Food Addiction

Food Addiction I think there are more people addicted to food than there are addicted to alcohol, smoking, and drugs. There are a number of reasons for this, and I think these are the most common.

Eating junk food is widely acceptable. Even the word “food” has lost its meaning. It should refer to things that God made, but it has instead come to mean anything you can buy at the grocery store or any restaurant. It doesn’t matter how processed it is, how fake it is, how many chemicals are in it, or what extreme lengths a company went through to make it palatable—it all counts as food.

It’s no secret that food companies employ engineers and food scientists to make their products hyper-palatable. They create just the right combination of ingredients for flavor, mouthfeel, smell, and more, and they are very successful at it.

For example, imagine a plain flour tortilla. Most people could eat one, but they couldn’t eat a whole package—they’re too bland. Now imagine German chocolate cake, the kind you have for dessert at a fancy steakhouse. It often comes with multiple forks to be shared by many people at the table. People usually can’t eat too much of it because it’s too rich.

Now imagine your favorite flavor of gourmet ice cream. Where does that land on the scale between too bland and too rich? It lands exactly in the middle. The different combinations of flavors—sweet, salty, maybe some crunch from a cookie or pretzel mixed in—hit in exactly the right spot. So when you take the lid off, you throw it away because you know it’s not going back in the freezer. That’s exactly where they wanted to hit. It strikes your taste buds and your brain in such a way that you want more and more.

Unhealthy food is everywhere. It’s tied to social activities, church events, sporting events, and more. A couple of generations ago, sweets and junk food were considered treats, reserved for special occasions. But now, every soccer practice, every coffee get-together, and just about every social event comes with processed food, and no one bats an eye.

Food addiction is easily hidden. No one knows what’s going on inside your brain when you eat food that hits your dopamine receptors just right. Most people probably don’t even realize it themselves. They just know that food makes them feel better. The negative emotion you’re feeling doesn’t really matter—you’ve learned that eating makes them all feel better, whether it’s anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear, or sometimes actual hunger. They all blend together, and food that triggers dopamine fixes them all.

With rising rates of obesity and the degree of obesity appearing at younger and younger ages, there’s always someone who appears less healthy than you—that coworker, that neighbor, that family member. People may eventually start to pay attention to what you eat, but when the entire social circle is unhealthy, no one cares. It’s considered the norm. It’s easy to justify being unhealthy because you’re never the most unhealthy person in a room.

I think the biggest reason food addiction is so common is that you have to negotiate food every day. Unlike someone who quits alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs—they can walk away and never have to touch those substances again—food is something you must interact with every single day. That’s part of the reason intermittent fasting can be helpful for people dealing with food addiction and “food noise.” Getting used to a period of time without eating and realizing it’s possible can bring significant benefits for those who struggle to tune out the desire to eat.

Recovering alcoholics generally don’t go to a bar every day and expose themselves to temptation or stop at the liquor store on the way home. People who quit smoking don’t continue to buy cigarettes. People who quit drugs tend to stay away from the people and situations where they used them. As I mentioned above, there is no social situation completely devoid of food. We know that changing the environment can change habits, but it’s very difficult to control the food environment outside your own home.

Food is literally everywhere. Even if you don’t do the grocery shopping, it’s at the gas station, it’s at social events, it’s at church, it’s at your friend’s house.

If you struggle with food addiction, I feel bad for you. My brain is not wired that way. I don’t understand what it’s like. But I do understand it’s a real thing, and you have to develop some tools and systems that help you manage it.

Your health and your life depends on it.