The Hunger Fix: Managing Your Addiction to Food

There’s a scene in an episode of “Sex and the City,” where Miranda Hobbes has shamelessly salvaged a cupcake from the trash and, half of the thing in her mouth, leaves a voicemail with Carrie admitting her weak moment in case her friend needs that evidence when she admits her into the Betty Ford clinic. Katie Couric played the clip before introducing her guest, Dr. Pam Peeke, internationally recognized expert, physician, and author in the fields of nutrition, stress, fitness, and public health, on the “Katie” show. Peeke’s latest book, The Hunger Fix (a New York Times bestseller), lays out the science to prove that fatty, sugary, salty processed foods produce in a food addict’s brain the same chemical reaction as addictions to crack cocaine and alcoholism. Peeke uses neuroscience to explain how, with repeated exposure coupled with life stresses, any food can become a “false fix” and ensnare you in a vicious cycle of food obsession, overeating, and addiction. The dopamine rushes in the body work the same way with food as with drugs like cocaine. The good news is that, while we can’t change our genes, we can most definitely influence how our genes communicate and collaborate with the rest of our mind and bodies, what is called our gene expression, so that the addictive behavior is dampened. In other words, our biology isn’t destiny. Epigenetics — epi meaning “above” or “outside” — is a new science and we’re only beginning to under...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Tags: Addiction Disorders Eating Disorders General Research Substance Abuse Crack Cocaine Dopamine Dr. Pam Peeke Drug Addiction Food Addiction Genetics health Katie Couric Miranda Hobbes Nutrition Source Type: blogs