Food: As addictive as cocaine, heroin, and nicotine?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-h ... 64863.html



New discoveries in science prove that industrially processed, sugar-, fat- and salt-laden food -- food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant, as Michael Pollan would say -- is biologically addictive.

Imagine a foot-high pile of broccoli, or a giant bowl of apple slices. Do you know anyone who would binge broccoli or apples? On other hand, imagine a mountain of potato chips or a whole bag of cookies, or a pint of ice cream. Those are easy to imagining vanishing in an unconscious, reptilian brain eating frenzy. Broccoli is not addictive, but cookies, chips, or soda absolutely can become addictive drugs.

Here are some of the scientific findings confirming that food can, indeed, be addictive(ii):

1.Sugar stimulates the brain's reward centers through the neurotransmitter dopamine, exactly like other addictive drugs.

2.Brain imagining (PET scans) shows that high-sugar and high-fat foods work just like heroin, opium, or morphine in the brain.(iii)

3.Brain imaging (PET scans) shows that obese people and drug addicts have lower numbers of dopamine receptors, making them more likely to crave things that boost dopamine.

[Robin Garr]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/food-addiction-could-it-e_b_764863.html

New discoveries in science prove that industrially processed, sugar-, fat- and salt-laden food -- food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant, as Michael Pollan would say -- is biologically addictive.

Fascinating! Thanks for the post, Justin.

I do wonder, though, what this says about people like me, who don't have much of a sweet tooth and can easily push back from sugary foods, but could very easily binge on salty/crunchy/fatty snacks.

I've been suspicious of High Fructose Corn Syrup as an addictive substance for some time now. The wife swore off Coca-Cola and like beverages for about a year and went through something like withdrawal symptoms during. Couldn't really pinpoint a source, and since HFCS is in just about everything these days, it wasn't like she wasn't taking in any, but her supply was greatly diminished.

Who knows, wouldn't surprise me.

And I have gorged myself on veggies and fruit before (blackberries, yummy!), but all I got was a tummy ache!

You had me until I followed the link to the article at Huffington Post.

Don't get me wrong, Huffpost is generally a good aggregator of current event items, and I read it fairly regularly. Unfortunately, the health and wellness stuff they post can be a little suspect from a scientific standpoint. Possibly a reflection of Arianna Huffington's alternative medicine views.

That said, in my opinion food addictions are a real thing. That food is as physically addictive as cocaine, heroin or nicotine is another story. I'd love to hear what our resident foodie(s) in the medical field think about the subject.

There is a school of thought in the medical community that almost anything can be addictive if the dopamine receptors are stimulated. I remember feeling like I was going through withdrawal when I was told I was gestationally diabetic with my last pregnancy and had to cold turkey off sugars. Psychological addiction can cause physical symptoms too when the object of the addiction is taken away.

Talk with pregnant ladies about food compulsions. When I was pregnant all I could think about were sesame seeds and watermelon. All day, constantly on my mind, frantically wondering if there would be watermelons at the mart the next day if I had eaten the last piece in the middle of the night. My husband marveled at my obsession. "Thank god it's something we can afford." I NEVER want to feel that owned by a habit/compulsion again.