Can’t resist the chocolate? Maybe it’s the slice of pizza? There is a good chance you might be addicted. People seem to be heavily addicted to certain foods and unable to control the desire and even the need for them. Researchers at the University of Michigan recently found how the neurotransmitter, Dopamine can be stimulated by eating certain foods. The interesting part is that they are comparing food addiction to be as powerful as many of the strong drugs that we see today. The reason for this is the brain chemical dopamine seems to be stimulated in the same way for food as it does for the drugs themselves. There are several categories of foods that were reviewed to see what really caused the most challenges. So listen, the higher the processing of the foods, the more addictive they became. The main concern was the heavy link to uncontrolled overeating. Neuro-imaging studies showed similar brain activity in drug addicts as it did in food addicts.
Here are some of he most common traits that were noticed:
- Loss of control with how much food is typically consumed
- Repeated behavior despite the consequences to our health
- Inability to stop
So you might ask, what about the foods? There are many that fall into this category. However, we will be looking at only few.
Researchers at Yale placed foods into certain categories.
1.French fries/chocolate
2.Bacon/Cheese
3.Soda/Pretzels
4.Chicken/Broccoli
Guess which one had the highest response? Yes you guessed it, the chocolate and french fries category. The reason is the high response to sugar and fat content. These tended to stimulate the brain at its highest level of food addiction.
So the Top 10 Foods that will keep you addicted are:
1.Pizza
2.Chocolate
3.French Fries
4.Chips
5.Cookies
6.Cheeseburger
7.Soda
8.Cheese
9.Cake
10.Ice Cream
One of the great ways to overcome many of these food addictive behaviors is to know what your own brain chemistry is doing for empowering your health. By monitoring your neurotransmitters and keeping the dopamine receptors full, you can better help your body fight against the body’s own signaling for the wrong kind of foods.
