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Are you addicted to junk food filled with sugar? Is that even possible? Is addiction driving the obesity epidemic?
Addiction to food is a very controversial issue. There are many strong opinions in the medical field on both sides.
Dr. Nora Volkow, the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, has done extensive research on addiction and obesity. She has concluded that addiction to foods, especially ones high in sugar and fat, is real. She has done extensive research showing that the reward pathways in the brain are disrupted in people who are obese, especially those involving dopamine—sometimes known as the pleasure neurotransmitter.
Dopamine is released when we do pleasurable things like eat, have sex, or use drugs. When people do these things too often, or in larger amounts than normal, the brain adapts and makes it harder to trigger this system. This leads people to use more and more in order to feel good. It leads to a vicious cycle of addiction.
An article in the European Journal of Nutrition reviewed some of the science and concluded that sugar addiction is not real. They claim that binging on so-called comfort foods only occurs in the context of food deprivation. People on this side of the issue say obesity can be controlled by eating in moderation—even junk food every now and then.
Some make the argument that sugar has been around for centuries and people didn’t get “addicted” to it until recently. They claim that something else is to blame for the obesity epidemic, although no one seems to know what that is.
Others point out that “sugar” is no longer sucrose, or table sugar, that our grandmothers used to bake homemade cookies. Instead, it’s highly processed sugars—high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, and the like. There are also other chemicals and additives in most junk food. These have all been developed by food companies to make their foods more “palatable.”
What does that mean? Some would say it means that it's more addictive. Food companies don’t want us to eat just one. They want us to eat the whole bag and go buy more.
So what does the DSM-5 say? The bible of psychiatric diagnoses, DSM-5, lists many disorders of addiction. It does not include sugar or junk food among them.
However, a new diagnosis that is included is binge eating disorder. This disorder is defined by episodes of binge eating that occurs at least once a week for at least three months. It must include three or more of the following:
- Eating much more rapidly than normal.
- Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
- Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
- Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.
- Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.
- What Is Addiction?
- Find counselling to overcome addiction
The full criteria are here.
Does this sound like an addiction? If we replaced the “eating” in these criteria with “consuming alcohol or drugs,” most would see it as an addiction.
Binge eating disorder is now the most common eating disorder. It affects about 3 percent of the United States population. Women are twice as likely to have it as men.
If you feel you are addicted to sweets and junk food, what should you do? Here are six steps to overcoming an addiction to sugar and junk food.
1. Recognize that you have a problem.
This is often easier said than done. When people are addicted to something, they have lots of good reasons to believe that what they are doing is fine. They make all sorts of excuses.
- "I deserve to relax after a hard day’s work. I think I’ll have a snack!"
- "I’ve had an awful day and don’t really care about my health right now. I just need to feel better."
So, what makes it a problem?
- If you are overweight or obese.
- If you eat more than you intend to.
- If you find yourself wanting snacks not because you’re hungry, but because you’re bored, or upset, or happy, or whatever. (The "eating can solve everything" attitude.)
2. Make a plan—cut back or abstain?
Overcoming an addiction is hard work. If you believe that some foods can be addictive for you, it’s probably best to avoid them altogether. We have learned with other addictive substances, like alcohol, that abstinence works best.
Part of the cycle of addiction is the lack of control. Once you get started, you can’t stop. People end up eating or drinking more than they plan to. Acknowledging this lack of control is important.
However, we all hear the message that everything in moderation is fine. If you want to give moderation a chance, go for it. It’s important to set some concrete goals and see how you do. If you’re trying to cut back, make a plan for how much. Make it measurable. For example, only have three cookies for dessert two nights per week.
If your goal is abstinence, be clear with yourself about what you plan to abstain from. For example, I won’t have any cookies this week. This leaves open opportunities for other desserts, but that’s OK in the beginning. Alternatively, your goal might be “no dessert” for the week.
If your goal is too broad and nonspecific, such as “I’ll be good this week and lose some weight,” it’s hard to make specific plans for how to accomplish this. The more detail you can add to your plan, the better.
3. Remove temptation.
We ask alcoholics to clear their homes of alcohol so that they can’t easily start drinking at their first craving. Sure, they can always go out and buy more. But for many people, putting some distance between the urge to do something and actually being able to do it can be helpful. In the 15 minutes that it takes to drive to the liquor store, the craving can go away. People can get a hold of themselves and drive back home.
This same advice goes for addictive foods.
4. Have a plan for cravings and triggers.
It’s important to think about what drives you to eat addictive foods.
- Is it stress?
- Is it work?
- Is it loneliness?
All of these things and others are common triggers. When people feel bad, they want to do something to feel better. Food can serve this purpose.
However, although overeating can make you feel better in the moment, in the long run, it can lead to many problems—obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and most importantly, depression. This last one is important because it creates a never-ending cycle. You eat to feel better. It works in the short run. But in the long run, the overeating makes you more depressed. That, in turn, makes you want to eat more.
5. Track results.
Come up with a way to track your goals. It could be entering the data in your calendar. There are numerous apps out there to help. You can go with an old-fashioned pencil and paper.
No matter what—be accountable and track your progress. Track things that matter to you, such as:
- Staying away from certain foods.
- Losing weight.
- Feeling better.
If at the end of the week, you find that you forgot to track, it probably means that you also forgot your goals. Take this as a warning.
Tracking gives you an opportunity to observe what you’re doing and think about it. It also gives you an opportunity to see if your goals are leading to desired outcomes, such as feeling better or losing weight.
6. Get help.
If you just can’t seem to do any of this—if it seems too overwhelming or hopeless—please get help.
In particular, if you have an eating disorder, such as binge eating disorder, bulimia, or anorexia, you may feel you are “addicted” to foods. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to overcome an eating disorder on your own. For some, they can be deadly. Professionals are available to help.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is intended as medical advice. People with health conditions are urged to seek medical care from a competent medical provider. No doctor-patient relationship is created by this article, or by any responses to comments posted in this forum by Chris Palmer, M.D.
I’ve definitely had moments when I’ve craved chocolate or ‘needed’ something sweet after dinner so I can relate to the notion of needing a ‘fix’.
Food addiction?
Within the scientific community there’s lots of disagreement on whether or not certain foods are addictive, so a definition for food (or sugar) addiction doesn’t actually exist.
In the end, I believe it really doesn’t matter what the definition is, or if true food addiction really exists. The reality is that food has become much more apart of our lives than just fuel for our bodies. It’s pleasure for our soul, it picks us up when we are down (physically and emotionally), we celebrate the good, bad and boring times with it and it makes us feel good.
I love the taste of ice cream, salty chips and crackers, cheese and wine. Chocolate is the ultimate sensory experience and all of my favourite meals have gained said status due to their inarguably good taste!
One of the reasons scientists have decided to include sugar into the list of dependance items is because it activates the pathway in the brain that relates to ‘reward’, which is also activated by addictive drugs. When it comes to food, it’s the ‘rewarding’ of ourselves that we like.
I went through a phase in my nutrition career when I labelled certain high sugar, salt or fat foods as ‘treat’ foods. This meant that they were OK, every now and then, as a treat, but shouldn’t be eaten every day. The problem I’ve discovered with this is that we live in a busy, stressful and often unhappy world and thus a daily (or more often) treat is a nice escape from our mundane, depressed lives.
Sorry if I’m sounding rather morbid, but it’s dawned on me that calling ‘junk’ foods ‘treat’ foods may be counter productive. I don’t know about you but treats make me happy and I like to feel happy as often as I can.
What if healthy food was called ‘treat’ food? What if we actually treated ourselves daily with wholesome food that made us feel good about ourselves and not full of regret and self loathing 5 mins after we’ve eaten it? Junk food shouldn’t be called treat food. It really should be called ‘sometimes’ food. And treating ourselves should happen daily but in a way that enhances our physical and emotional wellbeing.
So what about the feelings of dependence? What about the cravings? What about the urges for food that you just can’t resist? What are you supposed to do about that?
Research has shown that palatable food (food that tastes amazing) does cause the release of dopamine (a feel good chemical) in your brain. So certain foods do make you feel better than others, just because they taste good. Due to the fact that we would prefer to feel good rather than bad we actively seek out that food again to re-experience the ‘feel good’ factor. Is it addictive? Probably not, but nonetheless when you’ve medicated your sadness, stress, disappointment and misery with food for 20 years, it can be a hard habit to break.
Food as reward
I think the biggest part of breaking your dependance on sugar or other foods that you just can’t resist lies in your understanding of the reward.
There are 3 different aspects to a reward: liking, a pleasant experience and wanting. Wanting is the motivation to seek out the reward to experience it again. Research suggests that dopamine is released in response to wanting. It’s also released in such a way that we experience the ‘rush’ in anticipation of receiving the reward, not afterwards.
So perhaps this explains why sitting in a cafe and staring at the cakes in the window makes the urge to ‘reward’ yourself feel so good but after you’ve eaten it you realise that it was over-rated. I know I’ve definitely felt that way. Food is an immediate indulgence. You only want it in the moment and then once the moment’s past you don’t feel like you’ve missed out because it’s not right in front of you any more.
Guess what other things activate your brain’s reward pathways? Music, humour, winning, expecting to win a prize, attractive or smiling faces, a mother recognising their child and (my favourite) being ‘in love’. This fact alone suggests that food isn’t addictive in the same sense as drugs but actually elicits a normal response that occurs in many of life’s pleasurable experiences.
How to beat it…
There’s no quick fix or magic pill to make you stop wanting sugar or foods that you crave. Ultimately, you crave what you regularly feed yourself. So… the only way to reduce your cravings is to take a break. If you regularly have something sweet to eat after dinner, it’s very natural for you to always feel like eating something sweet after dinner. You’re in a bad habit, that’s all. Research has shown that fasting particular foods doesn’t increase the cravings like it does with true drug addiction, it actually reduces them.
Changing your habits and behaviour is hard work. So you need to get prepared. Here are are few tips to help you beat the sugar high and get in control of your eating.
1. Decide that you want to change
Change – real change – requires that you give up one aspect of your life or behaviour for the sake of something better. In the end you have to decide that losing weight or changing your eating habits is more important to you than the foods that need to take a back seat.
2. Precisely articulate what triggers your cravings
Knowing what triggers your desires for certain foods helps you prepare for those moments before they happen. If you tend to eat when you are stressed, then instead of reaching for a chocolate bar when you walk away from your desk, bring your sneakers and go for a walk. When I’m feeling sad and tempted to eat for no reason, I take a shower and wash my hair which really helps me feel much better.
3. Make a meal plan
Being prepared with your meals is really important when it comes to changing your eating habits. For further reading and a free download check out my article: The Benefits of Meal Planning.
4. Find yourself a distraction tactic
This is something that you do instead of your bad eating habit. You see, you can’t stop one habit easily without replacing it with another one. For example, if you like to have something sweet to eat after dinner, try replacing dessert or chocolate with a flavoured herbal tea. If you get bored during a certain point in the day instead of reaching for an office fundraiser or buying a blueberry muffin, why not plan the next weeks worth of meals and exercise sessions. Maybe you need a hobby. For further reading, check out my article on boredom eating.
5. Write out and regularly re-read your goals
Sometimes we just need to be reminded of what it is that we want more. If weight loss is your goal than write down your goals and put them on the fridge, pantry or mirror in the bathroom where you can regularly see them.
6. Don’t keep temping food in the house
This one is simple. If it’s not available you can’t eat it.
7. Get you’re family & friends on board
Enlisting the help of people close to you will help you stay on track. We need to be accountable to someone when we are making tough lifestyle adjustments. Make sure these people are positive and encouraging and stay away from junk food enablers.
8. Keep a food diary
A large proportion of our eating habits happen without us even being aware of them. Mindless eating is a huge problem in our busy multi-tasking lives. Eating while doing other tasks often results in over consumption or eating even when you’re not hungry. Keeping a food diary will help you raise awareness of exactly what you put in your mouth and highlight some of your bad habits.
9. Explore non-food rewards
Like I said earlier, we all like to feel good. Find a way to reward yourself that isn’t food related. New clothes, a new book, a hair cut or treatment, a massage… the list is endless, so take the time to sit down and work out nice things that you can reward yourself with that wont add to your waistline.
10. Eat a well balanced diet
Fad dieting, severe restriction and skipping meals will predispose you to binge eating and overconsumption at your next meal time. Don’t do it. Follow a healthy, well-balanced meal plan with protein, high fibre carbohydrate, healthy fats and lots of fruit and vegetables.
The most important thing to remember is to not give up. You want to change your eating habits and lifestyle forever, so give yourself a break if you have a relapse into old habits and try again tomorrow. The great thing about life is that it’s never too late.
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