Is Food Addictive?

Food can be a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or rethinking an earlier conflict, eating comfort foods may distract you. But the distraction is only temporary. While you're eating, your thoughts focus on the pleasant taste of your comfort food. Unfortunately, when you're done overeating, your attention returns to your worries, and you may now bear the additional

Burden of guilt about overeating. 

 

While there is no concrete proof that any given food is truly "addictive" in the clinical sense of the word, that doesn't mean some foods may not have addictive qualities. A 2003 book by nutrition researcher, Dr. Neal Barnard, called Breaking the Food Seduction suggested a number of foods such as cheese, chocolate and sugar may actually "trick" our brain into desiring it. For example, Dr. Barnard suggested a substance in cheese, called casein acted like an opiate and could actually cause a biochemical reaction that make us want to eat it. Whether foods are truly addictive or not, there is no denying that food can affect the way we feel.

Consider the way that chocolate brings that "high" similar to being in love. When you eat it, your body releases chemicals that raise your mood and bring on a feeling of satisfaction and well-being. What results is a vicious cycle. The chocolate helps "cure" your blues and whether you realize it or not, your body says, "Oh, so that's how we fix this!" leaving you pining for the food that brought on those good feelings the next time around. So... chances are, next time you're feeling down, you'll automatically reach for that candy bar. For those of us that would rather be in denial than deal with our issues, food is a worthy scapegoat.

Any unpleasant task can be avoided -- or at least, put off for a while -- if you busy yourself with making and eating a snack instead. A sense of boredom ... or loneliness ... can be quelled by a special treat. Eating distracts you from doing that unfavorable task, or, worse, from focusing on why you're really feeling so bad.  

 

 

Ways to Identify Eating Triggers

Although emotional eating is strongly linked to depression, boredom, loneliness, chronic anger, anxiety, frustration, stress, problems with interpersonal relationships and poor self-esteem, it can be reversed with positive thought and action. Just like with any illness, the first step of curing the problem is acknowledgement. Situations and emotions that trigger us to eat fall into nine

main categories.

1. Social. Eating when around other people. For example, excessive eating can result from being encouraged by others to eat; eating to fit in; arguing; or feelings of inadequacy around other people. Often people who are under stress will seek out social support, which is a great way to relieve stress. Unfortunately for dieters, when people get together — especially women — we tend to go out for a nice meal. Crying on your friend’s shoulder over a couple of hot fudge sundaes, going out for a night on the

town and a plate full of fried appetizers, sharing a bowl of chips with the guys as you watch a game, or discussing the gory details of a nightmare date over cheesecake with your roommates (didn’t this occur in every episode of The Golden Girls?) are all social forms of emotional eating. It can make you feel better in the short term, but you may regret later.

2. Emotional. Eating in response to boredom, stress, fatigue, tension, depression, anger, anxiety or loneliness as a way to "fill the void."

3. Situational. Eating because the opportunity is there. For example, at a restaurant, seeing an advertisement for a particular food, passing by a bakery. Eating may also be associated with certain activities such as watching TV, going to the movies or a sporting event, etc.

4. Thoughts. Eating as a result of negative self-worth or making excuses for eating. For example, scolding oneself for looks or a lack of will power.

5. Physiological. Eating in response to physical cues. For example, increased hunger due to skipping meals or eating to cure headaches or other pain.

6. Cortisol Cravings: Stress can bring on increased levels of cortisol, known as "the stress hormone." Cortisol has a beneficial function in the body, but excessive levels of cortisol brought on by chronic stress can cause a slew of problems in the body. Among other things, high levels of coritsol can create cravings for salty and sweet foods. In previous centuries, this enabled people to bulk up on foods that would sustain them during times when food is scarce; however, in modern times and industrialized nations, when food is rarely scarce, this previously adaptive mechanism causes excess weight gain.

7. Nervous Energy: When stressed or anxious, many people become "orally fidgety." Sometimes this leads to nail biting or teeth grinding, and often it leads to eating when not hungry. Many people, out of nervousness or boredom, just munch on chips or drink soda to give their mouths something to do.

8. Childhood Habits: Many of us have comforting childhood memories that revolve around food. Whether your parents used to reward you with sweets, fix your boo-boos with an ice cream cone, or make your favorite meal (or take you out to one) to celebrate your successes, you’d probably be in the vast minority if you didn’t develop some emotionally-based

attachments to food while growing up. When in times of stress, few things can be as powerfully comforting or rewarding as your favorite food.

Because many people don’t develop more effective coping strategies, this type of emotional eating is very common: people eat to celebrate, eat to feel better, eat to deal with the stress of being overweight.

9. Stuffing Emotions: Another emotional reason that many people eat is to quiet uncomfortable emotions. People who are uncomfortable with confrontation may deal with frustrations in their marriage with a piece of cake, for example, rather than with open communication. Food can take the focus off of anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, and a host of other emotions we’d sometimes rather not feel, and is often used for this purpose.

NEXT:

STEPS TO END EMOTIONAL EATING & BREAKING THE HABIT