Highly processed food is not only harmful, it could also be addictive

 Highly processed food is not only harmful, it could also be addictive?

Researchers are trying to find out if ultra-processed foods, such as potato chips or ice cream, are addictive and if they cause our brains to send the signal to overeat.

Five years ago, a group of nutrition scientists studied what Americans ate and came to surprising conclusions: More than half of all the calories the average American consumes comes from ultra-processed foods, which they define as "industrial formulas" that They combine large amounts of sugar, salt, oils, fats, and other additives.
Despite being associated with obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems, highly processed foods remain predominant in the American diet. They're cheap, practical, and designed to taste good. The food industry markets them enthusiastically. But an increasing number of scientists say that another reason these foods are consumed so much is because for many people they are not only palatable, but addictive, an idea that has caused controversy among researchers.
Recently, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the science behind food addiction and whether ultra-processed foods could be contributing to overeating and obesity. A debate was highlighted between two of the leading experts on the subject, Ashley Geardhardt, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan, and Johannes Hebebrand, Director of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents at the University of Duisburg-Essen, in Germany.

Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist, helped develop the Yale University Food Addiction Scale, which is a study used to determine whether a person shows signs of addictive behavior towards food. In a study involving more than 500 people, she and her colleagues found that certain foods had a special propensity to provoke "addiction-like" eating-related behaviors, such as intense compulsion, loss of control, and inability to reduce their consumption despite experiencing harmful consequences and a great desire to stop eating them.
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At the top of the list were pizza, chocolate, cookies, ice cream, all kinds of fries, and cheeseburgers. Geardhardt has discovered in his research that these highly processed foods have a lot in common with addictive substances. Like cigarettes and cocaine, its ingredients are derived from naturally occurring plants and foods from which components that slow their absorption, such as fiber, water, and protein, are removed. Subsequently, its most attractive ingredients are refined and processed to create products that are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, increasing its ability to activate the regions of the brain that regulate feelings of gratification, emotions and motivation.
Gearhardt noted that salt, thickeners, artificial flavors and other additives in highly processed foods enhance their appeal by enhancing properties such as texture and mouthfeel, which resembles the way cigarettes They contain a series of additives designed to increase their addictive potential. For example, menthol helps mask the bitter taste of nicotine, while another ingredient used in some cigarettes, cocoa, dilates the airways and increases nicotine absorption.
According to Geardhardt, a common denominator of the most irresistible ultra-processed foods is that they contain large amounts of fat and refined carbohydrates, a powerful combination that is rarely found in foods of natural origin that humans have evolved to consume, such as fruits, vegetables , meat, nuts, honey, beans and seeds. Many foods that we find in nature are high in fat or carbohydrates, but they are usually not high in both.
"People do not have an addictive behavioral response to natural foods that are good for health, such as strawberries," said Gearhardt, who is also director of the Laboratory of Food and Addiction Science and Treatment in Michigan. “The highly processed food subset is designed in much the same way as how we produce other addictive substances. These are the foods that can cause loss of control and compulsive and problem behaviors that resemble what we see with alcohol and cigarettes.
In one study, Gearhardt found that when people cut back on highly processed foods, they experienced withdrawal-like symptoms seen in drug addicts, such as irritability, fatigue, sadness, and compulsion. In brain imaging studies, other researchers have found that people who often eat junk food can develop a tolerance to it over time, requiring increasing amounts for the same satisfaction.
In his clinical practice, Gearhardt has seen patients - some obese and some not - who struggle in vain to control their intake of highly processed foods. Some try to eat them in moderation but only end up losing control and eating to the point of vomiting and feeling distressed. Many of his patients find that they cannot give up these foods despite having difficulties controlling their diabetes and experiencing excessive weight gain and other health problems.
"The surprising thing is that my clients are almost always very aware of the negative consequences of their consumption of highly processed foods, and they have typically tried dozens of strategies such as crash diets and cleanings to try to control their relationship with these foods," he said. "Although these attempts may work for a short period of time, they almost always relapse."
However, Hebebrand refutes the idea that any food causes addiction. Although french fries and pizza may seem irresistible to some people, he maintains that they do not cause an altered mental state, which is characteristic of addictive substances. For example, he noted, smoking a cigarette, drinking a glass of wine, or taking a dose of heroin all cause an immediate sensation in the brain that food does not produce.
"It always happens that with any addictive drug almost all people experience an altered mental state after taking it," Hebebrand said. “That indicates that the substance is causing an effect on our central nervous system. But we all eat highly processed foods and no one feels this altered mental state because the substance does not reach the brain directly ”.
In substance use disorders, people become dependent on a specific chemical that works in the brain, such as the nicotine in cigarettes or the ethanol in wine and liquor. At first they look for this chemical to get a high, and then they become dependent on it to alleviate negative and depressive emotions. But there are no compounds in highly processed foods that can be singled out as addictive, Hebebrand said. In fact, evidence suggests that obese people who overeat tend to consume a wide range of foods with different textures, flavors, and compositions. Hebebrand argued that overeating is due, in part, to the food industry marketing more than 20,000 new products each year, giving people access to a seemingly endless variety of foods and beverages.


"It is the diversity of foods that is so attractive and causes the problem, not a single substance in these foods," he added.
Those who argue against the idea of ​​food addiction also point out that most people consume highly processed foods daily without showing any signs of addiction. But Gearhardt points out that addictive substances don't hook everyone who uses them. According to research, around two-thirds of people who smoke cigarettes end up addicted, while one-third do not. Only 21 percent of people who use cocaine throughout their lives become addicted, while only 23 percent of people who drink alcohol develop a dependence on it. Studies suggest that there are a wide range of factors that determine whether people become addicted, including their genetics, family history, exposure to trauma, and environmental and socioeconomic backgrounds.
"Most people try addictive substances and don't get addicted," Gearhardt said. "So if these foods are addictive, we wouldn't expect the whole of society to become addicted to them."
For people who have trouble restricting their intake of highly processed foods, Gearhardt recommends keeping a record of everything they eat so that they can identify the foods that have the greatest attraction, that is, those that produce a strong compulsion and that are not they can stop eating once consumption begins. You should not have these foods at home and, instead, it is advisable to fill the refrigerator and pantry with other alternatives that they like and are healthier, he said.
It is recommended to keep a log of the triggers that cause cravings and binges. They can be emotions like stress, boredom, or loneliness. Or it could be the Dunkin 'Donuts that you drive through three times a week. Make a plan to manage those triggers, such as taking a different route home or engaging in non-food activities to relieve stress and boredom. And avoid skipping meals, because hunger can trigger cravings that lead to unfortunate decisions, he said.

"In order to better navigate a very challenging eating environment, it is important to make sure you are providing your body with nutritious, low-processed foods that you like on a regular basis," said Gearhardt.