Addiction: drugs vs. food

In this article, “The Extraordinary Science Of Addictive Junk Food”, written by Michael Moss there are several sources used to try and prove that the junk foods that we consume on a daily basis aren’t healthy for us and have become addictive. Moss tackles the argument in a way of using rhetorical devices and figurative language to get his audience, which would be the consumers, to understand that the big companies that we’re giving our money to don’t care about our health, just whether or not we’re still eating their products. Moss’ association when dealing with diet and nutrition is his prime topic. According to the New York Times, Moss is the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book Salt, Sugar, Fat and also a Pulitzer-Prize winner investigative reporter. When I read this article Moss really had me drawn in because of his credibility.

Addictions are a diverse set of common and complex diseases that are to some extent tied together by shared genetic and environmental factors. Addiction includes alcohol use disorders, cannabis and cocaine use disorders, nicotine dependence, as well as non-substance–related behaviors. Both genetic and environmental variables contribute to the use and abuse of addictive substances, which may eventually lead to addiction.

Addiction affects 40% of the population in the Western world (Lewis, Marc). There are many different kinds of addictions such as: food, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling or sexual aspects. When

According to “The Food Addiction,” overeating is the same as a drug addiction because as we increase our consumption rate we are increasing our desire to have more. The more we have the more we want because it is readily avaible for us. On the other, “The Food Addiction,” states that modern foods have an overwhelming affect to our biological feedback networks. This is because it disrupts our hormone regulation, such as hormones that control our appetite and weigh

In the reading, “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” Moss talks about a private meeting that was arranged for different food companies in America; the meeting was to talk about the emerging obesity issue in America and how to solve it with the help of these food companies. The meeting did not finish in good terms because of disagreements due to food companies not wanting to change their policies. Food companies spend lots of money to make the right products that consumers will get addictive to or products that will trick consumers into thinking they are not full. For this reason, food companies did not agree with changing their policies; which could result in loss of clients and money invested.

Over a period of 28 days, I decided to give up consuming all Chick-fil-a products and thought the task would be easy for the experiment. However, this trial in my life seemed to be one of the hardest things that I have ever attempted. My thinking revolved around that handling not having this choice of food for a month would not take that much effort and I could get my easy grade by participating in this activity. In a way, the experiment served as a growing factor for those who struggle with addiction and those who don’t understand the strain of addiction. I came to the understanding that struggling is not as easy as some people think it is. In my opinion, another person can never understand the struggle of addiction unless they are involved in some form or fashion.

Addiction is a response to social breakdown as well as an important factor in worsening the resulting inequalities in health, and offers users an illusion of escape from adversity and stress, yet all it does is make their problems worse. (Marmot & Wilkinson, 2006). Social and economic conditions result in a social gradient in diet quality that affects health inequalities (Marmot & Wilkinson,

Kathleen DesMaison, a woman who earned a PhD in Addictive Nutrition and has over 20 years experience in public health, published Potatoes not Prozac, where she touched on valuable information that is not only helpful but also reliable. DesMaison tried to persuade her audience, predominantly sugar addicts, by giving first-hand experiences of how she herself dealt with addiction and how her father died of alcoholism. She explains sugar sensitivity and describes how to use food to change your biochemistry and experience improved health, both physically and emotionally. Kathleen learned about the importance of sugar through her work as a drug and alcohol treatment counselor. She was having the usual low success rate in helping people stay off alcohol.

There are several theories when it comes to addiction. One being that addiction is choice and the individual lacks morals and character. Another big theory is that environment has a lot more to do with addiction than any one believes so.

Addiction is a word that many people would associate with the body and its craving of a substance of any kind. Many individuals feel as if being dependent upon a substance is something that could be preventable and that the human body can live without. Though most substances an individual is addicted to are not needed to live a healthy life, the addiction could potentially kill that individual. Other substances such as food, one cannot live without. Food, unlike other additions, is a substance that the human body needs to survive. In recent years, there has been an upcoming epidemic regarding the obesity rate and the need for individuals to understand that lack of exercise and the increase in amount of unhealthy food is killing them. However, in some cases it may not be the lack of exercise and the unhealthy food choices alone that is keeping some individuals in a category labeled obese; conversely it could be a genetic condition keeping them that way.

Widespread enthusiasm for the disease model, however, has led to willingness to overlook the facts. Addiction has very little in common with diseases. It is a group of behaviors, not an illness on its own. It cannot be explained by any disease process. Perhaps worst of all, calling addiction a "disease" interferes with exploring or accepting new understandings of the nature of addiction.

In a report written by food scientist Steven Witherly, PhD ‘Why Humans Like Junk Food’ (2) the science of food addiction is explained thus.

They assume addicts lack moral principles or self-discipline and that they can quit by simply deciding to. The reality is, people who have struggled with substance abuse have often found it extremely difficult to quit due to the physical and/or mental addiction. Drug have the ability to change the brain patterns and cause health complications, making things harder in the long-term and may determine life or death. Fortunately, because of more research, there are more ways to back out of an addiction and seek help through an enduring and extensive treatment. Factors that affect the likelihood and speed of developing an addiction are environmental and individual factors, including genetics and

The addiction I chose to write about this week is a food addiction/compulsive eating. A food addiction is obsessive-compulsive relationship people have with food. Eating food is both vital and important in our everyday lives to give our bodies the nutrients, vitamins and calories that it needs. “Compulsive overeating, also referred to as food addiction, is characterized by an obsessive-compulsive relationship to food” (Karim, 2012, p. 7, para. 2). When people overeat, they engage in episodes of uncontrolled eating and will often find themselves consuming so much food just to feel comfortably full. Compulsive overeaters usually eat even if they are not hungry. People who have a food addiction have excessive thoughts about food that consumes

All types of addictions should be looked at from a philosophical and psychological point of view. Those in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy often compare their views to show the similarities of addictions whether they be substance induced or behavioral. “Behavioral science experts believe that all entities capable of stimulating a person can be addictive; and whenever a habit changes into an obligation, it can be considered as addiction” (Alaghemandan et al 290). Some addictions can affect people physically. Caffeine and nicotine provide prime examples. The body’s physical state becomes dependent on its effects and causes withdrawal symptoms without use. One of the main differences in behavioral and substance addictions is that behavioral addictions have no apparent physiological or physical withdrawal symptoms. It is not the physical body that is addicted, but the feeling that one gets mentally. The physical body is only affected by the