Is Food Addiction Real?
The harm of diets sunk in for me when I learned that our bodies’ biology does not discriminate between dieting and starvation. Many of us try new diets and elimination plans believing the health impact can only have an upside since diet culture equates thinness to better health. But as many of us know, restricting food has an immediate impact on our mental health. By disallowing foods, food begins to preoccupy our thoughts, sometimes to a point where the intensity of wanting certain foods feels as though we’re addicted to them.
In 1945 researchers conducted the Minnesota Starvation experiment in which thirty-six psychologically and physically healthy young men were put on a calorie-restricted diet to lose 25% of their body weight. These men were conscientious objectors who were assisting researchers with how to help people recover from starvation during wartime. The American Psychological Association writes of this experiment:
During the semi-starvation phase the changes were dramatic. Beyond the gaunt appearance of the men, there were significant decreases in their strength and stamina, body temperature, heart rate and sex drive. The psychological effects were significant as well. Hunger made the men obsessed with food. They would dream and fantasize about food, read and talk about food and savor the two meals a day they were given. They reported fatigue, irritability, depression and apathy. Interestingly, the men also reported decreases in mental ability, although mental testing of the men did not support this belief. To read the entire article click here
The otherwise healthy men in this experiment became obsessed with food when they couldn’t have enough. Similarly, forbidding foods makes them more powerful. We say things like. “I’m addicted to chocolate,” or “I can’t keep chips in my house or I’d eat the entire bag.” If we take a deeper look, food restriction is the culprit that leads to feelings of addiction, not the food itself. And, unlike drugs or alcohol, our bodies need food to survive. When we ignore our bodies’ hunger signals, the body protects us by sending repeated messages to our brain to eat.
Instead of eliminating foods, Intuitive Eating gives us unconditional permission to eat them. By exposing ourselves repeatedly to a forbidden food, the food no longer has the charge and excitement it had when we told ourselves we couldn’t have it. When our bodies and brain register the message, “I can have as much of this food whenever I want,” the allure of the food grows weak.
By making peace with our forbidden foods, we can listen more closely to our internal cues and are more likely to choose a variety of foods that taste and feel good in our bodies.
