What makes food addicting?

What makes food addicting?

⠀

For an in depth look at food addiction, see my last post.

⠀

Food addiction is when you eat foods that you know are harmful to you, but you do it anyway even when you know the negative consequences that they can cause.

⠀

So, what makes food addicting?

⠀

You might love the sweet taste of cookies and cream ice cream. Or maybe you can eat a whole bag of lays potato chips. And you don't know anyone who could eat more guac than you. The problem isn't sugar, fat, or salt. It’s ALL of them.

⠀

Have you ever started eating spoonfuls of sugar? Or what about pouring Morton's salt into your mouth. And I bet you’ve never gone home and poured yourself a glass of your finest olive oil to sip on for the evening. In other words, when they combine forces, they become unbeatable.

⠀

That’s why you can’t eat just one. You’ve heard of Lay’s potato chips right? Someone in a lab came up with the specific formula to make sure you keep eating. And it works.

⠀

That’s what it means when a food is hyperpalatable, it’s engineered to taste good. By the way, when was the last time you ate more than one plain potato?

⠀

Let’s not forget the texture and ingredients matter too. The more textures and ingredients a food has, the easier and more satisfying it is to eat. That's why you can eat 3 pounds of guacamole but barely finish one plain avocado.

⠀

So, how do you stop this?

⠀

Now that you know what makes food addicting you can ask yourself:

⠀

Is there a lot of added sugar?

Is there a lot of added salt?

Is there a lot of added fat?

Are there a lot of added ingredients?

⠀

If yes, then I would look for another option so you don’t feed your addiction. Things like whole fruits, vegetables, and nuts are great options to snack on.

⠀

Remember, the more processed food you eat, the more processed food you'll keep eating. But it goes both ways. The less processed food you eat, the less processed food you’ll keep eating.

⠀

Follow along this week as I continue my series on food addiction and how to beat it. Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about behavior change and the specifics of beating your food addiction.

⠀

If you have any questions please post them below or send me a DM. I’m here to help you beat the addiction. I’ve done it, and I know you can too.