Watching Your Diet And Still Craving For Junk Foods? You Are Not Alone, We Are Wired That Way!

One should not resort to blaming/shaming oneself, if unable to resist the food craving.

Image Credit: Pixabay/johnhain

Being health conscious you want to lose weight and watch your diet, especially its junk food component. Noble intentions, that's great! But do you find it difficult to control the cravings for sweets or an extra cheeseburger with a cold sugar-sweetened beverage?
Does the irresistible taste of the food, clubbed with easy availability and the inexpensive nature, is able to break your resolve?
If the answer is "Yes", then you may be wondering does it happen to others?
Are our brains somehow wired that way as shown in the image above?

Experiencing cravings for energy dense food that is rich in sugar and fats is quite normal.

Effects of Sugar on Brain

Sugar consumption is highly rewarding and has pleasure producing effects on our brains.
These resemble addictive effects like those produced by alcohol and drugs.

This effect is mediated mainly by the action of a chemical called "Dopamine" released in some parts of our brain as a result of the stimulation of our taste buds.

Foods that can cause addiction are sugar, fats, a combination of fat/sugar, foods that are high in salt. Food craving and food addiction are typically seen with sugary drinks like beverages, cakes, biscuits, and various salty and savory snacks.

This effect is particularly increased in obese people and they report higher levels of enjoyment with sweetness as compared to non-obese.

This process could have given us an advantage in past when the food availability was scarce. In our current environment, when there is an oversupply of processed food, this process is turning into a liability.

Sugar Rich Energy Dense Foods

Naturally occurring sugar-rich foods

These contain both simple sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose as well as complex sugars, starch, and fibers.
Out of all these types, simple sugars are the ones mainly responsible for sweetness and craving.
Besides complex sugars, naturally occurring foods also contain other nutrients like proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Processed foods like junk food

These often contain only simple sugars and fats with varying amounts of other nutrients that are often inadequate.
Moreover, the simple sugar found in most such foods is fructose (high fructose corn syrup) rather than glucose. Glucose is more easily used by the body as fuel and has lesser adverse effects when taken in excess quantity than fructose.

Eating processed foods in excess and especially those with "Added Sugars" are linked with plenty of disease conditions like obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, fatty liver, neurodegenerative diseases, and asthma.

Breaking The Dopamine Circuit

Can we break the dopamine circuit to reduce the craving for junk food? Once again the answer is "Yes".

One should not resort to blaming/shaming oneself, if unable to resist the craving, and instead seek medical help.

Besides medications, scientists are exploring various ways to affect the dopamine circuit to reduce cravings.

Some of these are being borrowed and adapted from techniques used to reduce cravings for alcohol and others are used to treat certain mental disorders.
The important ones that are being evaluated are listed below. They may not be widely used as of now, but with rapid advancements in science and technology, one or more out of these may be widely used sometimes in the near future.

Alpha-Theta Training (Neurofeedback), which is a relaxation-meditation technique. A YouTube video is provided below.
Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRV-BF), another meditation technique that focuses on slow-paced breathing. Again a YouTube video is provided below.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, is a technique that stimulates parts of the brain to reduce food cravings. Again a YouTube video is provided below.
Cue Exposure Therapy, a virtual reality technology is being evaluated. Again a YouTube video is provided below.

About the author: Dr. Naval Asija is a licensed MBBS Physician from India. MBBS is the equivalent of the MD degree offered by international medical schools. He is based in Delhi, India, and works as a medical writer, editor, and consultant. He supports medical researches as an author's editor, medical communication companies involved in medico-marketing activities, and medical technology companies in improving their products. He can be contacted via his LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navalasija/

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