News Release
July 2003
Contact: Simon Chaitowitz
202-686-2210, ext. 309; simonc@pcrm.org
Evidence Mounts that Foods are Physically Addictive
New Book Explores Science Behind Food Addictions. Willpower Is Not to Blame; Chocolate, Cheese, Meat, and Sugar Release Opiate-Like Substances
Washington, D.C.Anyone
whos tried to give up coffee knows that caffeine is physically
addictive, and many suspect the same about chocolate, but a new
book by nutrition researcher Neal
Barnard, M.D., argues that other foods are just as habituating.
Cheese, meats, and sugar release opiate-like substances that seduce
us into eating them again and again. The book, Breaking the Food
Seduction (St. Martin’s Press, June 2003), also reveals how
industry, aided by government, exploits these natural cravings,
pushing us to eat more and more unhealthy foods.
“It’s not gluttony, weak will, or an oral personality that
keep some of us tied to certain foods,” explains Dr. Barnard.
“There’s a biochemical reason many of us feel we can’t live
without our daily meat, cheese, or sugar fix. Cheese, for example,
contains high levels of casein, a protein that breaks apart during
digestion to produce morphine-like opiate compounds, called casomorphins.
These opiates are believed to be responsible for the mother-infant
bond that occurs during nursing. It’s no surprise many of us feel
bonded to the refrigerator.”
Rather than look to medications for a solution, Dr. Barnard has
developed a three-week dietary and lifestyle program to help people
get unhooked. “By adjusting overall diet and exercise patterns
to balance our blood sugar and our appetite-controlling hormones,
we can become more resistant to cravings and less likely to binge,”
he explains.
Book details: Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind
Food Cravings and Seven Steps to End Them Naturally by Neal Barnard,
M.D., is published by St. Martin’s Press (June 2003). The book includes
dozens of gourmet vegetarian recipes by cookbook author Joanne Stepaniak.
A 40-city, five-month book tour begins in June.
Author details: Neal Barnard, M.D., is a nutrition researcher
and adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington
University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He is also the
president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and
the author of six previous books on diet and health, including Foods
that Fight Pain and Food for Life.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine,
especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research
studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives
to animal research.
Related Materials:
* Tip sheet, “Seven Steps
to Breaking the Food Seduction”
* Op-ed, “Big Food About to
Lose Its Biggest Defense: Food Really Is Addictive”
* Ordering
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