Avoid triggers to beat food addiction

By Joan Ifland

Published: July 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM

Scientists have made a startling discovery that may explain why so many of us cannot lose weight. Research within the human brain is showing that much of food addiction actually occurs when we’re not eating. Since the invention of brain imaging technology in the early 1980s, scientists have been mapping the regions of the brain. This work has allowed us to identify addictive reactions when they occur and has helped to establish that abusing food is an addiction in much the same way that smoking cigarettes, abusing alcohol or other habitual actions can all be quantified as addictive behaviors.

When an addiction to any substance or behavior occurs, the brain releases the pleasure or reward chemicals, which include dopamine, opiates and endorphins. Then the corresponding receptors for these brain chemicals are stimulated and we experience the high that is so devastatingly compelling. By monitoring the brain, researchers have found that these brain chemicals can be released without the presence of the actual substance. In the case of food addiction, the pleasure response can occur even when we’re not eating. Instead, it can also occur when we see an advertisement for food or even when we are just thinking about eating.

Eric Stice, a researcher at the Oregon Research Institute of Portland, Ore., took brain images of people who were anticipating the taste of a chocolate shake versus a tasteless solution. The study subjects released more dopamine in anticipation of the chocolate shake as compared to when they actually tasted the shake. This may mean that they were more excited and driven to seek the food but derived less satisfaction from eating it. That is characteristic of an addictive behavior: when you seek more and more of the substance to deliver the same rush. After conditioning the brain to respond to food, people appear to react more strongly to the conditioning than to the food itself.

What does all of this mean for success in weight loss? We’ve all experienced the sensation of walking by an ice cream parlor, and feeling the urge to “treat” ourselves. But are you finding that you need too much ice cream to do the job? You might want to try avoiding even thinking about the ice cream parlor, much less walking by it. The brain imaging research suggests that avoiding thinking about food could calm the addictive response of the brain. What this means is that abstinence, combined with a proactive plan to avoid all triggers, is the best way to beat any addiction.

As a culture, we already restrict advertising for harmful, yet legal addictive substances such as alcohol and cigarettes. Do we need to restrict advertising for refined foods as well? It’s pretty intuitive that someone who is recovering from alcohol and tobacco addiction should minimize their contact with people and places that sell alcohol and tobacco. We might suggest then, that we minimize our contact with people and places that promote refined foods. It’s a tall order but it’s worth a try to see if such avoidance diminishes your harmful cravings.

Avoiding advertising triggers for foods is possible by curtailing television and by changing driving routes to miss those beckoning fast food outlets. Shortening visits to the grocery store and skipping restaurants that wave dessert menus under our nose are two more good strategies. Even better, finding someone to do our grocery shopping is an excellent idea if you can’t help yourself from buying items that aren’t on your diet when you’re in a grocery environment. This kind of advice is consistent with findings given to drug and alcohol addicts about protecting themselves against unwanted triggering.

Avoiding thoughts of food takes this advice one giant step further. It suggests that we avoid talking about food or listening to friends talk about food. Perhaps we should start considering having a book, magazine or portable music device on hand that we can use for diversion if we experience a thought about food. We can plan our meals and even pack our food in a few minutes at the beginning of the day so we don’t have to think about choosing a restaurant. The point is to develop a plan that works for you, so that you can take control of your exposure to food triggers that are bad for you.

GAMES ON! Condition yourself for victory. Avoid thinking about food, talking about food, watching food advertising, and driving past restaurants where you’ve overeaten.

Pam Liflander, professional health writer, edits this column.

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