Doing My Research - Book Recommendations Please!

shira324 wrote: »

I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with food, and I'd like to do some reading on the topic. Can anyone recommend books or articles about the science of hunger, food addiction, sugar addiction, overeating, or emotional eating?

Thank you!

"Addiction" is a term that gets thrown around pretty willy nilly, particularly in the diet/nutrition community, which makes meaningful research difficult...just lots of woo out there.

Most of what you're talking about would fall under the umbrella of BED...BED is the most common eating disorder/addiction. It is a behavior addiction rather than a physical addiction. It is very real and nothing to be trivialized. Food in and of itself isn't addictive...sugar in and of itself is not an addictive substance.

This behavior addiction is largely attributable to trying to cope with unpleasant emotions or difficult life circumstances which could also stem from various trauma earlier in life. This behavior isn't "hunger" anymore than an alcoholics behavior is about quenching thirst.

Sugar is often associated with binges and emotional eating that could fall under the umbrella of BED...bowls of ice cream, cookies, cake, etc...but it's important to realize that most of the things people associate with sugar addiction are actually a highly palatable combinations of fat and sugar where in most cases the % of calories coming from fat are just as much, if not more than sugar...but nobody talks about "fat addiction." The highly palatable combination tends to sooth emotions, at least in the short term...but the underlying reasons are still there.

It's a behavioral issue with underlying causes that need to be addressed. There are avenues for help if this...over-eaters anonymous can be helpful and there are hotlines you can call.

I can't reference any books as this isn't something I've ever struggled with, but I am an alcoholic in recovery and there are similarities in regards to the behavior aspect...the biggest difference being the physical addiction with alcoholism. I would drink to "feel good"...I would drink to push emotions to the side and forget for awhile...I would drink to alleviate stress and anxiety, etc. In reality, drinking doesn't make me feel good...drinking only temporarily pushes issues to the side and postpones dealing with them with a level head...drinking increases my stress and anxiety.

After years of denial, I finally realized that it was not something I could just do on my own. I need my support group and I need to be around people who understand...I would think most people who suffer from BED or any other disorder/addiction would ultimately find themselves in that same boat, and there are resources out there for help.