Does Ultra-Processed Food Addiction Exist?

Thank you for the question. This is my life's work, and I'm ready to dive deeply with you.

First, I want to thank you for discerning between food addiction and ultra-processed food addiction. One of the major criticisms of food addiction is that it's too vague because (usually) almonds or bananas aren't highly addictive for people.

But when you clarify and say ultra-processed food addiction, we're not talking about bananas and almonds. The “volume eaters” and “compulsive eaters” might overeat those, but we're talking about specifically ultra-processed foods that hijack reward centers in the brain.

I want to go on record and say that unequivocally, without debate, ultra-processed food addiction exists. There have been thousands of papers written about it. I've written a few.

It's such an important topic, but more nuance is still needed. The nuance comes in when it looks like other disorders, other food-related issues, or people who have body image issues. It often clusters and co-occurs; many people can't tell what's what.

But I always tell people, take a minute, close your eyes. Pretend that there are no eating disorders in the world and no body image issues. Does ultra-processed food addiction exist? And when you open your eyes, you say, yes, it does.

The strongest evidence we have in support of ultra-processed food addiction relates to the criteria of continued use despite negative consequences. Think about people who have health challenges and desperately want to change the way they eat but cannot make firm resolutions to stop and always return to the substance because the mind tricks them into doing it, even though the logical part of their brain knows that they shouldn't.

The reward centers in the brain tend to exert their influence and win over the prefrontal cortex. That's addiction.

Is Abstinence the Best Way to Manage an Addiction?

First, abstinence can be approached in a wide range of different ways. People can't be abstinent from food. However, you can be abstinent from ultra-processed food. Yes, one can, and some people should. But there's also a possibility to become abstinent from under-eating, overeating, or sneaky eating, and one can work a recovery program that has a very clear emphasis on what to do rather than what not to do.

If someone wants a specific food abstinence, it's important to be careful about how you craft the abstinence plan. For example, abstaining from refined sugar could be tricky because there could be a salad dressing with a little sugar for functional purposes. 

And the question is, does that ruin someone's recovery? Some people would say yes, and others would say no. I would say no. Let's not have abstinence be so rigid that people are going back to day zero and feeling a sense of failure.

I also believe that when people do healing work, some of the unresolved stress, trauma, and adversity change, and the body changes over time. The mind and gut changes and new possibilities can enter the scene. What I mean by that is some people who couldn't successfully eat certain ultra-processed foods at one point might be able to reintegrate them later in life. 

There are people with late-stage ultra-processed food addiction who are better off avoiding these foods altogether. But the worst thing I see is that when people have a relapse, they're “off the wagon” and feel the need to self-destruct to burn the house down and go on a roaring bender. That is not helpful.

I do not believe the “allergy” concept used in 12-step programs can effectively apply to food. There is such a thing as food allergies, and that's completely different. An allergic reaction to food in the addiction model is a total misnomer.

So, one size does not fit all. There's a wide range of approaches that can work for people. In summary, ultra-processed food addiction exists. Abstinence is not the only way to recover from ultra-processed food addiction. Some people do way better by choosing abstinence and just getting all the noise out of their heads.

But there are also a lot of people who choose abstinence because they want to diet to lose weight, and that can be a dark road. So, my goal is to talk about the science and to prevent people from going down dark roads. There are 12 myths about food addiction that are worth a read.  

Please check out the Wise Mind Nutrition app. It is an empowerment program helping people get free from addiction-like eating and other food and body-related issues, and to experience the wise mind.