Food Addictions: How Do They Work?
Food addictions are commonly associated with digestion problems and food allergies and intolerances. Often a person is addicted to foods that are doing them harm and the addictions makes it difficult for them to 'give up' the food.
Throughout the body there are receptor sites on cell membranes that respond to chemicals as they circulate through the bloodstream. The brain has an area that controls pain awareness and this has receptors that respond to opiates, morphine and morphine related substances. When these opiates are taken up by the brain our feelings of well-being increase. A food addition can set up this same process in the brain. During the process of protein digestion very large molecules are broken down into smaller chains called peptides. During digestion the peptides are broken down even further into individual amino acids which are then absorbed by the body. However, in some situation, such as in candidiasis or a toxic overload on the body, the peptides are absorbed and some of them are able to act on the brain's opiate receptors. They produce the high (made up of reduced pain and an increased sense of well-being), an effect like that of morphine - this is what you can become addicted to.
Once you become intolerant to a certain food every time you eat that food you end up having a chemical high. However, soon afterwards the chemical effect wears off and you feel let down or irritable or anxious or a range of other emotions. At this stage you start to want the food again - you crave it and you begin to feel that you simply have to have it. Unfortunately because the foods are often considered to be good for you (like cereals and dairy products) you begin to think that it is just you body telling you that you need more of them and that it is right to eat them. This can make it all the harder to appreciate that you should definitely not eat them. This can be a difficult ask and like all addictions it takes time, patients from both ourselves and those around us and most of all persistence. The addictions and the cravings that will follow when you remove the foods from your diet can be difficult to manage. The effort will be worth the health improvements that you will make when you are eating a good diet and are free from the addictions and cravings.
Find out more about food addictions and how you can deal with them - get your copy of Safe Colon Cleansing and get on with living!
15.10.2007. 20:22
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