Food Addiction

There are several types of food addictions that people suffer from. Sometimes it is the result of wanting to look better physically or to compensate for something else missing in your life. Each type of food addiction comes with different affects to your body and health risks. Trained professionals can help you with a treatment plan focusing on your individual Food Addiction and your personal needs.

What Is A Food Addict?

Do you find yourself constantly thinking about food? You could be suffering from a food addiction. This is the process of engaging in binge eating on a regular basis when you have the urge even though you know it is not good for you. It is a cycle that is very difficult to break without professional help. If you think about food constantly and can’t stop eating even when you want to it is possible that you are a food addict.

Types Of Food Addiction

Anorexia Nervosa, commonly just called Anorexia, is an obsession with weight and being thin. No matter how much weight is lost the person still tries to lose weight by eating less, exercising more, and using laxatives. This is a very serious food addiction because your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs to function properly. This can lead to health problems, loss of memory, hair lose, menstruation stopping, and even death if it is not stopped.

Bulimia Nervosa, referred to as Bulimia, involves binge eating and then expelling the food from the body so that you don’t gain weight. Most Bulimics make themselves throw up or use laxatives to get the food out of their body. The food is eaten very rapidly to hide it. The process of removing the food from the body can ruin the enamel on the teeth, cause cavities, and have scars on their hands from inducing vomiting with their fingers.

Compulsive overeating disorder involves binge eating. This involves not being able to control the amount of food being consumed. The excess food is generally carbohydrates and junk food resulting in weight gain. The obsession with food creates issues in relationships and on the job. Compulsive overeating disorder can lead to depression due to the guilt and the added weight.

Causes Of Food Addiction

Food addictions are caused by triggers. These can be physical, emotional, or a combination of both. The desire to be thinner and stress are the most common causes of Food Addiction. Food is often to deal with happiness, let downs, anger, and a variety of other emotions. Low self esteem is another cause especially in young girls and career women. Some researchers believe food addictions can be hereditary as a person is predispositioned to be addicted to sugar or flour.

Symptoms Of Food Addiction

There are many symptoms of food addition to look for. A person suffering from a food addiction may show several symptoms in varying degrees of severity. Cravings for food is the most common. The binge eating is generally impulsive and the person loses control as they engage in the binging. They are very secretive and able to hide their binge eating from family and friends. This is done by having different eating habits in front of others than you do in private. They might steal food from various places including grocery stores and the office refrigerator. A person with a food addiction is never satisfied with the amount of food they ate, leading to a continuous cycle of binging to be satisfied. The focus on food throughout their day. For some the binging is triggered by emotions including anger and stress. There is often an obsession with food and a lack of self control.

Treatment Of Food Addiction

There is treatment available for those who suffer from food addiction. FA is a twelve step program that works to help you free yourself from food. The membership is free. You can join a local group or an online group. It is recommended that this is done as a supplement to working with your doctor to offer you support. An individual treatment plan has to be developed depending on the type of food addiction, the severity, health issues, and the person. Treatment is often a combination of working with a doctor for the physical aspects and working with a counselor for the mental aspects of an eating addiction. For more severe cases, inpatient treatment or hospitalization may be necessary.

The goals of an effective food addiction treatment plan is to restore healthy eating habits and getting the individual to a healthy body weight. This requires identifying the physical and emotional triggers that lead to the eating situations. Once they are identified strategies can be implemented to help the patient cope with them in more effective ways. Having a support system in place is very important for someone trying to overcome a food addiction.

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