Food addiction: Food can be as addictive as drugs

Food addiction is a compulsive overeating with episodes of uncontrolled eating or binging. Junk food is a slang word for foods with limited nutritional value. Junk foods are typically ready to eat foods containing high levels of saturated fats, salt, or sugar, and low nutrient content. Junk foods have no health benefits. Junk food addiction is so high because of its simplicity. Human beings have a neurological vulnerability to fat.

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The food addiction principles are taste, arousal of smell, and calories. The behavior associated with food addiction are loss of control, obsession, preoccupation, continuing the behavior of despite related consequences, withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, headaches and impatience which are similar to drug addiction.

Food addiction is a stable desire, not only when you are hungry. One of the most popular disorders is binge eating disorder. The physical and medical consequences of food addiction are high cholesterol, poor concentration, vitamin deficiency, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, clinical depression, kidney disease, arthritis, bone deterioration, toxemia during pregnancy, sleep deprivation, mobility problems, psychological problems, sciatica and cardiac arrest.

The similarities between food and drug addiction are,(i) Substance is taken in larger amount and for longer period which is a classic symptom by people who habitually overeat and (ii) Persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit or failure attempts to keep a diet. Food addiction deals with the brain stimuli.

Dopamine is a brain chemical that makes you feel to have more food. The scientific findings confirming that sugar stimulates the brain’s reward centre through the neurotransmitter dopamine. Brain imaging shows the high sugar content and high fat foods are like heroin, opium in the brain. Foods high in fat and sweet content stimulate the release of body’s own opioids in the brain. Animals and humans experiences withdrawal when suddenly cut off from sugar, just like addicts detoxifying from drugs. The treatment for food addiction is exercise, medication and cognitive therapy.

Journal of Addiction & Prevention

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