We all talk about addictions in our daily lives without giving much importance: we declare ourselves addicted to a series or a drink, or a brand … In colloquial language, we all know what we mean.

Strictly speaking, an addiction is something very serious related to the search for immediate rewards.

It is also much more specific and is defined by three factors: a problematic pattern of use, a substance that causes a withdrawal syndrome when its consumption is cut off, and the development of a tolerance that requires increasing the dose of the substance to obtain the same effect.

Although it is not an addiction, it is a problem

According to this strict definition, therefore, many things that we consider addictive really are not, such as using the mobile or surfing the Internet.

But that does not mean that you can not suffer pathological behavior patterns associated with other objects or behaviors that involve us in some way a hook, something that costs us to control and with which we end up developing a complicated relationship of love and hate at the same time.

Engaging in food, a serious problem

This can happen with food, and it is especially dramatic because unlike alcohol or tobacco, we can not simply leave the food. Being hooked on food, like suffering from any other eating disorder, can pose a serious health problem that requires professional help to redirect it .

According to a recent study, some foods have a greater addictive power than others, and the palm is taken away by highly processed foods.

Not all foods are equally involved in addictive eating behaviors, and highly processed foods, which share some characteristics with drugs (high doses, rapid absorption), are those that seem particularly associated with food addiction.

The more processed a food is, the more likely it is to be associated with addictive behavior. This probably has to do with how our body manages the consumption of energy : thousands of years of history with a lack of nutrients, something that has only changed in recent decades, has made our body favor the consumption of foods dense in absorption energy fast . Now, with high energy density foods everywhere, this is no longer an advantage but a problem.

Therefore, it is not a bad idea to reduce your processed foods from your diet. Here we tell you how to go getting it little by little .

How to know if you are hooked on food?

If the food dominates you instead of you to the food, maybe you have a problem like this. If you feel anxious about eating it, or not eating it, if you can not stop even if you want … They are sensations that turn what should be a pleasure into an anguished moment.

In another person, the symptoms of an unhealthy snag can be the dependence of that food or drink, irritability when it is deprived of it, denial when a possible problem is indicated and even aggressiveness in extreme cases.

If you think you may suffer from a hook-up to food or food, try to do this test that we elaborate. In no case should you substitute professional advice, but it can be used to self-assess and determine if you could use some help.