Top 20 Addictive Foods: Are You Hooked?
Written By:
Margie King, Health Coach Let food be thy medicine. Just don't let it be thy drug.
Can't resist a slice – or two or three – of pizza? You may well be addicted.
Researchers
from the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan and the
New York Obesity Research Center at the Mount Sinai – St. Luke's
Hospital in New York wanted to know what foods felt addictive to real
people.[i]
They
posited that highly processed foods may trigger an addictive response
in some people that leads to unintended overeating. And they observed
that these foods share common traits with highly addictive drugs.
Like other drug problems, they say, "food addiction" is characterized by:
In particular both show increased activation of the reward regions of
the brain in response to food cues – just like other addictions.
Can't resist a slice – or two or three – of pizza? You may well be addicted.
Researchers
from the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan and the
New York Obesity Research Center at the Mount Sinai – St. Luke's
Hospital in New York wanted to know what foods felt addictive to real
people.[i]
They
posited that highly processed foods may trigger an addictive response
in some people that leads to unintended overeating. And they observed
that these foods share common traits with highly addictive drugs.
Like other drug problems, they say, "food addiction" is characterized by:
- Loss of control over consumption;
- Continued use despite negative consequences; and
- Inability to cut down despite the desire to do so.
In particular both show increased activation of the reward regions of
the brain in response to food cues – just like other addictions.
