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Cure Your Addiction to Food With These 3 Natural Remedies

By Operation-Meditation

Do you find it hard to stopping eating once you start? Do you often eat until you can’t possibly fit another morsel in your tummy? Is food on your mind all day, every day?

Research now suggests that it is possible for people to become addicted to food in the same way they become addicted to other things. In a study conducted by the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, they found that a “food craving activates the same areas of the brain involved in drug craving.”

This type of research is good because it helps reinforce why it’s so difficult to lose weight. You’re not only fighting the issues that drive you to food to begin with, but you’re also dealing with a physical attraction that, until now, no one really understood.

Could you be addicted to food? Experts have highlighted some symptoms which include:

Repeatedly eating to the point of feeling sick
Constant worry about what, and how much, you’re eating
Avoiding certain food-related situations because of fear of overeating at them
Feeling shame or guilt for food choices
Overeating certain foods, particularly those that are salty, sweet or fatty

The one thing that sets food addiction apart from others, like drugs, gambling or smoking, is that you can’t quit eating. You will always be around your ‘vice’ because you always need to eat. So, while other addicts can practice abstinence, you have to learn to deal with the addiction in a completely different way.

While this is a relatively new area of study, several treatment options are already available. So, if you believe you may have a food addiction and it’s affecting your ability to maintain a healthy weight, here are some natural remedies to choose from.

Talk to a nutritionist

There are certain substances that, when eaten, create an addictive physical response. They are sugar, salt and fat. All of these things increase the release of dopamine in your body which makes you feel good and want to eat even more.

A nutritionist can help you create a diet low in these substances so that your body breaks the cycle. They will make sure you’re getting all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients in your diet so that you sustain a healthy body. The healthier you are, the stronger you are to beat this addiction.

Join a support group

Just as there are twelve step programs for alcohol addicts, like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), there are also support groups for food addicts. One such program is Food Addicts Anonymous.

Group settings help to educate you about your addiction plus they provide you tools you can use to overcome it. Being involved in a group of like-minded people allows you to share experiences and feelings with others who suffer from the same issues. While, certainly, a group setting isn’t for everyone, it has proven to be a very beneficial form of treatment for a great number of people.

Meditation

Meditation can help a food addict on many levels. First, addiction has a way of overtaking your body and mind, causing you to lose clarity. Meditation helps restore your focus making it easier to engage in behavioral changes that will support new, healthy eating behaviors.

Second, stress and anxiety can trigger a food addict to eat. By taking a few moments daily to engage in some simple breathing exercises, you’re able to deflect and let go of some of the negative emotions that may normally drive you to the kitchen in search of food.

Third, if you no longer consume the foods that have been supplying dopamine to your body, making you happy, you risk depression. However, meditation increases endorphin release which also increases your feelings of happiness.

Fourth, addicts are known to have low levels of Gamma-Amniobutyric Acid (GABA). Not just food addicts either. This applies to those who are addicted to gambling, shopping, drugs and more. Meditation boosts GABA levels, making the addiction easier to beat.

Just because you have a food addiction doesn’t mean that you have to live with it. You have options; natural, healthy options like the ones listed above. Pick the right one for you and start your journey to recovery today.

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