If you’ve tried everything but can’t beat food cravings, it may signal that you’re struggling with something more serious. Whereas many people have difficulty with emotional eating, some find themselves addicted to food.
Many studies have been done on binge eating, cravings and food addictions. Some schools of thought suggest that binge eating or cravings are physiological, while others suggest that psychological, social or environmental factors may contribute. If you find that you experience cravings or binge eating, you may want to begin by experimenting with a number of strategies for controlling physiologically related cravings. If you want to shed pounds and maintain a healthy weight, it’s critical that you reign in overeating, and that means breaking the cycle of food cravings.
First, though, it’s important to understand the factors that contribute to these issues, as noted in studies compiled by the Food Addiction Institute in Sarasota, Florida.
For starters, studies conducted on humans and animals have shown that the same pleasure centers of the brain triggered by addictive substances — including drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, or alcohol — are also activated by certain foods, especially those that are high in fat or intensely sweet. As with addictive drugs, some foods can trigger feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine. Once people experience pleasure associated with increased dopamine from eating certain foods, they quickly feel the need to eat again.
[See: Debunking 5 Common Weight-Loss Myths.]
In addition to enhancing pleasure, eating certain foods may reduce feelings of pain. Overeating, binging and food addiction to sugar and flours may be related to serotonin levels in the pain-reduction centers of the brain.
There may be biochemical reasons we eat too much as well. Studies suggest that people with low leptin levels — especially those with a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome, which leaves a person with a constant feeling of hunger — can suffer from overeating of all foods. Leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells, is thought to be involved in the regulation of body fat. Some people with celiac disease may find they have difficulty feeling satiated and tend to overeat. For others, a deficiency in insulin could contribute to a false feeling of starving, triggering an overeating or binging episode.
Binge-Eating Triggers and Addictive Foods
These foods and situations can trigger cravings and binge eating or lead to food addiction:
— Intensely sweet foods. In some studies, intensely sweet foods surpassed cocaine as a desired reward for laboratory animals, and results were not limited to foods containing refined sugars. Intensely sweet foods made with artificial sweeteners prompted similar results.
— High-fat foods. While it’s widely known and accepted that ingesting high levels of fat is not healthy, research reveals a double whammy: Overconsumption of fats activates certain parts of the brain to further stimulate the desire for and intake of fat. Yes, eating too much fat can make you crave more fat. Gram for gram, fat has more than twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates. That’s why we sometimes reach for fattier foods when we’re really hungry — our body knows we’ll feel fuller faster.
— Refined foods. Another study showed that some obese adults who regularly overeat refined foods experience significant and frequent physical cravings for those refined foods that prompt binging episodes.
— Photos of offending foods. There is evidence that pictures of the foods people binge on can trigger strong, difficult-to-overcome cravings.
— Other highly craved ingredients. Caffeine; wheat, which is in everything from breads to soups to deli meats to ice cream (check labels); and salt top the list, after fat and sugar.
[See: How to Stop Emotional Eating.]
Abstinence: a Strategy for Breaking the Binge Cycle
Research conducted on self-assessed food addicts in Overeaters Anonymous found that many were successful losing weight by dealing first with physical craving, then completely eliminating foods that prompted cravings and binges. Going cold turkey, though, can be difficult. If you decide on this route, I suggest having substitutes on hand to satisfy cravings that may arise.
Have a sweet tooth? Make sure you have fresh fruits and berries, and find a frozen yogurt or sorbet that is fruit only. Have a hankering for something crunchy? Keep crudités (raw veggies) or baked whole-grain chips on hand instead of reaching for those wicked potato chips. Is chocolate your best friend? I like keeping unsweetened chocolate nut milk on hand to blend with frozen bananas for a chocolatey smoothie.
As Ben Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
When to Seek Help
If you continue to experience an ongoing, vicious cycle of uncontrolled eating, you might need to speak to a registered dietitian or a psychologist who specializes in emotional eating disorders. They can determine if you suffer from emotional eating, food addiction or binge-eating disorder, and what steps to take toward healing.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, symptoms for binge-eating disorder include recurrent episodes that involve eating abnormally large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control over eating. Binge-eating episodes are characterized by factors such as eating quickly, eating until uncomfortably full, eating a lot when you’re not hungry, eating alone out of embarrassment, and feeling depressed, guilty or disgusted after eating.
Treatment for binge-eating disorders spans psychotherapy, antidepressants, medically supervised weight-loss programs and self-help strategies (from books and mobile apps to support groups).
[See: The Eating Disorder Spectrum — From Pregorexia to Drunkorexia.]
If You Suffer From Binge-Eating Disorder, You Aren’t Alone
In the span of six months, an estimated 2 percent to 5 percent of Americans experience binge-eating disorder — one of the most common eating disorders. In my experience, I’ve found that the emotional aspect of eating is terribly underrated. If you feel you may suffer from binge-eating disorder or an uncontrollable food craving, be sure to address these issues so you can change your weight-loss journey — and your life — for the better.
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Understanding the Physiological Factors Associated With Food Addiction originally appeared on usnews.com
