More on Food as Addictive

The debate about whether or not sugar
and fat are addictive has gone on for decades. When it began and for long
after, the evidence, though inconclusive, leaned toward the negative. Now, according
to Laura Beil in “The snack-food trap” (Newsweek,
11/5/12), consensus may be tipping toward the affirmative. Although there
are strong, credible challenges to the concept of food as addictive, it seems
that “especially in studies of rodents, the brain appears to uniquely draw us
to high-calorie, low-nutrient foods…”

Mark Gold, chairman of psychiatry
at the University of Florida, has done studies which “point to the possibility
that eating may satisfy the same brain cravings that drive a person to
addictive tobacco, alcohol, and drug use.” The article underscores, however,
that not everyone who is “overweight” may suffer from addiction, just as some
people drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and experiment with drugs like cocaine
and oxycodone, but do not develop a habit. So there’s some precedent for the
possibility that addiction is not only about the substance but about the
substance user. 

Rat research indicates that it’s difficult
to quit eating high-sugar and high-fat foods when they become habits and that
“when sugar was offered in high doses then taken away, animals experienced
classic withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, tremors, and chattering teeth.” But the
article cautions that we must be careful about “extrapolating from ...

Source: Normal Eating - January 25, 2013 Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs