I am an addict. "Oh the humanity", you might be thinking. What could his medium of distraction be? Drugs, alcohol, House of Cards? Well, I don't have any drugs around the house to abuse, I'm only 19, and I don't have TV. Ok, I will now divulge my lifelong addiction, however, I urge you to please put aside the normal pre-ordered responses such as "don't be so hard on yourself" or "are you serious?". Cooked food. Yeah, that is it. Therein lies the pleasurable inferno that plagues me. But, you're a master herbalist and you consult people on their health. I thought I said no obviously innocuous remarks. This "addiction" I have became ostensible over the past couple weeks of summer vacation, which, of course, is never always pleasure: …show more content…
Back to the food. From the first bite of eating food I don't normally eat, I was hooked. I wanted more and more - it was like a drug. Eating these chemicalized, uber-cooked foods I wasn't normally inclined to eating, stimulated my brain so much - I got high from the food. Soon I became engulfed in this cycle of what seemed to include indelible whirlwinds of dopamine - if only Dr. Amen could have scanned my brain during this time. I never experienced cravings once I was hooked because I kept getting my fix, 3 maybe 5 times a day. Now, I'm not going to tell you what the foods are because I don't want to be politically incorrect. The reality is that it was a wide gamut of common foods. I hope none of this comes off with even the slightest sense of bombast, however, I have learned what foods give the body the chance at functioning at its …show more content…
Somehow it has become normal that we feed our children [fill in the blank] after they have been breastfed. The reality is that once the cooked food is introduced, it messes up (for lack of better phrasing) the pristine microflora of the gut, maximum enzyme potential, and clean blood that gives babies that "full of life" glow. The problem continues as our cooked food horizons evolve until we venture into classes of foods which come in packages whose ingredients are unrecognizable. The goods news is that I know how not to be an addict because I have become aware of what is really going on when these foods are eaten. I guess I am a selective addict not a complete addict. Now, you could ask, "If you know what is going on, why did you let this happen while on vacation?". Part of the answer is that I was just eating what everybody else was eating. Another part is the fact that I remembered how good that food tasted so I just wanted to have it for "old times sake". Regardless of the reason, my body eventually had enough and one day I woke up and I felt terrible. Headache, nausea, the culmination of weeks of food that isn't good for me. Through my years of studying, I have discovered how to build health through detoxification and nutrition, however I
An addiction to food is not unlike an addiction to drugs. According to Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a food addiction is when someone is not only eating a lot of food but chronically
That craving is what powers the habit loop” (pg33). Craving is the actual fuel that starts the habit loop to a rotating cycle, without the feeling of crave there’s no habit loop since the individual doesn’t have any intention to seek rewards. Wolfram Schultz a professor of neuroscience at the University of Cambridge conducted an experiment with a monkey named Julio; the purpose of the experiment was to examine how Julio’s brain would react when Julio followed a procedure of touching a lever when the colored shape appeared on a monitor then Julio was rewarded with a drop of his favorite blackberry juice. While repeating this experiment, Schultz has seen an unusual activity inside Julio’s brain, where at first Julio’s brain activity started spiking when he was rewarded with drop of blackberry juice; however, as the experiment continued its brain activity started spiking when the cue appeared on the screen. Julio’s brain had developed a habit; “… habit only emerges once Julio begins craving the juice when he sees the cue” (49). Now that Julio has developed a craving for the blackberry juice, he will automatically follow the habit. This experiment clearly proves how significant craving can be since it drives the habit loop. Likewise, I crave the reward of finishing my schoolwork while relaxing to the music since; it allows me to release the stress that’s been pilling up inside my brain from
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
Drug addiction is often characterized as being a complex brain disease that causes compulsive, uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking and use without any regards to the consequences they may bring upon themselves, or society. As long as the brain is exposed to these large amounts of dopamine on the reward system, it will inevitably develop a tolerance to the current dopamine levels, which it is receiving, lessening the pleasure the user will experience. In order to satisfy the brains “reward...
For instance, when you perform an activity that coincides with the brain’s biological “primary reinforcers” (have sex or eat food), these pleasure centers of the brain are flooded with a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Simply put, when ingesting these substances, the brain is experiencing a “high” that has never been felt before, causing the user to want to repeat the experience (O’Leary, 2014).
In the United States today, drug use, substance abuse, and addiction are consistently growing dilemmas! At a young age we are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Answers vary from doctor, police officer, astronaut, etc.; it is hard to image an individual saying, “I want to be addicted to drugs.” However, society witness’s individuals tumbling into drug addiction or other forms of addiction daily. This, in consequence, can cripple and prevent any person from accomplishing their childhood dreams. Addiction has many forms; this is evident in Requiem for a Dream, Darren Aronofsky’s critically renowned film, centered on the effects of drug use and misuse. The film conveys how quickly an individual can transition from recreational use to a drug addictive lifestyle. The film also addresses the pressing question, “Are legal and illegal drugs equivalent in terms of addiction?” Contrary to popular belief, drug dependence is not at all exclusive to illicit drugs and the “addicts” which confide in them. This is conveyed in the film through the evolution of Sara Goldfarb’s (Ellen Burstyn) character. A widowed mother, who becomes physiologically consumed on diet pills in hopes to be in peak condition when appearing on a game show. This molds another compelling topic: to what degree do drugs alter an individual’s physical
Addictive drugs like nicotine and cocaine and heroin, all can rewire the brain to crave the satisfaction that these agents produce. The desire becomes so strong that it starts to take over the body and it no longer becomes for pleasure and it becomes a need for your body. Now likewise, some people argue that some foods have the same power and effects on people that drugs do, where some of these foods can alter the brain in a way that is resets the appetite and satisfaction threshold in a way that it’s out of reach, meaning a person can never have enough. The obesity levels these days semi-dangerous, so some doctors have conducted an experiment that tested the effects of some foods on the brain, where they took 12 obese men after they consumed two milkshakes, whit the same amount of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates, and they were equally sweet. (Sifferlin 2013) On the other hand one milkshake had much higher glycemic index from the carbohydrates. After the a few hours the blood sugar levels went down leaving the men hungry again. But after they ate the region of the brain that is related to addictive drugs and behaviors was triggered. In this paper food addiction is discussed and shown that it is a real problem that further critical analysis and experiments should be conducted on such issue.
Addiction, Is it just an issue or is it one’s choice? Although no one chooses to walk around in their life and decides if he or she has or wants an addiction. An addiction is a “condition of being addicted to a particular substance” (Peele, 2016). One can be addicted to nicotine, drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, and even shopping if it has an impact on their everyday life. Consequently, some people with an addiction may reach a point in their life where it can turn harmful, therefore, people need to look for assistance. Even so, people still neglect to talk about addictions because people are ashamed, or in denial, and it is probably not one’s choice of topics that is brought up at your breakfast table, or you may never have confronted anyone before. Still, addiction is all around us, and most people today still do not understand or have misconceptions about addictions because addiction is a disease, and studies have indicated that addictions are a physical defect in the brain, thus, making it hard for some people to give up their addictions on their own.
crashes.." Addiction 103.5 (2008): p749-757. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. UMBC, Baltimore, Albin O. Kuhn Lib. 4 Mar 2011.
When people hear the word addiction, most people picture an alcoholic that spends hours a night at the bar, or meth addict that sleeps in the streets and prostitutes herself out to obtain money for another hit, but what various people refuse to realize is that addiction has become an epidemic in the United States. Addiction is everywhere from the UPS man that takes smoke breaks every few delivery’s, to your best friend 's dad whose appears to have everything put together but spends his evenings at the casino. In my opinion, it 's essential to share your story, I’m restless to tell you experience with addiction.
So, yes, there are food “addictions” but not 100% similar to that of drug addictions. There are consequences to eating too much of one thing, but the point here is that it might not be that individual’s fault.
The addiction to food can lead to many health issues and concerns to an individual, though a common concern is eating disorders. Individuals
Without some sort of production we aren’t going anywhere, we are stagnant and begin to decay. When referring to television addicts Winn mentions that, “They are aware that it is an unproductive experience, that almost any other endeavor is more worthwhile by any human measure”, and I couldn’t agree more. She also states, “An addict does not merely pursue a pleasurable experience and need to experience it in order to function normally. He needs to repeat it again and again” (Winn 314). This sensation to repeat a negative behavior is the same in both addictions and what leads an addicted person to be completely unproductive. Granted one results in a quicker and often time, more serious destruction, while the other may take longer to feel the impact on their life. Eventually the draw is the same and the need to repeat something that is not productive takes over the need to do something that is productive. It may start small such as choosing to order out instead of making dinner, but then will morph into not taking the trash out, not doing the laundry and even skipping work. In the case of the drug addict, he chooses to go “score” his next hit instead of running that errand that he or she needed
How do you know when you are addicted to something? Is it a choice or just an effect? What most people do not understand, is that no one really chooses to be an addict. Being addicted to something such as drugs, alcohol, and food, is not due to someone waking up one day and choosing to not be in control. It is mostly due to deeper issues like depression, influences upbringing and where you live, things, which lead someone on the path for their search of an escape.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.