Junk food addiction is just like any addiction where you feel like you cannot get through the day without eating it. You start to avoid healthy food altogether as you feel it will not be another to satisfy you. It is important to do something about your junk food addiction before you develop serious health problems.

Junk food addiction is just as real as any addiction. According to the Nature Neuroscience journal study, rats were given sausage, sweets and normal rat food for forty days. Junk food was then taken away from the rats and were only given normal rat food which they refused for two weeks. It proves that once you try junk food, you can easily avoid the foods you are supposed to eat for a healthy body. Junk food can become an addiction when sugar and fat releases dopamine which will cause you to crave and want more. Sugar can also lead to a large spike of blood glucose levels which drops rapidly and causes you to crave more. Lack of sugar can also lead to withdrawal if your body is used to consuming so much sugar.

To help yourself treat your junk food addiction, you can make a food diary keeping track of all of the food you have eaten during the day as well as quantity and what time. This can help you figure out why you are making unhealthy choices and what influences you. For example, you may notice that every evening when you are watching TV, you feel like having a bowl of ice cream. You can teach yourself that instead of ice cream, you eat a healthier alternative.

You can also identify your triggers like whether you eat junk food because you work or live right next to a fast food restaurant and you cannot resist. You can also be eating junk food out of stress, to pass the time, or as a way to relax. Find healthier ways to pass the time like taking a walk, read a book, work on a puzzle, or any other activity. It also helps to avoid buying junk food so that you will not be tempted to have any again. When you feel a sweet craving, eat fruit. If you feel like eating something salty, eat nuts. Get support from your friends and family to help you avoid junk food whenever it is in reach.

Located in Tacoma, Washington, Bayview Center’s mission is to offer clinically-driven programs and services to treat a number of substance abuse disorders along with anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, trauma therapy, yoga therapy, and more for a successful recovery. For more information, please call us at 888 570 7154 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.