Addicted To Junk Food

Junk food and cocaine might not seem connected but they do have one thing in common.

They can both be equally addictive, and affect the same part of our brains, which is one reason we might eat more of these foods than we want.

Everyone loves some type of junk food or another. And like I frequently say, "everything in moderation", so eating them once in a while isn't that big of a deal. But we've all eaten way more than we've wanted from time to time and for some, it's almost impossible to stop the junk food binge.

For years scientists have known these so called "reward foods" can be addictive but have now figured out why. It turns out they affect the brain much like cocaine or cigarettes, two very hard things to quit.

After feeding mice high sugar junk food, and finding out they will continue to eat even if they got electric shocks to try and stop them, researchers looked at their brains. They found a reduction in certain receptors inside their brains that help tell us enough is enough. This same thing happens with other addictions.

When the brain changes this way, it's very hard to change back, but according to the researchers, it can be done. They recommend what's probably obvious but not always easy to do---diet for a long period of time and avoid the junk food. Not starting in the first place is probably easier --- so getting back to my favorite phrase---"everything in moderation"---is your best bet when it comes to the sweet and fatty foods you might sometimes crave.