When we talk about addiction, we associate these behaviors with drugs and alcohol, but in recent times psychologists and psychiatrists have seen the birth and spread of different types of addiction. In fact, food, something we are in contact with every day, can also cause addiction and create problems both psychologically and physically.
A person who suffers from an addiction to food or to certain types of food is unable to control their consumption and experiences a continuous need to eat, which does not directly depend on the feeling of satiety. As a result, they often eat excessive amounts of food that make them feel bad. Similarly, when they are not eating, they experience irritability and restlessness.
What are the most addictive foods?
A study conducted at the University of Michigan has analyzed different types of food to detect which ones are the most addictive. The study involved 504 people, who had to complete a questionnaire that included 35 different foods. This questionnaire evaluated different characteristics of the foods and, of course, how addictive they could be.
These researchers found that highly processed foods were the most addictive of all, the most difficult to resist. In fact, this is not the first time that a study has linked processed foods to addiction.
Thus, the most addictive foods are:
1. Pizza
2. Chocolate
3. Fried snacks
4. Cookies
5. Ice cream
6. French fries
7. Hamburger
8. Sodas
9. Cakes
10. Cheese
At the other extreme, we find a list of the least addictive foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Corn
3. Salmon
4. Banana
6. Brown rice
7. Apple
8. Beans
9. Carrots
10. Cucumber
Why are some foods more addictive than others?
Researchers point to the fact that refined carbohydrates are absorbed very easily by our system, so we can consume large quantities and not feel satiated, something that does not happen with complex carbohydrates.
However, by delving even deeper into the characteristics of the foods, these researchers detected two factors that predicted the level of addiction: the glycemic index and the amount of fat.
In fact, this is not the first study to discover that the glycemic index of foods is directly related to the pleasure we experience when eating them. It is known that foods with a high glycemic index are capable of activating neural circuits related to reward, such as the striatum, triggering a process similar to that caused by some addictive substances.
On the other hand, the amount of fat, especially trans fats, also increases the addictive power of foods. These researchers believe that this is because foods rich in this type of fat have a more pleasant taste to the palate, which activates certain regions of the brain. In fact, another study, carried out at the University of Cambridge, discovered that a food with trans fats produces an activation of the somatosensory cortex and other areas linked to motivation and reward, which the same food without this fat does not cause.
In practice, fats, sugar and simple carbohydrates stimulate the areas of our brain related to reward and, when we feel good, we tend to seek out those sensations again. This creates a vicious circle that leads us to eat more and more unhealthy foods because the other options do not produce the same satisfaction.
Several experimental evidences confirm this hypothesis, as it has been observed that the release of dopamine that occurs during the act of eating certain foods produces an activation in the ventral tegmental area, which is part of a generalized system of seeking and approaching reinforcement, designed through evolution to allow us to give more effective responses to negative and positive stimuli. In other words, when we feel good we release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that tells our brain that this behavior is not negative (even if it is) and, therefore, we will have the tendency to repeat it.
Can foods cause addiction?
Finally, it should be noted that food does not have the same addictive power that a drug can have. In fact, there are even some psychologists who prefer to refer to a “food craving” rather than to a “food addiction.”
For a person to create a negative relationship with food and for this act to escape their control, other factors must come together, including a personal predisposition to addiction, as well as the presence of stressful situations or social factors that contribute to addiction.
References:
Schulte, E. M. et. Al. (2014) Which Foods May Be Addictive? The Roles of Processing, Fat Content, and Glycemic Load. PlosOne; 10(2).
Rolls, E. T. & Grabenhorts, F. (2014) The representation of oral fat texture in the human somatosensory cortex. Human Brain Mapping; 35(6): 2521–2530.
