https://thepaleodiet.imgix.net/images/oreo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=clip&q=95&w=900

On a scientific level, can food be addictive?¹ The short answer, is yes.² Food addiction is widespread,³ from the increasing obesity pandemic,⁴ to junk food marketing slogans like “I bet you can’t eat just one,”⁵ to the global popularity of coffee chains. But what makes food addictive? There are many factors involved,⁶ as humans are not only highly individualistic (what may be addictive for me, may not be addictive for you),⁷ but our environment has become hyper-stimulatory and obesogenic.⁸

Couple this with the fact processed foods have long-since been manufactured to promote overconsumption,^{9, 10} and you have a recipe for disaster. As if you needed more reasons to adopt a Paleo Diet, I hope to provide a brief insight into the questions behind food addiction, both scientifically and environmentally. However, for those more curious, I am currently lecturing nationwide on this topic, with a video of my lecture and my entire slideshow, embedded below.

Nearly all of us can empathize with the fact that sugar, junk food and fast food are all undeniably addictive.^{11, 12, 13} In a neuroscience study from 2010, researchers showed not only a disruption of sensitivity to brain-stimulation reward (BSR) from eating high fat and/or high carbohydrate food, but also an insensitivity to adverse consequences from consuming the food.¹⁴ This means we become both accustomed to the rewarding neurochemical effects of food and also seek out these foods, even when we know there will be harmful consequences.¹⁵ These are two behavioral aspects, which are also exhibited in drug addiction,¹⁶ reinforce studies showing the neurophysiology of food addiction overlaps with drug addiction,¹⁷ specifically via the nucleus accumbens, and the downregulation of D2 (dopamine) receptors.¹⁸

https://thepaleodiet.imgix.net/images/dopamine2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&q=95&w=900

Taken together, the data supports the notion that obesity and drug addiction may arise from similar neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries.¹⁹ In another study, researchers posit that intense sweetness from food surpasses cocaine reward.

Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction. ²⁰

https://thepaleodiet.imgix.net/images/Addiction.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&q=95&w=900

In another interesting study, Oreo cookies were found to be as addictive as cocaine.²¹ In a different study, obese subjects showed greater activation in the bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus, but lean subjects showed more activation in the posterior insula portion of the brain.²² Some scientists have speculated that exorphins from food may have lead humans to initially adopt agriculture,²³ which was a more laborious and challenging way of life.

Cereals and dairy foods are not natural human foods, but rather are preferred because they contain exorphins. This chemical reward was the incentive for the adoption of cereal agriculture in the Neolithic. Regular self-administration of these substances facilitated the behavioral changes that led to the subsequent appearance of civilization.

Other studies have delved into the rewarding properties of both high caloric, and neurologically rewarding foods, such as chocolate.²⁴ Chocolate ‘cravers’ elicit completely different responses, neurologically, than ‘non-cravers.’

In addition to ‘craving,’ there is a host of activity seen within the human brain, in response to rewarding foods or food-based cues.²⁵ Activity is seen in the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, nucleus accumbens, dorsal striatum, and many other regions.

https://thepaleodiet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/Areas-of-the-brain-Addiction.jpg?mtime=20200115114451&focal=none

It’s fascinating that genetic vulnerabilities can increase predisposition to both obesity and drug addiction. This should come as no surprise to those who are well-versed in science. Oftentimes genetics and environment converge to cause dysfunction, both neurologically and physically.²⁶ As stated by researchers:²⁷

Neuroimaging studies in obese subjects provide evidence of altered reward and tolerance. Once obese, many individuals meet criteria for psychological dependence. Stress and dieting may sensitize an individual to reward. Finally, fast food advertisements, restaurants and menus all provide environmental cues that may trigger addictive overeating.

https://thepaleodiet.imgix.net/images/Addiction-Chart-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&q=95&w=900

So how does one avoid addiction to food? The simplest method is to adopt a Paleo Diet. Then you will be avoiding processed foods, which are (by nature) addictive,²⁸ since food chemists utilize a technique termed ‘the bliss point’ to keep consumers coming back for more. You will also be avoiding the opioid peptides found in dairy,²⁹ as well as the opioid peptides found in grains.³⁰ Enjoy real foods, and watch your health soar, as your addictions to sugar and other rewarding chemicals,³¹ vanish.

Is Food Addictive from PaleoHacks

References

1. Ziauddeen H, Fletcher PC. Is food addiction a valid and useful concept?. Obes Rev. 2013;14(1):19-28.

2. Liu Y, Von deneen KM, Kobeissy FH, Gold MS. Food addiction and obesity: evidence from bench to bedside. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010;42(2):133-45.

3. Fortuna JL. The obesity epidemic and food addiction: clinical similarities to drug dependence. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2012;44(1):56-63.

4. Roth J, Qiang X, Marbán SL, Redelt H, Lowell BC. The obesity pandemic: where have we been and where are we going?. Obes Res. 2004;12 Suppl 2:88S-101S.

5. Bernhardt AM, Wilking C, Adachi-mejia AM, Bergamini E, Marijnissen J, Sargent JD. How television fast food marketing aimed at children compares with adult advertisements. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(8):e72479.

6. Pedram P, Wadden D, Amini P, et al. Food addiction: its prevalence and significant association with obesity in the general population. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(9):e74832.

7. Heber D, Carpenter CL. Addictive genes and the relationship to obesity and inflammation. Mol Neurobiol. 2011;44(2):160-5.

8. Berthoud HR. The neurobiology of food intake in an obesogenic environment. Proc Nutr Soc. 2012;71(4):478-87.

9.Gearhardt AN, White MA, Potenza MN. Binge eating disorder and food addiction. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2011;4(3):201-7.

10. Available at: //courses.bio.indiana.edu/L104-Bonner/F12/imagesF12/L8/BlissPoint.html. Accessed July 17, 2014.

11. Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(1):20-39.

12. Gearhardt AN, Grilo CM, Dileone RJ, Brownell KD, Potenza MN. Can food be addictive? Public health and policy implications. Addiction. 2011;106(7):1208-12.

13. Blumenthal DM, Gold MS. Neurobiology of food addiction. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010;13(4):359-65.

14. Epstein DH, Shaham Y. Cheesecake-eating rats and the question of food addiction. Nat Neurosci. 2010;13(5):529-31.

15. Parylak SL, Koob GF, Zorrilla EP. The dark side of food addiction. Physiol Behav. 2011;104(1):149-56.

16. Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG, Gold MS. Overlaps in the nosology of substance abuse and overeating: the translational implications of "food addiction". Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2011;4(3):133-9.

17. Meule A. Are certain foods addictive?. Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:38.

18. Halpern CH, Tekriwal A, Santollo J, et al. Amelioration of binge eating by nucleus accumbens shell deep brain stimulation in mice involves D2 receptor modulation. J Neurosci. 2013;33(17):7122-9.

19. Kenny PJ. Reward mechanisms in obesity: new insights and future directions. Neuron. 2011;69(4):664-79.

20. Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH. Intense sweetness surpasses cocaine reward. PLoS ONE. 2007;2(8):e698.

21. Levy A, Salamon A, Tucci M, Limebeer CL, Parker LA, Leri F. Co-sensitivity to the incentive properties of palatable food and cocaine in rats; implications for co-morbid addictions. Addict Biol. 2013;18(5):763-73.

22. Bragulat V, Dzemidzic M, Bruno C, et al. Food-related odor probes of brain reward circuits during hunger: a pilot FMRI study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010;18(8):1566-71.

23. Available at: //www.ranprieur.com/readings/origins.html. Accessed April 11, 2014.

24. Asmaro D, Liotti M. High-caloric and chocolate stimuli processing in healthy humans: an integration of functional imaging and electrophysiological findings. Nutrients. 2014;6(1):319-41.

25. Kenny PJ. Reward mechanisms in obesity: new insights and future directions. Neuron. 2011;69(4):664-79.

26. Tsuang MT, Stone WS, Faraone SV. Genes, environment and schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry Suppl. 2001;40:s18-24.

27. Garber AK, Lustig RH. Is fast food addictive?. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2011;4(3):146-62.

28. Ifland JR, Preuss HG, Marcus MT, et al. Refined food addiction: a classic substance use disorder. Med Hypotheses. 2009;72(5):518-26.

29. Kurek M, Przybilla B, Hermann K, Ring J. A naturally occurring opioid peptide from cow's milk, beta-casomorphine-7, is a direct histamine releaser in man. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1992;97(2):115-20.

30. Huebner FR, Lieberman KW, Rubino RP, Wall JS. Demonstration of high opioid-like activity in isolated peptides from wheat gluten hydrolysates. Peptides. 1984;5(6):1139-47.

31. Blum K, Liu Y, Shriner R, Gold MS. Reward circuitry dopaminergic activation regulates food and drug craving behavior. Curr Pharm Des. 2011;17(12):1158-67.

About The Author