I’ve believed sugar (and other junk foods) to be addicting for a very long time.
As a recovering drug addict (sober since January 4th, 2007), I can tell you that the cravings are exactly the same as cravings to drugs of abuse like cannabis or amphetamine.
That’s right, exactly the same.
In this video, Dr. Lustig and Dr. Epel explain how junk food may lead to changes in the biochemistry of the brain, resulting in addiction.
- Palatable foods lead to dopamine release in the reward area of the brain.
- Consumption of hyper palatable (very rewarding) foods cause an even greater dopamine release.
- Over time, this leads to changes in the biochemistry of the brain.
- The brains of obese people light up differently at the sight of food.
- Still, when obese people eat food, their reward response is blunted. It is like an “urge that they can not satisfy.”
- When these changes have occurred, there is a relentless biochemical drive going on in the brain, telling them to eat.
- If this drive is ignored, withdrawal occurs and the urge becomes even stronger.
- Junk food consumption leads to both tolerance and withdrawal, which are the hallmarks of physical addiction.
The video is 7 minutes long.
This video confirms what I already believed to be true about junk foods and addiction.
In my experience, the effects are almost exactly the same as addiction to drugs of abuse. The “high” may not be as noticeable, but the cravings and difficulty to abstain are exactly the same.
The only solution that has consistently worked for true addicts is complete abstinence from the substance in question. Now that’s something to think about.
Articles Related to The Video:
Love it! This guy, Dr. Lustig, makes me feel a whole lot less crazy! I’m always having these conversations about health, fitness, and nutrition that make me feel like I’m taking crazy pills!
I am addicted to sweets. I haven’t had any for 5 days but I am craving candy, donuts, and cake. It’s hard.
Great article. I always had a trouble with eating just a litle bit of candy, so I decided to stop it altogether. I have not eaten candy for over two years now, and it’s so much better.
Wow, two years. That is impressive!
You say: “The only solution that has consistently worked for true addicts is complete abstinence from the substance in question.”
I ask: If not drinking alcohol is the only thing that works for alcoholics than not eating food is the only thing that should work for a food-aholic. Or can one categorize food into groups? (I have not watched the video yet).
Abstaining from food is impossible for obvious reasons.
Abstaining from junk food is possible, I know a lot of people that do it.
Sometimes I suppose it can be hard to make the distinction between “food” and “junk food”, but candies, ice creams, sodas, cakes, cookies, most fast foods and most foods made from refined wheat can be categorized as junk foods IMO.
These foods have been engineered to make them so incredibly “rewarding” that they lead to actual changes in the brain. This process starts in childhood when kids are fed candy, so you could say that some of them have been hooked their entire life.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this might affect a large part of those who have that propensity towards addiction.
Hi Kris, How is it that some people can eat a lot of junk food and drink a lot of alcohol and not become addicted, i notice my husband can drink and eat what he pleases and can then abstain without effort, where i would find it a real battle to give up these things cold turkey.
Just like with addictive substances, it’s incredibly difficult to just cut a little junk food out of your diet.
It’s linked in to so much else about your life, about the way you do things, that slipping back into old habits is simply too easy.
Kris,
I’ve definitely experienced addiction like symptoms of junk food, myself. It’s certainly not easy to give it up completely. What are your thoughts on cheat meals? I believe that if your diet is 80% clean or better and you have a good exercise routine, you can stay lean and healthy and still indulge in junk food every once in a while.
Alykhan
When I was a child I lived in S. Korea, and when we moved to the U.S. one of the first things I noticed was how sweet stuff is here. American kids would probably turn their noses up on what we considered “sweets” in S. Korea. I was only 6 or 7 yrs old but swear I nearly gagged the first time I tried eating Froot Loops. Yeah, it’s that disgustingly sweet. But if you grew up on things having more sugar in it, then you probably have a higher tolerance to it and don’t realize just how freakishly sweet it actually is. Now I’m an adult and still can’t stand most candy. About my only weakness is dark chocolate. And that’s because it’s not as sweet as the regular kind. To me, regular chocolate just tastes like a mass of sugar with a hint of a chocolate-like flavor.
Sorry, my point is that like drugs once you get used to a certain amount, you need more to get that high you’re craving. I’ve never done drugs, but this is what my friends have told me. So I’ve always wondered if the masses of sugar in foods (even foods that technically aren’t supposed to be sweet) is because people have become so accustomed to it that they need the foods to be sweeter to realize they’re sweet. For example, my boyfriend (who has lived in the U.S. his whole life) adds sugar to his Dr. Pepper because it’s not sweet enough to him. yuck! I just don’t know why he can’t see how wrong that is. haha!
I completely agree with your comment! My husband grew up in Trinidad and they eat completely different. After being in Canada for over 15 years he still gags at our desserts and says they are too sweet! I can’t understand it….I think nothing can be too sweet! I think the curse of the Western world is having manipulated too many foods, we can no longer appreciate what healthy food should actually taste like.