Binge Eating: Your Behavior or Your Brain? by Joan Kent, PhD
A woman at the Diabetes Council asked me to evaluate a compilation of tips and strategies by 54 experts on stopping binge-eating.
Most of the experts viewed binge eating from a psychological and behavioral viewpoint, and many of the same tips came up over and over.
The most common tips tended to be about eating mindfully: staying present, paying attention to the meal, not watching TV, eating while seated, putting food on a plate, slowing down, breathing slowly and deeply.
Several registered dietitians added a physiological aspect – keeping glucose levels even. They advised eating at regular intervals, eating a balanced diet, not skipping meals, and not dieting too strictly, all to prevent ravenous hunger and glucose drops that lead to bingeing.
A few experts warned against judging foods as good or bad. They suggested “legalizing” all foods and eating favorite foods in moderation.
Obviously, these factors are important, which is why virtually every expert offered tips that resembled those of the other experts.
What appeared to be missing, though, was the neurochemical component.
Moderation Is Not Do-able for Some People
Not everyone can achieve moderation with every food. Or successfully legalize all foods. This is where specific food addictions enter the picture.
It’s also where genetics enter.
That doesn’t necessarily mean a parent who binge eats will have children who binge eat. But certain parental food preferences may confer susceptibilities to binge eating. All participants in my doctoral study were binge eaters, and over 65% of them had fathers who were partial to breads or pasta.
Another factor is a parent’s addiction, such as alcoholism, which may make the kids susceptible to binge eating. The genetic link is neurochemistry – low baseline levels of specific brain chemicals that show an exaggerated rise when certain foods are consumed, triggering the neurochemical reaction that leads to bingeing.
Sometimes It IS About the Food
Many of the 54 experts insisted binge eating “is not about the food,” but rather about the emotions that prompt the binge.
But my pioneering doctoral research revealed that removing addictive foods from the diet – and sugar was a primary culprit – can be key in ending binges. Sugar, and cravings for it, were frequent binge triggers.
Without the addictive trigger, the binges stopped, and so did cravings. With brain chemistry stabilized, participants’ behavior and emotions were less volatile. That made it easier to look at whatever emotional triggers there were.
So my approach to binge eating is neurochemical. There’s much to say about both brain chemistry and bingeing, but neurochemistry can bring an added dimension to important work on binge eating disorder.
If you have trouble with binge eating that you haven’t been able to handle alone, I invite you to visit LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Stop Bingeing Now Consult. Discover how simple it can be to eliminate cravings and handle the emotions that are pushing you to binge. You got this!
Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.
