Breaking your addictive food habit

WHETHER it’s chips, ice cream, chocolate, pizza, or even better, chocolate pizza, chances are we all have a food addiction. So how do you break it?

Brother Burger RELISH

CAN food be addictive?

Food consumption — unlike alcohol, cocaine, or gambling — is necessary for survival and that is the reason some would argue that food addiction doesn’t really exist. Many experts say there’s limited evidence that any food, ingredient, or additive (with the exception of caffeine) causes us to become addicted to it, and more research is needed before it can be considered as a substance use disorder.

But think. Has a sugar withdrawal ever given you the sweats or shakes?

A growing body of research has revealed some behavioural and neurological similarities between substance addiction and food addiction.

Which foods are most addictive?

A study published earlier this year used the Yale Food Addiction Scale to identify the foods that seemed to cause people the most mental distress and physical discomfort. Results showed — not surprisingly — highly processed foods like pizza, chocolate, french fries, cookies and ice cream topped the list, as opposed to the more nutrient-dense, low-calorie options like cucumbers, apples, carrots and brown rice.

Fatty and salty foods, such as this delicious burger and chips, can be just as addictive as lollies and chocolate.

The brain’s G-spot

How can devouring a meat lover’s pizza and a box of Pringles turn you into an addict? Scientists say it’s the added fat, salt or refined carbohydrates — such as white flour and sugar — that may be capable of triggering addictive-like eating behaviours. And it’s that precise ratio of these nutrients that are cleverly engineered to develop an intense taste sensation that kicks your brain’s pleasure system into overdrive.

When something is enjoyable, your brain is flooded with a pleasure chemical called dopamine, that causes a feeling of euphoria. Result? The dopamine reward system in the brain becomes used to the pleasure spike. And just like any junkie who would go to great lengths for a fix, someone who continually needs a certain amount of flavour from either salt, sugar or fat becomes used to the pleasure spike. In other words, once you pop, you can’t stop!

Truth is, food manufacturers have become exceptionally savvy at exploiting the brain’s G-spot.

But this begs the question: is it the delicious taste of a tub of Ben and Jerry’s or the nutrient (that is, the sugar, salt or fat) that is making us high? Most likely the former, which suggest that it might be more appropriate to think about chronic overeating in terms of an eating addiction rather than addiction to the food itself. This perspective allows us to shift the focus towards people’s relationship with food and understand how people make their food choices.

Nutella is the perfect combination of sugar and fat that makes you want more.

Taste-bud rehab. How to get hooked on wholesome foods

● Eat foods close to nature: Ensure your diet has plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean sources of protein, whole grains, legumes, natural yoghurt, nuts and seeds. With a little persistence your tastebuds will soon prefer natural flavours and crave fewer highly processed foods.

● Start cooking: Home cooking spares you the salt and fat found in restaurant and fast foods, and allows you to know exactly what you’re eating. Experiment with antioxidant-rich herbs, use salt-free spice blends, vinegars, garlic, onions and citrus for extra flavouring, or marinate fish, chicken and meat before cooking to bring out more natural flavours.

● Un-sweeten the deal: Eat naturally sweet fresh fruit instead of the super sweet stuff. For variety, try roasting or grilling your fruit with a dash of sweet spice, like cinnamon, which will bring out the natural sweetness even more. After a while, your tastebuds will become more sensitive to sugar, making the cookies, cakes or ice cream a little less appealing.

● Slash the salt: At least 75 per cent of dietary salt comes from processed foods, so choose fresh, unprocessed foods over the processed varieties. Over time, you’ll be surprised by how quickly you get used to the taste and notice all the other flavours that salt was hiding.

Slash the salt. There’s a reason why once you pop you can’t stop.

Kathleen Alleaume is a nutritionist and exercise physiologist and author of What’s Eating You? Follow Kathleen on Twitter @therightbalance