Are You Addicted to Food?

Although it is not widely acknowledged, addiction to food is a serious and ever-growing problem in our society and results in consequences to our emotional, physical, and spiritual health that can be just as destructive and life-altering as addiction to drugs and alcohol. The reason being that certain foods affect the brain in pretty much the same way as hard drugs and alcohol and alters our biochemistry.

Sugar, grains, high carb foods, chocolate, caffeine, and a variety of other unnatural substances overstimulate neurotransmitters in the brain just like cocaine, heroin, morphine, and alcohol, which results in tolerance and then we need more of the particular food to feel satisfied and cravings ensue.

While food addiction may present by itself, it most commonly occurs in conjunction with a wide variety of health conditions like Candida overgrowth, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivities, depression, anxiety disorders, adrenal fatigue, post-traumatic stress disorder, or any disorder associated with the autonomic nervous system, because they perpetuate one another.

Here are ten signs that indicate you may be addicted to food:

1. Intense and uncontrollable cravings for a particular food, which may occur even when you have already eaten and are full. (The foods craved most commonly include sugar, grains, carbohydrates of any kind, caffeine, and chocolate, but some people crave dairy, salty, and fatty foods as well.)
2. Eating more of the foods you crave than you desire and being unable to stop yourself.
3. Consuming so much of the food you crave that you feel stuffed to the gills or even physically ill.
4. You experience some degree of euphoria and pleasure or relief from a particular symptom (similar to getting high) and later crash after eating the foods you crave. (Or, you used to experience euphoria and pleasure, but now it no longer does the trick at all or you need more food to achieve the same result.)
5. Making excuses (rationalize, justify, blame) for why you should consume the food you are craving.
6. You often sneak, hide, and lie about how much of the particular food you are consuming from others and eat secretly.
7. Experiencing shame, guilt, despair, self-loathing, and remorse after binging on your beloved food.
8. Your relationship with food affects your ability to function effectively socially, emotionally, at work or school, in family and/or relationships, etc. and it may be a hardship financially to support your habit.
9. Repeated attempts to stop overeating the foods you crave are unsuccessful, despite the fact that you may be suffering severe consequences like obesity, anxiety attacks, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or even facing the possibility of death.
10. Withdrawal (headaches, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, sweating, dizziness, trembling, and insatiable cravings, etc.) is experienced when you try to give up the preferred food.

If you see yourself in this list, you are not alone, millions of people struggle with food addictions; it is nothing to be ashamed of and the good news is that you can reset your biochemistry and put a stop to your uncontrollable cravings and binging for good. I know this is true, because I have walked in your shoes. As someone who has recovered from drug and alcohol addiction, as well as a wide variety of food addictions and compulsive overeating, I can tell you with certainty that being addicted to food is no different than addiction to drugs and alcohol.

However, unlike the drug and alcohol addicted, the food addicted cannot simply quit eating. Instead they must become educated about which foods disrupt their biochemistry and how to eat and live in a manner that will restore balance. When that is achieved, then cravings and binging will both cease to exist. You see the human body is genetically programmed to eat and live in a specific manner and the modern conveniences found in our life today have far removed us from what nature intended. It is this deviation from your what your body needs and expects that puts your biochemistry out of whack and results in addiction.

I am going to share with you the precise steps that need to be taken in the recovery process in my Free tele-seminar, End Your Cravings and Enjoy a Sugar-Free Life by Resetting Your Biochemistry. So, I invite you to join me in this transformational journey by registering here. Just like drug and alcohol addiction, addiction to food is chronic and progresses when left untreated. Although it happens at a slower pace, it can destroy lives and kill people just the same and should be taken just as seriously.