Are You Addicted to Food?

When things like addiction to food and health are brought up, most people simply work with concepts like healthy eating habits and exercise, but often, it goes beyond that.

Food addiction is a serious issue that merits discussion in its own right. It is a problem that affects not only the person who has it, but also their friends and family.

Essentially, the problem of food addiction is one that combines a food craving with a food allergy. When a person has this condition, they are drawn to a certain food and when they are unable to have it, they experience symptoms that are not unlike withdrawal.

Food addiction can be indicated by a number of different things. One of the most notable symptoms of having a food addiction is having a constant craving for a certain type of food and no matter how often that food is consumed, always wanting more.

Whether the food is ice cream or potatoes, the food addiction results in a craving that turns out to be quite harmful. This disorder affects an estimated one-third of Americans, and is coming to be seen as the pervasive, damaging issue that it is.

While the cravings are the first sign that a food addiction may be present, there are several other hints that this disorder may be at work.

Symptoms of food addiction include migraines, arthritis, fatigue and various mental issues. Because nutrition so closely affects the workings of the brain, there are a host of problems, from mood swings to schizophrenia. Because food addiction can lead to uncontrolled binging on specific foods, it can also lead to obesity. An untreated food addiction can have many different consequences, none of them positive.

Besides experiencing the health issues mentioned above, people who have a food addiction often feel guilty and ashamed about their condition. They feel as if they should have better control of themselves and that by succumbing to something that they think of as a whim, they are proving themselves weak.

Another thing to remember is that food addiction can have a genetic component. If you have a food addiction, there is a chance that you might pass it on to your children, either in terms of the cravings you experience or the behaviors that you fall into.

Addiction to food and health and everything that it entails is an important topic to think about; issues like these need to be dealt with as soon as you are aware of them!