Ever get a craving for chips, pizza, donuts or cake? You’re not alone. These types of foods are high in added sugar and fats. They’re not very nutritious, but they’re tasty. In fact, they’re so yummy, it can be hard to stop eating them, even after you’re full. A new analysis suggests that key ingredients in these types of highly processed foods can cause people to become addicted to them.
The researchers shared their conclusions November 9 in the journal Addiction.
We usually hear the term addiction used when talking about drugs or alcohol. But researchers are finding that certain foods can trigger the same feelings as drugs. It all comes down to what’s happening in the brain.
When we feel a happy rush, it’s due to a flood of the feel-good chemical dopamine in the striatum (Stry-AY-tum). This region is part of the brain’s reward circuit. The striatum gets a dopamine rush when something good happens. Drugs and alcohol can cause a similar high. So, it turns out, can some popular snack foods.
“We’re designed to find carbohydrates and fats reinforcing,” says Ashley Gearhardt. She’s a psychologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Evolving such tastes helped our ancestors “outwit famine and make sure we survive,” she explains. That critical role shaped the brain’s reward system, making us hard-wired to enjoy carbs and fatty foods.
The problem isn’t with all foods containing carbohydrates and fats. Fruit is full of sugar. Oats and other whole grains have lots of carbs. Nuts and meat have fat. But such unprocessed foods — eaten in a form that’s similar to how they grew — also contain other nutrients, such as fiber, that slow digestion. That limits how quickly our bodies can absorb the nutrients.
Cookies, candy, soda, fries and other highly processed foods lack those additional nutrients. Such foods contain ingredients that have been highly changed from their natural state. They’re chock full of easy-to-absorb carbohydrates (such as simple sugars) and added fats. What’s more, they often contain ingredients that don’t naturally occur together. “Sugar and fat don’t come together in nature,” Gearhardt says. But highly processed foods often “have unnaturally high levels of both carbohydrates and fat.” When we eat these foods, we get a quick “hit” of carbs and fats that give the brain a boost. That makes us want to eat them again and again. But can we actually become addicted?
Makings of an addiction
Gearhardt and her co-author, Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, put highly processed foods to the test. They compared these foods to tobacco products. In 1988, the Surgeon General declared tobacco an addictive substance. That conclusion was based on several factors. Some people feel compelled to use tobacco, even when they don’t want to do so. Like other addictive drugs, tobacco alters mood. People and animals feel rewarded when they use tobacco. And it creates irresistible urges or cravings.
The researchers examined highly processed foods using each of these four factors. And they found that, like tobacco, many packaged foods ticked all the boxes. What’s more, highly processed foods are in many ways more addictive than tobacco.
That’s especially true for industrial versions of snack foods — store-bought cookies or a bag of potato chips, for example. One reason: they contain super-processed ingredients that give the brain a quick burst of fat and carbs. They also contain flavors we can’t make in our kitchens. “I don’t know how to make a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto or Vanilla Dr. Pepper,” Gearhardt says. But we start to crave those specific flavors. “You don’t just want the sugar and fat bits, you want the flaming hot burn.”
If you’ve ever felt like you see ad after ad pushing these highly processed snacks, that’s by design. These foods are heavily marketed, especially to kids and teens. “They’re clearly targeting 8- to 14-year-olds very aggressively to try and make them lifelong users,” Gearhardt says. That’s exactly what tobacco companies used to do. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that big tobacco companies now own many of the brands that make the most popular snack foods.
“The companies that make highly processed foods use many different ‘tricks’,” says Antonio Verdejo-Garcia. He is an addiction specialist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He was not involved with the new analysis. Companies add extra sweeteners and flavors “to increase the appeal of something which is, in fact, not that tasty, nutritious or healthy.” Those highly processed extras “won’t help you grow or make you stronger or better at sports,” he says. “If you tried [the foods] before they used all of those tricks, you would probably not like them.”
Pay attention to what you eat, Gearhardt says. “The goal is not perfection.” It’s best to get plenty of nutritious foods for your mind and body. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a donut or pizza now and then. Just be sure you’re aware of what you’re eating. “There is a risk with these highly processed foods that they can trigger what looks like an addiction,” she cautions. “That’s very profitable for these big industries that create them.”
Unfortunately, not everyone has the same access to healthy foods. But when you have a choice, fight back and take control of your health by including foods that nourish your body and brain.
Power Words
More About Power Wordsad: Short for advertisem*nt. It may appear in any medium (print, online or broadcast) and has been prepared to sell someone on a product, idea or point of view.
addicted: Unable tocontrol the use of a habit-forming drug or to forego an unhealthy habit (such as video game playing or phone texting). It results from an illness triggered by brain changes that occur after using some drugs or engaging in some extremely pleasurable activities. People with an addiction will feel a compelling need to engage in some behavior, such as using a drug (which can be alcohol, the nicotine in tobacco, a prescription drug or an illegal chemical such as cocaine or heroin) — even when the user knows that doing so risks severe health or legal consequences.
addiction: The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines this as a complex chronic disease that is “characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.” A first exposure to drugs is usually voluntary. But repeated use of certain drugs, NIDA explains, can create changes in the brain that make it hard “to resist intense urges to take drugs.”
addictive: An adjective to describe something that becomehabit-forming in an uncontrolled or unhealthy way. This can include adrug or some habit (such as video game playing or phone texting). Such addictions reflect an illness triggered by brain changes that occur after using some drugs or engaging in some extremely pleasurable activities. People with an addiction will feel a compelling need to use a drug (which can be alcohol, the nicotine in tobacco, a prescription drug or an illegal chemical such as cocaine or heroin), even when the user knows that doing so risks severe health or legal consequences.
ancestor: A predecessor. It could be afamilyforebear, such as a parent, grandparent or great-great-great grandparent. Or it could be a species, genus, family or other order of organisms from which some later one evolved. For instance, ancient dinosaurs are the ancestors of today's birds. (antonym: descendant)
attention: The phenomenon of focusing mental resources on a specific object or event.
carbohydrates: Any of a large group of compounds occurring in foods and living tissues, including sugars, starch and cellulose. They contain hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water (2:1) and typically can be broken down in an animal’s body to release energy.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.
circuit: A network that transmits electrical signals. In the body, nerve cells create circuits that relay electrical signals to the brain. In electronics, wires typically route those signals to activate some mechanical, computational or other function.
dopamine: A neurotransmitter, this chemical helps transmit signals in the brain.
factor: Something that plays a role in a particular condition or event; a contributor.
famine: A condition where many people go hungry because there is too little food. Droughts, flooding and other weather disasters often contribute to widespread crop failures causing famine.
fat: A natural oily or greasy substance occurring in plants and in animal bodies, especially when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs. Fat’s primary role is as an energy reserve. Fat also is a vital nutrient, though it can be harmful if consumed in excessive amounts.
fiber: Something whose shape resembles a thread or filament. (in nutrition) Components of many fibrous plant-based foods. These so-called non-digestible fibers tendto come from cellulose, lignin, and pectin — all plant constituents that resist breakdown by the body’s digestive enzymes.
flavor: The particular mix of sensations that help people recognize something that has passed through the mouth. This is based largely on how a food or drink is sensed by cells in the mouth. It also can be influenced, to some extent, by its smell, look or texture.
fruit: A seed-containing reproductive organ in a plant.
journal: (in science) A publication in which scientists share their research findings with experts (and sometimes even the public). Some journals publish papers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and math, while others are specific to a single subject. Peer-reviewed journals are the gold standard: They send all submitted articles to outside experts to be read and critiqued. The goal, here, is to prevent the publication of mistakes, fraud or work that is not novel or convincingly demonstrated.
nut: (in biology) The edible seed of a plant, which is usually encased in a hard protective shell.
nutrient: A vitamin, mineral, fat, carbohydrate or protein that a plant, animal or other organism requires as part of its food in order to survive.
processed foods: Foods purchased from a grocery story that are substantially different from the raw materials that went into them. Examples include most foods that come in cans, bottles, boxes or bags. Examples include breakfast cereals, frozen pizzas, canned tuna, jars of spaghetti sauce and dill pickles.
psychologist: A scientist ormental-health professionalwhostudiesthe mind, especially in relation to actions and behaviors.Some work with people. Others may conduct experiments with animals (usually rodents) to test how their minds respond to different stimuli and conditions.
reward system: (Also reward center) A region of the brain that processes the pleasant reactions we get when we get smiles, gifts, pleasurable stimuli (including food) or compliments.
risk: The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)
striatum: Also called the corpus striatum, this is a cluster of neurons located in the middle of the brain, at about the level of your temples. It is part of a bigger region known as the basal ganglia. The striatum is important for planning movement and decision making. It also responds to things that are rewarding or pleasurable, such as food or even music.
Surgeon General: A doctor who serves as the leading spokesperson on public health from within the U.S. government. This person also serves as the primary deputy on medical matters to the Assistant Secretary for Health (within the Department of Health and Human Services).
system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body's circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation's railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.
taste: One of the basic properties the body uses to sense its environment, especially foods, using receptors (taste buds) on the tongue (and some other organs).
tobacco: A plant cultivated for its leaves, which many people burn in cigars, cigarettes, and pipes. Tobacco leaves also are sometimes chewed. The main active drug in tobacco leaves is nicotine, a powerful stimulant (and poison).
Citations
Journal: A.N. Gearhardt and A.G. DiFeliceantonio. Highly processed foods can be considered addictive substances based on established scientific criteria. Addiction. Published online November 9, 2022. doi: 10.1111/add.16065.
About Alison Pearce Stevens
Alison Pearce Stevens is a former biologist and forever science geek who writes about science and nature for kids. She lives with her husband, their two kids and a small menagerie of cuddly (and not-so cuddly) critters.
