From CNN.com:
Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.
A new study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.
Doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida. Eventually the pleasure centers “crash,” and achieving the same pleasure–or even just feeling normal–requires increasing amounts of the drug or food, says Kenny, the lead author of the study.
“People know intuitively that there’s more to [overeating] than just willpower,” he says. “There’s a system in the brain that’s been turned on or over-activated, and that’s driving [overeating] at some subconscious level.”
Read the rest of the story here.
After being fairly athletic and in good shape, I got into ministry in my early twenties and became quite the fatty. That’s sad considering the fact that church leaders should serve as examples of people with a handle on self-discipline. Why is it that I gave gluttony a free pass?
I’ve since come to believe that overeating is a spiritual issue that matters to Jesus, and have worked on my weight for over a year through diet and exercise. Quite a bit has come off, but I still have a long way to go.
Honestly, it’s been tough. I struggle with self-discipline, but I’ve gotten (and am continuing to get) better.
Nowadays Airiel and I don’t buy much junk food when we grocery shop (she never bought any to begin with, but I sure did), but I still find myself lured toward that bag of chips or the occasional Dr. Pepper when I’m out and about in town or when I stop to get gas. In addition to that, California’s own In N’ Out Burger is right around the corner from me, and that’s the best fast food restaurant I’ve ever been to (and it’s right next door to a Krispy Kream – this is the Devil’s doin’, I tell ya!).
It makes sense that junk food is addictive … all the more reason to stay away from it …
… but those Funyuns are so good!
Bah, maybe I should join a recovery group. “Hi, I’m Wes, and I’m a Funyun addict.” :p
