There is now solid scientific evidence to show that sugar and highly palatable foods can be just as addictive as drugs of abuse. Food cravings can make it very difficult to follow a healthy diet, especially if you want to lose weight. To learn more about Food Addiction watch Carolyn’s talk The Psychology of Food & Overeating presented at a Low Carb Down Under event where she describes the research done on Food Addiction.
Food Addiction & Weight Management
"There is now solid scientific evidence to show that sugar and highly palatable foods can be just as addictive as drugs of abuse."
Food Addiction
Food Addiction and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
The fastest and most effective treatment for eliminating food cravings and overcome comfort eating, in her view, is a technique called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT/Tapping). EFT/Tapping (a.k.a. Psychological Acupuncture) is an evidence-based technique used to reduce activity in an area of the brain called the Amygdala.
This area acts like the smoke-alarm for stress. Dr. Peta Stapleton, Associate Professor of Psychology at Bond University, gave a TED Talk on EFT/Tapping where she describes her research using EFT to treat food cravings and also demonstrating the technique.
Dr. Stapleton describes some of the published trials using EFT for food cravings and weight issues in her Research Spotlight series.
Carolyn has undertaken advanced training in EFT/Tapping with Dr. Peta Stapleton.
Weight Management
Being overweight or obese is a major source of concern for many people and it can affect mental health as well as physical health. Often people make repeated attempts to lose weight, but even if they achieve good results initially, the weight just comes back on after a while, and they can often end up weighing more than when they started.
To learn more about why we gain weight, you can watch Professor Tim Noakes’ presentation Medical Aspects of the Low Carbohydrate Lifestyle given at a Low Carb Down Under event in Melbourne.
To shed the excess kilos, Intermittent Fasting is also extremely helpful. Dr. Jason Fung is an expert on the subject and he explains why it helps at another Low Carb Down Under event held in Colorado, U.S.A.
Weight Management and Addiction.
Low Carb Down Under has organized many events over the last few years where they have brought together some the world’s leading Scientists and Medical Doctors, including Prof. Noakes, to give talks on Obesity and Diabetes Management using LCHF (low carbohydrate, healthy fat) nutrition. You can find an extensive range of their videos on YouTube by searching “Low Carb Down Under.”
Weight loss is impossible to achieve if the addiction to sugar and processed carbohydrates isn’t dealt with first. Otherwise all efforts to stick to a low-carbohydrate diet, or any diet for that matter, to achieve weight loss and improve overall health will be impossible. To overcome addictions, especially sugar addiction, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been the standard treatment, but the results have been poor or short-lived.
However, there is a new kid on the block, i.e. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT/Tapping) which has shown impressive results in scientific trials.
EFT (a.k.a. psychological acupuncture) reduces activity in an area of the brain called the Amygdala. This area acts like the smoke-alarm for stress and EFT has been shown in brain imaging studies to switch off this smoke alarm. Why is this helpful for reducing weight? EFT has been shown to reduce or eliminate food cravings (usually for sugar and junk food) and to also help people adhere to a healthy eating plan.
Dr. Peta Stapleton, Associate Professor of Psychology at Bond University, describes some of the published trials using EFT for food cravings and weight issues in her Research Spotlight series. Dr. Peta Stapleton has given a TED Talk on EFT/Tapping where she describes her research using EFT to treat food cravings. She also demonstrates the technique for the audience.
“That is the one single word that the food industry hates: 'addiction.' They much prefer words like 'crave-ability' and ‘allure.”
– Author: Michael Moss