Check this out: For AA groups, sugar was (and maybe still is) considered a viable replacement for drugs and alcohol. Recovering addicts were instructed to keep candies or snacks on hand for when a drug or alcohol craving would surface. While it may have helped distract these people from their drug cravings, it also gave way to a new addiction that spiked the same parts of the brain their drugs once did. As such, the cycle began anew — according to Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of “The Hunger Fix” and professor at the University of Maryland: “Once off the drugs, the brain craves the uber rewards of the hyperpalatables — Mint Milanos, Oreos, any sugar. An apple’s reward doesn’t cut it. So you end up with the transfer addiction. It’s off the cocaine, onto the cupcakes.”
It’s this constant merry-go-round of sugar cravings, highs, and crashes that contributes to the vicious cycle of so many eating disorders, from binge eating to bulimia. Sugar offsets the normal appetite system and creates a feeling of satiety that’s just out of reach. Notice how you never get full off one cupcake? This is the root of why binge eaters and bulimics will typically binge on sugar and carbohydrates. For a short moment after binging, there’s a high from the surge of dopamine. In turn, when this subsides, they’re left wanting more.
Taking things a step further, the brain’s reward systems rely on the neurotransmitter dopamine for activation. In both drug addictions and obesity, there’s a decrease in the number of dopamine D2 receptors. This reduction is associated with diminished enjoyment of food or drugs. In the same account, decline of dopamine D2 affects areas of the brain that support self-control, leading to a weaker ability to resist temptation. Dr. Nicole Avena — a faculty member at the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University, and expert in the field of food addiction — explains: “People can have all the willpower in the world. But if the brain reward system is being activated in a way that causes them to have a battle against their willpower, then it can be very difficult for them to control their intake.”
We aren’t born loving cookies and hating broccoli. It’s a conditioning that gradually happens over time in response to the things we repeatedly eat. So, if it is indeed we ourselves who condition our cravings, then it may be possible to reorient them from cake to carrots. Underwhelming, yes, but it could mean a longer lifespan and lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
In fact, there was a study from Tufts University that looked at the brain scans of a group of people before assigning half of them to a behavioral intervention program geared toward weight loss and healthy eating. The program taught lessons on portion control and created menu plans geared around specific dietary targets. Six months later, a second round of brain scans showed the part of the brain associated with addiction and learning had changed in people who participated in the program. For the control group that didn’t participate, there was no change. But for the others, their brain scans reflected a more active sensitivity to healthier foods, with decreased sensitivity to less healthy alternatives. In other words, these participants increased their brain’s desire for healthier stuff and decreased their preference for junk.
So, yes. It is possible that I could recondition myself to avoid this bag of candy next to me. And given what it’s probably doing to my brain, it’d be better for me to reach for a piece of gum instead. But it doesn’t stop here. They key is to retrain the brain to start eating fewer foods with sugar and high-glycemic loads (think processed carbs — white bread, white potatoes, etc.). By keeping surges of blood sugar low, this could in turn modulate the activity of the brain’s reward system and lessen cravings overall.
We live in a society where there’s temptation at every turn: cupcakes at birthdays, chocolate on Valentine’s, desserts at every holiday. There’s no getting around it. But the good news is that adopting a healthier lifestyle can get easier over time. Awareness becomes behaviors, new behaviors morph into habits, and what was once a craving will become merely a passing thought.
Pretty sweet, no?
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine’s Spring 2016 issue.
More From Brain World
- Are We Sugarcoating Our Intelligence?
- Dopamine Fasting: An Expert Reviews the Latest Craze in Silicon Valley
- Eating Without Thinking: Your “Food impulsivity” Brain Circuit
- Gut Feeling: Curing the Mind Through the Stomach?
- Pleasing Your Brain: An Interview with Dr. Kent Berridge
- Why Do We Crave? The Science Behind Food Cravings
