Food Addiction

Do you eat when you are in a bad mood or in trouble? Do you eat in secret from everyone? Do you feel guilty after overeating?

Do you eat when you are in a bad mood or in trouble? Do you eat in secret from everyone? Do you feel guilty after overeating?

For many people, food is a drug. With the help of food, people feel relaxed in the company of other people, food is the only way to relax after work and get pleasure. If you think about food all day, if you have an obsessive desire to eat something, if your diet consists of unhealthy foods, you may be one of those who have a food addiction.

What is food addiction?

Food addiction is a loss of control, a person stops eating to live and eats for pleasure. A person with a food addiction endlessly thinks about food, about excess weight, about their appearance and at the same time absorbs large portions of food. At the same time, a person understands how much harm he causes to his body, he simply cannot stop. People with food addiction prefer and eat foods that belong to the category of harmful and unhealthy.

A term has appeared for people with food addiction - food addicts. Gluttons or food addicts eat fatty, sweet or salty foods, prefer fast food and a lot of sweets.

The first symptoms of food addiction

• Portions increased over a year or two
• Frequent overeating
• It is difficult to give up the supplement, even after deciding to start losing weight
• Dessert after a heavy lunch
• Often craves sweet and floury foods
• That is, when no one sees or secretly from everyone, at night
• Eat a lot and then vomit
• Feeling guilty after overeating

Different people become gluttons, they don't necessarily look full. Small dogs can be of normal weight, too thin and very full. The only thing they all have in common is food. Food addiction is psychological and physical.

Causes of food addiction

Food addiction, like drug or alcohol addiction, affects the human nervous system. Food stimulates the production of dopamine and serotonin in the human brain, which give the body energy, strength and cause feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Over time, the body cannot live without hormones of happiness. Unconsciously, food becomes the only substance that causes a feeling of happiness, and not a source of support for the vital activity of the body. Causes of food addiction:

• Some people treat physical pain with food.
• Emotional experiences or traumas sometimes cause some people to dwell on problems. Food can stimulate emotions and help cope with feelings of sadness and loneliness.
• Food addiction develops more often in people with mental illnesses. For people with mental illness, food becomes the only thing they can control. Food temporarily relieves their negative feelings associated with the disease and calms feelings of panic and anxiety.
• Sometimes food addiction occurs as a result of emotional and physical abuse. People with low self-esteem often depend on food. Food can block unpleasant feelings and experiences, and be a deceptive shortcut to happiness.
• Food addiction can occur with body dysmorphic disorder (or dissatisfaction with one's body). A mental disorder in which people become obsessed with their body and are preoccupied with their appearance, and are very bothered by minor body defects.

Consequences of food addiction

Over time, constant overeating leads to obesity. In turn, obesity causes health complications:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High level of cholesterol in the blood
• Diseases of the gall bladder
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Some types of cancer
• Osteoarthritis
• Pain in joints and muscles
• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
• Sleep apnea (temporary cessation of breathing during sleep)

How to get rid of food addiction

Unlike other addictions, drug-food is necessary for survival and maintenance of the body, so it is impossible to give up food altogether. It is necessary to develop healthy eating habits that are based on the nutritional needs of the body, not on emotional ones.

• Follow a balanced diet. Eat three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the breaks between main meals, you can have 1 snack with healthy products, you can't eat after 18.00.
• Avoid irritants: remove gluttony foods from your home.

• Do sports. Sport helps to lead a healthy lifestyle, control weight and fight stress.

• You need to fight boredom, find an interesting pastime and engage in a hobby that brings pleasure.