Everyone's Health

Craving is not an addiction, but can become one

Lisa Hendersen has a monster of an appetite for cookies.

“It's my fix,” says the part-time sales representative, who eats chocolate chip cookies at least once a day. “Some people have liquor, but I have cookies.”

A self-described “addict,” Schwebel is like many people who are consumed by the tastes and pleasures of foods such as sugar and chocolate. These foods often provide an emotional lift people think they need and withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and irritability.

Despite claims to the contrary, most people are not addicted to food; instead, they are controlled by habits and cravings, says Lisa Gorkman, a registered dietitian and licensed psychotherapist with the American Dietetic Association. Cravings become addictions when people are willing to sacrifice time, money and their health to gratify them, says Neal Barnard, a physician and author of “Breaking the Food Seduction.” A person willing to eat cookies despite being overweight and/or diabetic may be addicted, he says.

According to Barnard, addictions are characterized by:

• Frequency: hourly or daily
• Compulsion: a strong, intense desire
• Sacrifice: a willingness to pay a personal price in health or finance

What makes some people more susceptible to addictive behavior is a pleasure chemical in the brain called dopamine. When people have little dopamine activity, they tend to feel less natural pleasure and may eat, drink, smoke or gamble excessively, he says.

ARE YOU A FOOD ADDICT?

• Do you wake up in the morning thinking about it?
• Do you schedule your day around getting the food?
• Do you schedule special time to eat the food?
• Does eating the food reduce your anxiety and calm you (but only temporarily)?

YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR CRAVINGS?

• Break for breakfast.
• Balance eating. Beans, green vegetables, unprocessed grains and fruits help stabilize blood sugar levels.
• Eat enough. Ample food helps the body's appetite-taming hormone leptin work.
• Keep a food journal. Track what, when and why you eat.
• Exercise. Staying active helps you avoid needless snacking and eating.

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