FOOD ADDICTION – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Food addiction is real.

Research shows that certain foods, particularly sweet foods, bread, pasta and other carbohydrates, activate the same pathways in the brain as cocaine, alcohol, smoking and cannabis. This is why smokers often over-eat when they give up cigarettes and cannabis users get ‘the munchies’ i.e food cravings following cannabis use.

Food addiction involves the reward centre of the brain, so each time an addictive food is eaten this reward system is activated and reinforced.

In simple terms, addictive foods trigger the release of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the brain. Your cells become flooded with this chemical and e