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Food like drugs for some

Food like drugs for some, same brain path used

Overeating and drug addiction may be linked, researchers find

WASHINGTON - The same brain circuits are involved when obese people fill their stomachs as when drug addicts think about drugs, a finding that suggests overeating and addiction may be linked, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

"We were able to simulate the process that takes place when the stomach is full, and for the first time we could see the pathway from the stomach to the brain that turns 'off' the brain's desire to continue eating."

"We thought the activated area (of the brain) must be in the satiety center, which we learned in medical school is supposed to be in the hypothalamus," Wang said in a telephone interview.

They used a positron emission tomography or PET scan to see which parts of the brain activated when the stimulator was activated. They also carefully questioned their volunteers, all of whom were very obese, about why and when they overate.

The stimulators also sent messages of satiety to brain circuits in the orbitofrontal cortex and striatum, which have been linked to craving and desire in cocaine addicts.

What is addiction anyway?

Addiction:
1.
a. Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance

2.
a. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something

From the Latin, it means ad-dict, to speak toward. There is a voice in the head that says, "do it again."

So people can develop addictions to food (and sex and drugs and gambling...etc.) too. This website here is the most ultimate source on addiction on the internet. Ultimate, because the site actually shows people how to quit an addiction--any addiction--by articulating how addiction works and teaching a learned skill called AVRT.

The conclusion of the study was that the sensation produced by eating until the stomach is full --that is the sensation which is addictive, not the food itself. Food is metabolic fuel; is necessary.

But eating until the stomach feels stretched is not necessary. The longest-living people on the planet live in Okinawa, Japan. Do you know how they eat by tradition? They eat until they feel like they are 80% full. Then they stop eating.


If you try it, you'll notice that if you stop at 80%, and just wait a minute or two, you feel perfectly sated. I know that if I eat until I feel "full," a few minutes later I feel so full it can hurt.

You are not trying to get A's for eating. A B grade for eating is actually B for better. I will give you an overall 'A' and a well-deserved pat on the back if you shoot for a B and get it, at every meal.

I'm no paragon of fitness or judge of what is best for anyone. But I've gone through periods of eating 1 or 2 meals a day, basically gorging during those meals, based on built-up hunger. Eating 5-6 meals a day, by adding snacks, works best, I have found. It works for both losing weight and building muscle mass.