semi- obsessed with it.
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