Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Felicia was recently interviewed on Disease Proof. [click here to read her interview]  She’s lost over 160 lbs in less than a year, and she’s still losing!  I asked her if she’d be willing to share what her life is like now that she's free from food addiction, and she wrote the following. May it inspire you with renewed hope and encouragement in your journey to live in the best health that’s possible!

What is it like to be free from food addiction?

by Felicia Ricks

The definition of addiction according to the dictionary is “a compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit forming substance.”

I never thought of food as a habit forming substance, but I always thought of it as a necessary requirement for the body to survive. It wasn’t until I heard Dr. Fuhrman talk about toxic hunger that I came to the realization that I had a food addiction and had a compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit forming substance.

When I initially started on Dr. Fuhrman’s nutritarian program, I experienced toxic hunger and I didn’t feel very well for several days. I asked myself, “Is this how drug addicts feel when they’re going through detoxification? This doesn’t feel good at all!” Although, I was experiencing some withdrawal symptoms I was determined to break the vicious cycle of food addiction by not eating the foods that caused the addiction. After enduring the “not so good days” I noticed that I wasn’t jittery, the headaches were non-existent and I didn’t feel the desire to put a Snickers bar in my mouth. I knew I was on the road to recovery.

Being free from my food addiction was an answered prayer because one of my prayers was to be self-controlled in my eating habits. However for many, many, years I was never able to consistently maintain self-control. It wasn’t until I totally committed to eating the foods that were originally intended for our bodies to absorb and digest such as, green vegetables, berries, onions, mushrooms, beans, seeds/nuts (GBOMBS) and COMPLETELY eliminated the refined, sugary, processed and synthetic foods and drinks, that I began to feel spiritually and physically liberated. I feel as though I am no longer bound and enslaved by the self-inflicted chains of food addiction and I am no longer defiling my body. I also feel as though a weight, figuratively and literally has been lifted from me and now I can honestly and unequivocally say that, “I am free indeed!”

Thank you Dr. Fuhrman for spreading the message and informing people about the benefits of healthy nutrition. Also for holding fast to the statement by Hippocrates, “Food shall be your medicine and your medicine shall be your food.”

“It will take strength. It will take effort. But the pleasure and rewards that you will get from a healthy life will be priceless.”
-Dr. Fuhrman

 

 

image credit:  flickr by Marin Cathrae

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Getting out and staying out of food addiction isn't that hard per se, but one must be vigilant and persistent at all times. 

I liken it to learning to ride a bike. 

A beginner may have some spills before he/she learns proper balancing skills to ride a bike without falling.  It may even take some extra reinforcement like a parent’s helpful hand of guidance, or a pair of training wheels attached to the bike for stability, but eventually with practice, one learns to successfully ride without thinking about it anymore. Riding a bike becomes automatic, and then one is no longer focused on the learning process, but instead enjoys the pure pleasure of the scenic ride.  

However, one must always be careful not to ride too fast on gravel, not to ride near the edge of pavement, and pay close attention to busy intersections; otherwise a major accident could happen, even to the most seasoned cyclist.  Likewise, I’ve learned that it still takes careful planning and diligence on my part to continue to make wise choices that prevent me from wandering back into food addiction.  

For instance, it’s typically my habit to get up at the same time every morning, sit and read with the therapeutic light, exercise, and then shower and get ready for the day. Those times that I make repetitive, unwise choices like staying up too late the night before, resulting in my early morning routine thrown out the window – if habitually repeated, I eventually become psychologically out-of-sorts . . . and then I become apathetic. [I’m not referring to an occasional late night or two here and there, because life happens, but repetitive poor planning stringed together for several days on end.]

For me, apathy is dangerous, because the “I don’t care” attitude is the stepping stone into the slippery slope of addiction.  Even with the physiological cravings for the standard American diet gone; practically off the radar screen of desire anymore, I could still revert back to psychological and emotional attachments to food if I’m not careful. I could easily eat oat bars with almond butter when stressed, or fruit sweetened ice-cream when not hungry.

For recovering food addicts it’s important not to fall prey to the “I don’t care” trap as a result of poor planning and unwise choices.

Have a plan and stick to it, no matter what ~ one of the keys to ongoing success.   

image credits:  flckr by paulhami and Team Traveller

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The science on food addiction has now established that highly palatable foods (low-nutrient, high-calorie, intensely sweet, salty, and/or fatty foods - those that make up the majority of the Standard American Diet) produces the exact biochemical effects in the brain that are characteristic of substance abuse.

Junk food is ubiquitously available, legal, cheap, and socially accepted; therefore, it becomes the drug of choice for many of us.

The following are some characteristics of addiction to a substance or behavior:¹

• Compulsive use of the substance despite negative health and social consequences
• Tolerance - over time, progressively greater amounts of the substance are needed to reach and maintain the “high”
• Withdrawal symptoms (toxic hunger) when the substance is discontinued
• Activation of reward pathways (including the dopamine system) in the brain

Many of us have had the experience of tasting a junk food or dessert, and then feeling the intense demand from our brain: “MORE!” We feel a complete lack of control, and our commitment to excellent health all of a sudden doesn’t matter. These feelings originate from the dopamine reward system – dopamine is a neurochemical that regulates motivation, pleasure, and reinforcement related to certain stimuli – such as food.  The amount of pleasure we derive from eating a food correlates with the amount of dopamine released in the brain.²

Obese individuals have a diminished number of dopamine receptors

Obese humans are known to have fewer dopamine receptors (called D2 receptors) compared to lean individuals –their reward response from food is not as sensitive and it is thought that they compensate by overeating.^1,3

Overeating blunts the dopamine reward response, encouraging more overeating

Why do obese individuals have lower numbers of dopamine receptors? In substance abuse, over time the brain adapts by downregulating dopamine receptors. It turns out the same happens in overeating.⁴ A 2011 study revealed that women who had gained a significant amount of weight over a 6-month period reduced their dopamine system response to palatable food over that time period. Similar reductions in the reward response to palatable foods have been reported in women with bulimia nervosa. These results suggest that overeating diminishes the reward from palatable food, driving further overeating and future weight gain.^5,7

Desire for highly palatable food is intensified in obese individuals and overeaters

Although actual dopamine reward is diminished in obese individuals compared to lean individuals, dopamine release in response to pictures of palatable food is actually enhanced.^4,6

In summary, recent research suggests that overeating and obesity cause greater desire for palatable food, but diminished reward from consuming palatable food - resulting in a progressively worsening addiction.

Our level of susceptibility to addictive behaviors varies by genetic predisposition and emotional state. Nevertheless, highly palatable food has physiologically addictive properties that will make almost anyone experience a lack of control.  “Just one bite” doesn’t work because that single bite activates the dopamine reward system, causing the brain to demand more.  Willpower, logic, and common sense are no match for addictive drives. As with other addictions, recovery requires abstaining from the addictive substance. An alcoholic can’t have “just one drink” without grave risk of relapse. The same is true for food addicts.

Natural plant foods are not as intensely sweet, salty, or fatty as the processed junk foods that are purposely engineered to excite our reward systems.  Eating whole, natural foods provides enjoyment of taste without activating addictive drives.  

Be vigilant this holiday season – stick to the foods that nourish you, and steer clear of any foods that cause you to lose control.   

Note: Addictive drives are powerful. If you are suffering from food addiction, make sure you read Eat to Live and take advantage of our supportive Member Center at DrFuhrman.com.  Support from others can help you stay on track with your health goals and prevent relapse.

References:

1.         Taylor VH, Curtis CM, Davis C: The obesity epidemic: the role of addiction. CMAJ 2010;182:327-328.

2.         Small DM, Jones-Gotman M, Dagher A: Feeding-induced dopamine release in dorsal striatum correlates with meal pleasantness ratings in healthy human volunteers. Neuroimage 2003;19:1709-1715.

3.         Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Telang F, et al: Low dopamine striatal D2 receptors are associated with prefrontal metabolism in obese subjects: possible contributing factors. Neuroimage 2008;42:1537-1543.

4.         Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Orr PT, et al: Neural correlates of food addiction. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011;68:808-816.

5.         Stice E, Yokum S, Blum K, et al: Weight gain is associated with reduced striatal response to palatable food. J Neurosci 2010;30:13105-13109.

6.         Stoeckel LE, Weller RE, Cook EW, 3rd, et al: Widespread reward-system activation in obese women in response to pictures of high-calorie foods. Neuroimage 2008;41:636-647.

7.         Bohon C, Stice E: Reward abnormalities among women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Int J Eat Disord 2011;44:585-595.

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I got thinking the other day how different my life would’ve been if, as a toddler, beer would’ve been repeatedly put into my sippy cup. . . .and fake food & cigarettes would’ve been a negative stigma to even be around or touch.

And later on, as I got older, beer would’ve been served with my high-nutrient meals, including school lunches.   

Most likely I would’ve grown up not eating pizza, cheeseburgers, spaghetti, fried chicken, beef ‘n noodles, cheese, ice-cream cones, donuts, and chips. In fact, most likely, I would’ve probably thought they were disgusting. . . . just as disgusting to me as the lingering smoke and smell of cigarettes.

However, I’d probably be totally addicted to alcohol and not be able to function without it. Possibly even totally dependant upon the stuff to get me through each day. 

I’d seek friends who also liked to drink. 

I’d seek activities where drinking was encouraged. 

I’d even possibly seek religious and social affiliations where drinking was condoned.

I’d most definitely turn to alcohol to calm my nerves, celebrate victories, cheer sadness, cope with stress, overcome insecurities, escape pain and responsibilities, and soothe a bleeding heart.

However, if, on down the road, I realized the damaging affects of alcohol on my body; including my inability to think clearly, hold down a job, raise a family, and have healthy interpersonal relationships, I may decide to get rid of the stuff. Once and for all.

But it would cost.

It would cost abstinence for rest of my life.

It may possibly require developing new friends and activities. 

And it may even cost finding different religious and social affiliations that would support my decision to remain sober.  

Addiction is addiction. When one is addicted to any health damaging substance, whether it is the standard American diet, sugar, “healthy” sweets, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, heroine, or meth; to live in freedom from the addiction will require a radical commitment to abstinence. Including possibly finding new friends, activities, religious and social affiliations that support the decision to remain free . . . for life!

According to Dr. Fuhrman, “The facts are that fast food and junk foods cause a thousand times as many premature deaths compared to cocaine; and it’s condoned.”

Are you committed to abstinence?

Think about it.  

image:  Emily Boller circa 1964

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Recently, in a post titled, “Extinguish the pilot light,” I explained how crucial it is to keep the pilot light of addiction, those seemingly insignificant-at-the-time compromises, extinguished at all times. 

I want to devote this post to clarifying the difference between an occasional slip-up and ongoing compromises. 

Slip-ups happen from time to time - they just do – it’s a part of transitioning into a whole new way of eating and living for the rest of one’s life. There’s a learning curve, especially in the beginning, to understanding the science behind Dr. Fuhrman’s recommendations. 

For instance, I committed to Eat to Live in July 2008, and by that first Thanksgiving I thought it would be perfectly fine to eat the traditional feast. It never occurred to me that I’d get violently sick so I enjoyed the feasting and merriment with gusto. I quickly learned just how TERRIBLY toxic the standard American diet was ~ even though I knew from my studying that it was poisonous to the body.

And I've had plenty of slip-ups since then. I wish I could say that I've been perfect at all times, but I haven't.

Even with eating only high-nutrient foods and having cravings for fake food gone as a result, I've eaten beyond "before full." I've eaten as a result of being frustrated. I've eaten for stimulation because I was tired. And I've eaten for recreation with others when I wasn't a bit hungry. However, and a big however, each time I quickly realized my error and moved on quickly; contending with all strength to keep going!

I want to make clear that the pilot light that I'm referring to is the intentional decision to choose compromises, aka “cheats”, on a regular basis. These habitual choices, even if they are seemingly insignificant at the time, are the pilot light.

The willful decision to see how much one can cheat and get by; how much one can straddle the fence, or how much one can habitually overeat . . . . and still keep the addiction eradicated . . . . that’s what I'm referring to as being the next-to-impossible feat to accomplish.

 

It can't be done!

 

I repeat ~ it can't be done.

With repetitive compromises, the addictive cravings are rumbling beneath the surface, and it just takes a tiny spark to ignite them to full strength and power!

For one to be truly free, the pilot light needs to be extinguished and remain that way . . . .for life.

AND to live in denial of food addiction's power is to remain its prisoner, or worse yet, the path right back to captivity.

Choose the easy way and keep the pilot light extinguished at all times.  

Continual freedom and excellent health to all!

Image credits: gas flame: flickr by stevendepolo; celebration: by Elijah Lynn

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I grew up on a farm. In addition to an orchard my parents always put in a large garden every spring. It produced a bountiful harvest to can quarts of green beans, tomatoes, tomato sauces & juices, corn, peas, beets, and pickles . . . .enough to last a family throughout the winter, with plenty of surplus leftover to sell along the road.  From mid-July until school started every fall, snapping beans, shelling peas, shredding cabbage, shucking corn, and washing tomatoes, pickles, carrots and beets for preservation were a huge part of summer.

Most farmhouses had a “summer kitchen.” It was a nifty, second kitchen; away from the main part of the house and used for the stifling hot process of canning the vegetables, making jams and applesauce, and baking fruit pies and apple cakes for the freezer. Since residential air conditioning was practically unheard of when I was a kid, the house stayed cooler by not heating up the regular kitchen. 

In the southwest corner of this room was an old gas stove. I was taught from an early age to respect the pilot light that remained continuously lit. As in all gas stoves, the purpose of this pilot light was to serve as the ignition source for more powerful flames; ones that could produce the necessary heat to cook and preserve food.  

My mom would strike a small, wooden match and hold it near the burner. Instantly it would ignite into a full, explosive flame. 

                               ________________________________

Fast forward about forty years. I’m now a fifty-year-old woman who has lost weight and restored health by nourishing my body with high-nutrient, plant foods. As a result of flooding my body with nutrients, combined with consistently abstaining from the standard American diet, addictive cravings for high fat, high salt, processed & sugary foods have been eradicated from my life. 

Because of this, I’m routinely asked:

• “How closely do I really have to follow Eat to Live?” 

• “How many times a month can I cheat and still have success?”

• “I’m not hard core, but I follow the plan about 85% of the time; that’s good enough, isn’t it?”   

Of which my classic answer to all three questions is, “It all depends on how hard you want to make it on yourself.” 

It’s much easier and simpler to give 100% right from the beginning and keep the pilot light of addictive cravings extinguished, than to be continually fighting obsessive compulsions that are brewing beneath the surface. Been there. Done that. And it’s hard, hard work to keep cravings from becoming an all-consuming monster. In fact, it’s exhausting because it’s a next-to-impossible feat to accomplish!

Plus, it only takes the tiniest spark to ignite the pilot light of cravings to full power again, and that’s THE most dangerous place to live! 

One can do all the work of routinely preparing and eating high-nutrient foods, and get the majority of one’s health restored; but it may only take an emergency phone call, or a sudden traumatic event, or a stress-filled day with the kids to instantly ignite the raging flame of addiction.  

It’s just not worth it. 

Give yourself a break today and make life so much easier.

Give 100% and extinguish the pilot light!      

image credits:  tomatoes, flickr by MaplessInSeattle; match, flickr by Samuel M. Livingston  

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Last summer I wrote about the new scientific phrase called, “Eating Occasions.” You know, those times that we eat in response to stress, boredom, sadness, grief, happiness, excitement, loneliness, fatigue, nervousness, and frustration; just to name a few. Or those times that we eat because the clock strikes a certain hour; or we’re at a social event where food abounds and we just ate dinner ~ but we nibble anyway ‘cause everyone else is doing it. 

It’s so easy to succumb to Eating Occasions. In fact, I’ve realized that I’ve had to overcome two addictions in order to lose weight and keep it off. 

• First, I had to get rid of toxic cravings for highly processed, highly salted, and high fat foods. Check. That was relatively easy for me to accomplish because it was a black and white plan to follow. Basically, if one faithfully adheres to the six week eating plan in Eat to Live, with little to no deviance, bingo, the addictive desire for the standard American diet (SAD) diminishes and then eventually goes away. In fact, the body actually craves high nutrient foods instead, and SAD foods are literally disgusting! Seriously. That sounds over simplistic, but in all reality, that’s what genuinely happens when one carefully follows the six week plan. 

• Second, I’ve had to overcome eating when not truly hungry. This addiction has been definitely more challenging for me to conquer. Even with over 2 ½ years of nutritarian eating under my belt, I can still succumb to this nemesis at times ~ it’s a culturally acceptable habit that’s engrained into the very fiber of my being. 

Dr. Fuhrman repeatedly states that frequent eating, or eating when not truly hungry leads to higher caloric intake; and that it’s important to get in touch with instinctual signals for hunger that directs the body how to eat and not to overeat. He says that we’ll discover that we really only need about half to two-thirds the amount of food that we thought we did. Otherwise, habitual overeating will lead to excess fat that produces a lifetime of needless and ongoing suffering. 

As with any unhealthy addiction, it’s totally worth every effort to continually contend to overcome overeating. We need to seriously ask ourselves, “Are we eating to satisfy the body’s need for nourishment, or are we obliviously caught up in eating occasions?” 

A quick tune-up of the mind is much easier and cheaper than a major overhaul of the body.  May we all choose to eat for health today! 

image credit:  flickr by Kirstea

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Recent studies suggest that a mother’s food habits during pregnancy have an impact on her child’s future food preferences.

More and more often, we are seeing reports from scientists that high-sugar and high-fat foods influence the reward pathways in the brain – in essence, these foods have addictive properties.  Human brain imaging studies have confirmed that overeating and addictive eating behaviors are associated with abnormal brain activity in dopamine reward circuits, and this is similar to the activity characteristic of drug addiction.^1-3

One recent study has taken this data a step further – they have shown that consumption of a high-sugar, high-fat diet (junk food diet) by pregnant rats actually affected the development of the reward system in the brains of their pups.  When given a choice between standard food and junk food, the pups whose mothers were fed junk food chose to consume more junk food than other pups.⁴

These food preferences may be learned by the fetus through its developing sense of smell.  The development of the smell-processing area of the mouse pup’s brain (called the olfactory bulb) is influenced by scents that are concentrated in amniotic fluid, and these scents are determined in part by the mother’s diet.  In another recent study, a more flavorful diet containing stronger scents given to pregnant and nursing mice resulted in enhanced development of the olfactory bulb in their pups.  Also, when given a choice of food, these pups had a strong preference for the same diet their mothers had, whereas other pups had no preference.⁵

These studies suggest that a mother is actually able to “teach” her babies which foods are desirable based on what she eats during pregnancy and nursing.

Earlier studies found additional detrimental health effects on rat pups whose mothers ate a junk food diet (a diet composed of high-sugar, high-fat foods designed for human consumption) during pregnancy and nursing: these pups were more likely to be obese, were subject to more oxidative stress, were more likely to develop non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and had impaired muscle development.^6-9 Human studies have shown that parental obesity is associated with obesity at 7 years of age, and gestational weight gain is associated with body mass index at 3 years of age.^{10, 11}  The overall message is that the eating habits of parents significantly affect children.

Of course, we cannot extrapolate the results of animal studies directly to humans.  However, these results do highlight the simple fact that the health of a developing baby is closely linked to the health of its mother.  Women do require extra calories when pregnant and nursing – we have all heard of the phrase “eating for two.”  These studies suggest that if the extra caloric requirement is met with oil-rich processed foods and sugary desserts instead of calorie dense whole plant foods, the baby’s food preferences and long-term health may be affected.  

Fetal development is a crucial time – it is common knowledge that pregnant women shouldn’t drink alcohol or smoke, because these things could harm the baby.  We know that unhealthy foods are damaging to the health of adult humans, so they are likely also damaging to a developing fetus. 

Every expectant mother wants a healthy baby, and in addition to the standard advice to avoid alcohol and cigarette smoke, it would be prudent to avoid unhealthy foods.

References:

1. Stice E, Yokum S, Burger KS, et al: Youth at risk for obesity show greater activation of striatal and somatosensory regions to food. J Neurosci 2011;31:4360-4366.

2. Stice E, Yokum S, Blum K, et al: Weight gain is associated with reduced striatal response to palatable food. J Neurosci 2010;30:13105-13109.

3. Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Orr PT, et al: Neural Correlates of Food Addiction. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011.

4. Ong ZY, Muhlhausler BS: Maternal "junk-food" feeding of rat dams alters food choices and development of the mesolimbic reward pathway in the offspring. FASEB J 2011.

5. Todrank J, Heth G, Restrepo D: Effects of in utero odorant exposure on neuroanatomical development of the olfactory bulb and odour preferences. Proc Biol Sci 2010.

6. Bayol SA, Farrington SJ, Stickland NC: A maternal 'junk food' diet in pregnancy and lactation promotes an exacerbated taste for 'junk food' and a greater propensity for obesity in rat offspring. Br J Nutr 2007;98:843-851.

7. Bayol SA, Macharia R, Farrington SJ, et al: Evidence that a maternal "junk food" diet during pregnancy and lactation can reduce muscle force in offspring. Eur J Nutr 2009;48:62-65.

8. Bayol SA, Simbi BH, Fowkes RC, et al: A maternal "junk food" diet in pregnancy and lactation promotes nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease in rat offspring. Endocrinology 2010;151:1451-1461.

9. Bayol SA, Simbi BH, Stickland NC: A maternal cafeteria diet during gestation and lactation promotes adiposity and impairs skeletal muscle development and metabolism in rat offspring at weaning. J Physiol 2005;567:951-961.

10. Reilly JJ, Armstrong J, Dorosty AR, et al: Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: cohort study. BMJ 2005;330:1357.

11. Oken E, Taveras EM, Kleinman KP, et al: Gestational weight gain and child adiposity at age 3 years. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2007;196:322 e321-328.

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One doesn’t just wake up one day suddenly caught in the entanglement of an unhealthy addiction. Unhealthy addictions are formed by repetitions of small, seemingly insignificant compromises of what we know to be good for us.  The danger of little compromises is they easily turn into bigger ones.

Typically, rationalizations spark the fire of compromise:

• “It’s late. I’m tired ~ just a piece of toast with almond butter before bed won’t hurt me.”

• “It’s the Super Bowl. Everyone is eating. Even though I’m not hungry, I’ll snack just this one time with everyone else. I’m not addicted to salt anymore so I can start over tomorrow; no problem.”

• “Woah, I made way too much smoothie, and I only like to drink them when fresh. Oh well, just this one time won’t hurt to drink all of it. I hate to waste anything.”

• “I know that I should only eat when truly hungry, but those homemade cookies left on the countertop were calling my name. I couldn’t help myself.”

It takes commitment to intentional choices, a solid plan, to keep one off the radar screen of addiction. 

Commitment is an action of the mind; a promise that’s based on knowledge. Commitment is hard at times. It’s never the easy way in the heat of a tempting moment.

 

Compromise is an action of the emotions; based on feelings, excuses and rationalizations. Compromise is easy. Any little thing is an excuse to give into impulses of the moment.

Perhaps it’s time to honestly evaluate our commitment or lack thereof. Are we committed to eating for optimal health, or are we eating according to feelings?

One produces freedom from addiction. The other produces captivity to it. 

In the heat of the moment, follow the plan.

Freedom to all! 

image credit: flicr by Kimberlykj

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Dr. Fuhrman’s concept of toxic hunger states that the unhealthy foods at the center of the standard American diet are addictive. Like all other drugs, addictive substances involve both pleasure and pain. By definition, an addictive substance is toxic and therefore produces uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when the body attempts to detoxify the waste products left behind. When we feel this discomfort, eating relieves the symptoms – when the body begins digestion it stops detoxification. So we mistakenly believe that these feelings are hunger, and we are then almost forced to eat too frequently in order to lessen the withdrawal symptoms from our low nutrient diets. This leads us to progressively eat more and more of the addictive food, and makes becoming overweight inevitable. Dr. Fuhrman further asserts that foods, lacking sufficient micronutrients, lead to a buildup of oxidative stress, free radicals and other inflammatory substances that are mobilized during catabolism causing distressful symptoms curtailed by overeating. 

Scientists studying addiction are now confirming Dr. Fuhrman’s assertion that unhealthy food is indeed addictive. Scientists following up their preliminary data on the subject

have published a new study in Nature Neuroscience showing that drug addiction and compulsive eating have the same effects on the brain – they desensitize brain reward circuits.¹ In the brain, eating is motivated by pleasure and reward. 

The researchers studied three groups of rats – all three groups were allowed access to their standard (healthy) chow at all times. In addition, rats had either no access, restricted access (1 hour per day), or extended access (18-23 hours per day) to palatable energy dense food for 40 days. This palatable energy dense food consisted of nutrient deficient processed foods readily available to humans – things like sausage, bacon, and cheesecake.²

Extended access rats gained weight rapidly, and were significantly heavier than chow only or restricted access rats. Their calorie intake was almost double that of the chow only rats. Even the restricted access rats developed binge-like eating behaviors, getting about 66% of their daily calories during their 1 hour of access to the unhealthy food. 

The scientists used electrodes to measure the rats’ reward thresholds. The reward threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation that produces feelings of satisfaction. As the experiment continued, extended access rats had progressively higher reward thresholds. This means that their reward circuitry became less and less responsive, and a greater amount of unhealthy food was therefore required to satisfy their appetites. Even when the rats were taught to anticipate an electric shock, they kept eating, not even trying to avoid the shocks. This compulsive behavior in the face of negative consequences is a hallmark of addiction.

The scientists traced these effects to a decrease in levels of specific dopamine receptors in the striatum region of the brain. These exact neurobiological changes have been shown to occur in rats that are given extended access to heroin or cocaine. In fact, after access to the unhealthy food was no longer permitted, withdrawal (measured by continued elevation of the reward threshold) persisted in these rats for a full 14 days - rats in withdrawal from cocaine have been reported to experience withdrawal for only 48 hours. These results demonstrate how powerfully addictive – and powerfully toxic – unhealthy food is.

In the Western world, we have extended access to unhealthy food – nutrient-deficient processed food seems to be everywhere we turn. In such an environment, it is almost inevitable that we will become addicted, progressively gain weight, and suffer the health consequences. Only by removing the toxic, addictive foods from our diets and replacing them with health promoting foods can we break the cycle of toxic hunger and achieve excellent health.

References:

1. Johnson PM, Kenny PJ. Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats. Nat Neurosci. 2010 Mar 28. [Epub ahead of print]

2. Scripps Research Institute (2010, March 29). Compulsive eating shares addictive biochemical mechanism with cocaine, heroin abuse, study shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100328170243.htm

Food Navigator. Food addiction: Fat may rewire brain like hard drugs. http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Food-addiction-Fat-may-rewire-brain-like-hard-drugs/?c=DFrDdGqlXj9PxLeDW0x8cw%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily

NewScientist: Junk-fed rats have ‘drug-addict’ brains. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18706-junkfed-rats-have-drug-addict-brains.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=health

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