STEEMIAN FOOD ADDICTION: ARE YOU A FOOD ADDICT?

Hi, its a pleasure to have you here at my blog. We are going to be looking to be looking at a very important topic that cuts across everybody. Kindly read through and indicate your opinion by upvoting, comment and resteemed.Today we will be looking at a topic called food addiction, is it possible to be addicted to a food?, how does it happens? and what are the side effects?. These are the curious questions that answers will be provided to.

Let's get going...........................

WHAT IS FOOD ADDICTION?

Food addiction is an abnormal behavioural pattern that is targeted towards consuming unhealthy diet (e.g., high fat and high sugar) to the detriment of the good health of the body system due to the physical, psychological and emotional pleasure obtained for eating such food.

Food addicts become dependent upon the “good” feelings that are obtained from consuming certain foods, which often perpetuates a continued need to eat, even when not hungry.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF FOOD ADDICTION?

The causes of food addiction are categorized in to three different parts and they are thus listed below

1. Biological Factors:hormonal imbalances, abnormalities in various brain structures, side effects from the use of certain medications, or having family members with this type of addiction issues

2. Psychological Factors:emotional or sexual abuse, being a victim or survivor of a traumatic event, having an inability to healthily cope with negative situations, chronic low-self esteem, or experiencing grief or loss

3.Social reasons: disturbances in family function, pressure from peers or society, social isolation, child abuse, lack of social support, and stressful life events.

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM FOOD ADDICTION?

The following are the signs of someone suffering from food addiction. Some may exhibit one or many of the symptoms.The symptoms are listed below:

1. Eating to the point of feeling ill

2.Continuing to eat certain foods even if no longer hungry

3.Eating in secret, isolation

4.Digestive disorders

5.Suicidal ideations

6.Avoiding social interactions, relationships, or functions to spend time eating certain foods.

7.Spending significant amount of money on buying certain foods for bingeing purposes

8.Eating a food even when aware of its negative health challenges to your health

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE ADDICTED TO A PARTICULAR FOOD?

The following are the effect of getting addicted to a food:

1. Psychological Effects:Low self-esteem, Depression, Panic attacks ,Increased feelings of anxiety Feeling sad, hopeless, or in despair,Increased irritability, especially if access to desired food is restricted, Emotional detachment or numbness and Suicidal ideation

2. Social effects :Decreased performance at work or school, Isolation from loved ones ,Division within family units, Lack of enjoyment in hobbies or activities once enjoyed, Avoidance of social events or functions, Risk of jeopardizing finances or career

3. Physical Effects: Heart disease ,Diabetes, Digestive Problems, Malnutrition, Arthritis, Stroke Kidney/Liver Disease, Osteoporosis and many more.

WHAT IS THE WAY OUT?

The following are the possible way out

1. Recognise that you are a food addict

2. Open up about this challenges to people that care about

3. Seek help from expert. It may be a psychologist, dietician or your pastor.

REFERENCES

Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5