Food Compulsion/Addiction Part 1

David A. Kessler, M.D., author of "The end of overeating" wrote the following: "Highly palatable" foods -- those containing fat, sugar and salt -- stimulate the brain to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center, he found. In time, the brain gets wired so that dopamine pathways light up at the mere suggestion of the food, such as driving past a fast-food restaurant, and the urge to eat the food grows insistent. Once the food is eaten, the brain releases opioids, which bring emotional relief. Together, dopamine and opioids create a pathway that can activate every time a person is reminded about the particular food. This happens regardless of whether the person is hungry.

Dopamine drives desire through a survival-based capacity known as "attentional bias." Defined as "the exaggerated amount of attention that is paid to highly rewarding stimuli at the expense of other (neutral) stimuli," attentional bias allows us to pick out what matters most so we can pursue it. It gives rewarding foods their prominence in our minds. The more rewarding the food, the greater the attention we direct toward it and the more vigorously we pursue it.

~Find out next time how the food and restaurant industry uses the combination of fat,sugar and salt to keep you hooked. I will conclude this series by letting you know exactly what you can do to stop being addicted to foods along with any other addiction.