Food Addiction –
Excessive eating/food addiction is the most prevalent eating disorder in our society.
Overeating is the cause of many adverse health consequences
Food addiction is a contemporary term used to describe a pathological disorder; the compulsive, excessive craving for and consumption of food. This condition is not only manifested by the abnormal intake of food, but the intake and craving for foods that are, in themselves, harmful to the individual.
While society and the medical profession have readily understood alcoholism and drug abuse, it is only in recent years that there is an equal acceptance of the fact that persons may be addicted to food in the same way.
When any substance is taken into the body regardless of its potential for harm or in excess of need, that substance is said to be abused. Individuals who abuse substances in such a way are addicts; these persons become physiologically and mentally dependent upon certain substances, in this case food.
One need only ask themselves a few key questions to determine his or her addiction:
Do you eat when you are not hungry or when you feel low or depressed?
Do you eat in secret or eat differently in front of others than when you’re alone?
Do you consume inordinate amounts of food and then purge later with vomiting or laxatives to get rid of the excess?
Are there foods that are harmful to you, but you eat them anyway?
Do you feel guilty after eating?
People who are addicted to food tend to display many of the characteristics of addicts and alcoholics. Food addicts develop a physical, mental, emotional craving and chemical addiction to food.
The characteristics of food addicts can include:
Being obsessed and/or preoccupied with food.
Having a lack of self-control when it comes to food.
Having a compulsion about food in which eating results in a cycle of bingeing despite negative consequences.
Remembering a sense of pleasure and/or comfort with food and being unable to stop using food to create a sense of pleasure and comfort.
Having a need to eat which results in a physical craving.
Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensue discussion or debate.
Thank you …AHH!! BUT WHAT IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF FOOD ADDICTION?
Both the medical research community and food "manufacturers" have known MSG's side effects for decades! Many more studies mentioned in John Erb's book link MSG to Diabetes, Migraines and headaches, Autism, ADHD and even Alzheimer's.
Robert Lustig, a Pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of the University of California in San Francisco, said: "Childhood obesity has become epidemic over the past 30 years... We are in the midst of an unprecedented rise in prevalence and severity of obesity, especially in children...
Our current western food environment has become highly insulinogenic, as demonstrated by its increased energy density, high-fat content, high glycaemic index, increased fructose composition, decreased fiber, and decreased dairy content."
He said the changes in the food manufacturing process, where in sugars are now added to foods that never used to contain sugar and fibers being removed, have made the food toxic and addictive leading to obesity. He has pointed out that this upsets the balance of two hormones leptin and insulin, which regulate how much we eat. High-sugar, low-fiber diet causes leptin to be suppressed by the effects of insulin leading to decreased activity and increased appetite.
When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn't use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.
Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant -- even the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili's, Applebee's, and Denny's -- use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin -- their secret spice was MSG!
So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?
Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book "The Slow Poisoning of America", he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body. "
Want to add word or two?
Am I addicted to food?
To find out, answer the following questions as honestly as you can.
1. Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?
2. Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
3. Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
4. Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
5. Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
6. Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
7. Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?
8. Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?
9. Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
10. Do you eat when you're not hungry?
11. Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?
12. Do you eat in secret?
13. Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
14. Have you ever stolen other people's food?
15. Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough"?
16. Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
17. Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?
18. Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?
19. Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight"?
20. Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be addicted to yout food.
Your comment ….?
Your Food Addiction is Great for Business
No mysterious ingredient. The Cadbury's secret is out. Chocolate is drug-like in its effect. Artificial taste explodes in the mouth with crunchy, smooth, sweet flavours, supplying intense pleasure. Every texture and nuance of taste contrived to stimulate your 9,000 taste buds into sending pleasure signals to the brain.
The intensified pleasure effect is addictive. We don't care about the additives or empty calories. Chocolate junkies crave a fix, driven by the desire for that chocolate pleasure. Pleasure for which we will pay any price, even our health.
Chocolate bars are loaded with salt, sugar, caffeine and fat, up to 300 calories per bar. Like a body demanding heroin for its balance, the body will crave sugar, salt and fat.
Take candy from a sugar junkie, and look out! Quitting causes withdrawals. Remove sugar, processed fat or salt from your diet, and you will crave them. You will go through the discomfort of facing withdrawal similar to the withdrawal from drugs.
Cravings build quickly, interrupting other activities. In the abnormal state, missing the next "fix" leads to withdrawal symptoms which can be distressing even within a 2 to 3 hour period. Often the addictive food and drink is not satisfying, and the most dysfunctional people keep eating and drinking with only the briefest interruptions.
(NaturalNews) Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, is a common food additive. It`s toxic and physically addictive.
Fast food companies and other food manufacturers use MSG as a "flavour enhancer," so consumers will become "hooked" on their products and keep dishing out money for more.
When people consume unhealthy foods containing MSG, they often gain weight and feel sluggish, and some also experience "MSG symptom complex."
The symptoms can include headaches, chest pain, heart palpitations, nausea, and other health problems.