One thing is for sure, people love to eat. There are over 216,ooo fast food restaurants in the United States. No matter when we are hungry, chances are there is a fast food place nearby. Of course, you can’t forget sporting events. Everyone loves a hot dog or two, and if you are of age a beer to go with them and maybe some chips or pretzels. How about parades and farmers markets and theaters and let’s not forget even at the beach we can buy food or snacks or drinks. Commercials today are either for pills or food and we have commercials like every five minutes. There are even songs that talk about food like “Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Jimmy Buffett, which celebrates the simple pleasure of a cheeseburger. Here is one chorus: “Cheeseburger in paradise. Medium rare with mustard ‘be nice. Heaven on earth with an onion slice. I’m just a cheeseburger in paradise.” If we can sing about cheeseburgers, why not pie, or coconuts or even banana pancakes? Don McLean sang “American Pie “, Harry Nilsson sang about “Coconuts”, and Jack Johnson sang “Banana Pancakes.” Food is all around us. Well, we have to eat, don’t we? We sure do, but what we eat can affect our mood. That is why some food is called comfort food. There is a part of the brain called the reward center. Kristen Klinefelter records this, “When we eat our comfort food, dopamine is released in our brain because it is a neurotransmitter. Think of neurotransmitters as chemical messengers between neurons, telling our body to do something. Dopamine tells our body that it can expect a reward. Dopamine can impact our body by improving digestion, blood flow, memory, focus, mood, sleep, and stress management skills. Simply thinking about our comfort food can trigger a dopamine release and begin a cycle of motivation and reward. Other hormones that you may be familiar with that work together with dopamine include serotonin and adrenaline. Some animal studies suggest that these hormones that reduce stressful emotions may be released when eating our comfort foods, therefore leading to a habitual desire to eat them.” (Jacques et al., 2019). So does this mean that we should eat more so that we can be rewarded more? One would think so, but like anything else, food can be addicting. Speaking about our reward center of the brain, foods high in refined carbohydrates and added fats (often found in ultra-processed foods) can trigger the release of this dopamine in the brain and have similar effects of addictive substances like nicotine and alcohol. This creates a “reward loop” where individuals crave and consume these foods repeatedly, even when it’s not good for them. Like with drugs, some individuals may develop a tolerance to these foods, needing to eat increasingly larger amounts to satisfy cravings. A key indicator of food addiction is a loss of control over eating behaviors, especially around specific highly palatable foods. This can lead to compulsive eating, even when already feeling full. Of course this all results in being overweight and even other physical problems. According to Virtua Health: Food addiction is difficult to prevent because it’s impossible to avoid food. However, one of the best strategies is to avoid overexposure to palatable foods by eating a healthy, balanced diet that’s rich in natural, unprocessed foods. Eating a balanced diet and understanding the warning signs of food addiction will help you to act quickly if you suspect a problem. Overcoming food addiction typically involves following the same model that’s used to treat other types of addictions—and you’ll need a solid plan and plenty of support.
- First, you’ll need to detoxify your body by avoiding trigger foods, such as fast food or foods with processed sugar. During this time, you may experience withdrawal symptoms that can range from mild to severe.
- After you detoxify your body, you’ll need to work on changing your eating behaviors. You may need to avoid certain people, places (such as restaurants), situations and foods that intensify cravings or make you more likely to consume the problem food. You also may need to break associations between food and routines or events, such as eating ice cream before bed or having buttery popcorn at the movie theater.
- Other strategies that can help include tracking your food consumption, pre planning your meals and eating mindfully.
Although some people can gradually reintroduce small amounts of those problem foods into their diets, other people must avoid them indefinitely to maintain control over their food addiction. You should pay close attention to how your body responds to your problem foods to decide what long-term management strategy is right for you. If you need professional support to help you lose weight, talk to your primary care physician to see what options may be right for you. Your brain may take pleasure in what you eat and you may feel like it is a great reward, but why ruin your health which will last way beyond those few moments of pleasure?