Most of us try to eat healthfully. Worrying about food is kind of an American craze, but having diabetes can mean taking food obsession even farther. We have to eat the right things, or else! But some foods seem to have other plans for us. Some food is so attractive that many of us can’t resist. Is that true for you?
In my book Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis, I wrote that white sugar is addictive in a similar way to cocaine. It makes you feel good for a short while. Then it drops you down lower than before, so you need another fix. I learned about this from a book called Potatoes Not Prozac. Author Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD, reported how her alcoholic and drug-addicted patients recovered only after they stopped eating sugary foods.
I got a lot of criticism for this claim from people who believed you couldn’t say sugar was addictive, or even habit-forming. So I was happy to read the best-selling book The End of Overeating, by David A. Kessler, MD. Kessler doesn’t use the term “addictive,” but he calls modern foods habit-forming in about a dozen different ways.
Food scientists use terms like “craveability” and “irresistibility” to describe their foods. Their marketers will frankly admit, “We’re trying to get you hooked.” They do this by making food a source of pleasure for your senses: sight, touch (“mouthfeel”), smell, even sound (sizzles and pops.) All this anticipated pleasure excites you and motivates you to buy that food. And that’s before you even get to taste it.
Reading about these foods is the fun part of Kessler’s book — kind of like watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. Everything is breaded, fried, sweetened, oiled, fried again, and then has sauce poured over it. I learned some surprising things, for example, about “breaded French fries.” Who would have thought of those?
After you swallow, the sugars and fats raise your endorphin and serotonin levels. They make you feel good, especially if you were feeling tired, stressed, sad, or angry before you ate. They give you a psychological reward along with the good taste.
Kessler says that the first five or ten times you eat a food like that, you are motivated by the reward. After that, it becomes a habit. You see, smell, or feel a cue in the environment, or you have a bad experience, feeling, or thought, and your “eat that food” habit is triggered. You don’t even have to think about it; your body knows how to do it. When a food choice becomes a habit, it’s not a choice anymore. It’s automatic, and it’s hard to break.
Is This Addiction?
Does this kind of habit formation constitute an addiction? According to Wikipedia, “In medical terminology, an addiction is…characterized by one of the following: the continued use of a substance despite its detrimental effects, impaired control over the use of a drug…and preoccupation with a drug…i.e. craving the drug.” Substitute “food” for “drug,” and these words describe many people’s relationship to food. We’re in a constant fight for control.
Addiction can also bring “tolerance” of a drug, meaning you need more of it to get the same effect. Addiction also may include physical dependence, meaning you go into some kind of withdrawal if you don’t take the drug regularly. Do these things happen with foods? I think sometimes they do, although Wikipedia says they are not “defining characteristics of addiction.” Certainly, if you go too long without food, you will get some nasty withdrawal symptoms!
Kessler’s book seems to focus on the “obsession” part. If you can’t stop thinking about food, if you worry about it all the time or think about the next meal while you’re eating the current one, you have the habit.
The last section of his book talks about changing these habits. I’m not sure this section is very helpful, but I’ll discuss it next week.
I think the concept of food affecting us emotionally and creating dependence (“habit” or “addiction”) is important. I would think that having such habits interferes with diabetes management. Have you experienced anything like that? Are there particular foods or restaurants that trigger you? And if it happens, how do those experiences affect your self-management? How do they make you feel? What do they do to your blood glucose?
I fully agree with this observation. I have said this for quite some time. Food can definitely be addictive. Of course in this capitalist society (which I fully believe in) we are influenced greatly by the professional marketers. We are programmed for this stuff. For instance, the other day I went to a movie. I had just eaten large piece of stuff crust pizza. I was full, but when I entered the theater I bought some popcorn and a drink (the drink was diet!) It was the feeling that the movie experience would not be as pleasurable without it. Must be a strong motivator for me to have bought this stuff especially at the amazingly high price I paid! It sure would be nice if we could alter these programs toward broccoli or carrots! In some ways the addiction is much the same as for drugs. Technically it is a drug addiction. The drugs your body releases to make you feel good are as addictive as any.
Posted by JEFF | Nov 23, 2009 at 3:29 pmGood article, Jeff
Yes! Food is addictive. And not just for diabetics and / or heart disease patients. It affects many of us. My husband will not admit to an addictive personality but it is there. There are certain things that he will never turn down, i.e. a beer when offered or wine. Even if it is something he normally says he doesn’t like. Now if there is something that I really really love it and it is offered, I will take a serving but I will stop if it is taken from my sight. I don’t think about any more but leave it in front of me and I continue to nibble. I have caught my husband going thru the pantry looking for my cooking chocolates because of a “craving” for chocolate. I love ice cream too and try to buy it in the small single serving containers, so we don’t over eat. Hubby will get the last serving and gobble it and never even tell me it is all gone until I look for a snack. He hides this behavior from me too. He is addicted. He is not a diabetic but does have heart problems. I have been unable to make him understand that his addictive behavior affects me also and not in a good way. What do you do with someone that will not admit to addictive behavior? How do I protect myself for his bad habits? I know I have enough of my own without having to share his behavior. But there are just somethings that cannot be ignored. S
Posted by Susan | Nov 25, 2009 at 10:05 pmSusan, how do you change someone else’s behavior? It’s hard enough to change your own. I think you want to reward behavior similar to the ones you want him to do. Like if he eats a healthful meal, you could, without even connecting it to his diet, give him some extra kisses or a massage or something. It works with mice.
Posted by David Spero RN | Nov 30, 2009 at 8:50 pm