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Chronic Dieting and Food Addiction

By: Portland Chiropractor and nutritionist

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It has been my experience when working with patients that chronic dieting can often result in an insurmountable, inappropriate relationship with food. Often, chronic dieting or "yo-yo dieting" leads to underperforming metabolisms and an overutilization of sugars for fuel. In fact, recently, there have been a few studies suggesting that chronic dieting can turn someone into a "food addict".

According to a recent study, calorie-restricting followed by cycles of eating highly processed fast foods can create fast-food junkies out of once healthy rats.

The researchers put rats on a cyclic diet of 5 days of standard rat chow, followed by 2 days of the equivalent of rat fast food (high fat, high sugar, highly delicious). In other words,a similar albeit compressed version of how many people "diet".The first thing they observed is that it didn't take long for the rats to develop a clear preference for the unhealthier, fast food diet. When put back on a standard diet, they showed signs of anxiety and reduced pleasure from (or even refusal to eat) the standard chow. When the preferred fast food was available again, their anxiety calmed down, but they ate more than they would have before this cycle.

After almost 2 months, the researchers took a look at what this diet had done to the rat's brains. They found increased genetic expression for corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the rats' amygdalas. Basically, the rats' brain was "telling" their adrenal glands to release more cortisol and thus resetting itself for higher levels of stress. This is the same pattern of brain changes observed during withdrawal from alcohol or other addictive substances. Other research has demonstrated that this neural stress response triggers cravings and increases the risk of "falling off the wagon".

In effect, by making the unhealthy food temporarily unavailable, the researchers created "food addicts". Food might not be addictive on its own, but prohibiting it can set off a cycle of anxiety, craving, and overeating that looks like an addiction. While the researchers admit there's no scientific reason to believe that the food itself was the problem; I tend to think that the highly processed fast food tends to be more addicting than real, healthy whole foods.

Another study offers hope for ending the cycle. Researchers at Laval University in Québec, Canada have been following the benefits of a unique weight control intervention for over a year. This intervention, called "What about losing weight?" emphasized the possibility of being "healthy at every size." In my Portland nutrition and chiropractic clinic my patients know that I emphasize health over body weight. I am not saying that there is not such thing as a "healthy weight, I am just saying that I often see patients in Portland and beyond who come to me looking healthy but feeling horrible. In fact, many times, when I examine these seemingly healthy patients their physical and laboratory exams come back suggesting they are not healthy at all. There has been too much emphasis on what we look like and not enough on eating in a way that promotes health first with weight loss being a wonderful "side effect".

In the aforementioned Quebec study, rather than making food restriction and weight loss the goal, the intervention emphasized all the positive things participants could to improve their overall health and wellness: good nutrition (emphasizing what TO eat, not restricting the participant by stressing what NOT to eat), enjoying physical activity, and being attentive to their bodies. It also taught strategies for appreciating their body in its current state, regardless of size/weight.
Participants in the study were overweight or obese women who had likely entered the study as chronic dieters. By the end of the study, they showed significantly less "food disinhibition," or losing control around food during stress, celebration or social situations, or other situations that triggered overeating.

At the 1 year follow-up, over 60% of the participants had lost weight, despite the interventions' explicit focus on positive behaviors, not trying to reduce food intake or lose weight. Compare this to the quick weight loss followed by weight gain that a typical diet leads to and you can see why I treat my patients with a similar eating and lifestyle plan in my clinic. Participants who developed the most "flexible" restraint (as opposed to the rigid restraint of most diets) were the most likely to maintain a weight loss.

Prohibiting food often leads to the feeling of being unfairly restricted; in a world where many of us can have any food we want at any time, this prohibitive tactic seems to lead to "food addiction". Patients who come to my Portland clinic for nutritional advice often comment on how they like that I give them healthy food choices without berrating them for making unhealthy food choices. This study reinforces the idea that a prohibitive eating and lifestyle plan that focuses on positive steps, not self-denial, can make you less likely to succumb to food-related stress and anxiety. If you want to improve your overall self-control, and regain control around food, you may need this kind of help.

Many patients ask me how they can "recover' from being a chronic dieter. I'll outline one way to do this here:
1. start eating a minimally-processed diet of mostly vegetables, clean, lean meats (if you eat meat).

2. Eat appropriately sized meals

3. Eat every 2-3 hours (this seems tough but REALLY goes a long way to "resetting" your metabolism.

4. Convert your metabolism to burn more fat by EATING MORE HEALTHY FATS. This is scary for many "recovering dieters" but is essential for long-term weight loss and health.

I have developed guidelines to help patient with the steps and more, if you want more information, please go to my website or contact me at info@optfunction.com.
Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, MS, LMT, CKTP, Nutritionist, Hypnotherapist
Optimum Function: Portland, OR, 97214
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

youroptimumnutrition.com

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