Sunshine Gentile’s migraines initially felt like the flu. She began experiencing symptoms at the age of 36, including headaches, muscle aches, and fatigue. The pain would worsen with any activity. Eventually, her migraines became so severe that she needed to stay in bed for a week, with doctors unable to pinpoint a specific cause.
What she found frightening and frustrating was that the painkillers prescribed by doctors either had short-lived effects or came with unbearable side effects.
“It was terrifying because I was so young, yet I had already consumed so many medications. It made me realize that the drugs available on the market might not be enough to sustain me through the rest of my life,” Gentile shared in an interview with The Epoch Times.
Her family encouraged her to eliminate possible triggers such as cleaning products, perfumes, and detergents. However, these measures did not work, so she began gradually giving up various foods. While giving up gluten did not significantly improve her condition, reducing intake of processed carbohydrates like sugar, bread, and pasta led to a significant improvement in her symptoms.
Despite professionals telling her that food was not the root cause of her issues, her personal experience told her otherwise.
“My neurology team was great, but they really didn’t know. They’d never seen this in any other patient before,” she said.
Unfortunately, identifying the cause of her migraines did not signify the end of the battle. For Gentile and many others struggling with food addiction, resisting comforting foods – even if they trigger pain and illness – often feels like a hopeless struggle.
She would give up one type of food, feel better, but then find that the substitutes also caused her unbearable discomfort.
Despite experiencing repeated intense pain, she found it challenging to let go of the foods that caused her suffering. Ultimately, her road to recovery began with facing and overcoming her food addiction – a complex and sometimes controversial disease closely related to highly processed foods and their abnormal effects on the brain and body.
Some experts believe that cravings for certain foods can make them difficult to quit and can trigger withdrawal symptoms when discontinued. Studies indicate that highly processed foods, designed to enhance palatability, may possess addictive qualities.
The NOVA food classification system categorizes the following as ultra-processed foods: sugary beverages, packaged snacks, prepackaged frozen foods, canned and instant soups, ice cream, chicken nuggets, and processed meat products.
Patients and doctors often struggle to connect symptoms like migraines, joint pain, and insulin resistance with food. The medical system is only beginning to pay attention to subtle nutritional differences but has yet to recognize the issue of food addiction. Many patients, some of whom are not even aware of their unhealthy eating habits, struggle to identify the root causes troubling their mind and body.
Doctors rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to determine mental health diagnoses, which in turn help determine the correct treatment for patients. However, despite some efforts, food addiction has not been officially recognized as a substance use disorder.
This addiction shares overlapping features with obesity and binge eating disorder. Individuals may struggle with one, both, or all three issues. Some patients may undergo medication or surgical treatments for obesity or be diagnosed with binge eating disorder but still feel physically unwell.
Food addiction is closely tied to industrialized ultra-processed foods. Breads, grains, packaged snacks, sugary beverages, fast food, and frozen meals are typically made using combinations of sugar, salt, and fat that trigger the so-called “bliss point” – a dopamine response that fuels cravings for more food. Research suggests that people’s responses to ingredients such as fat, added sugar, other sweeteners, salt, and starch mimic reactions to illicit substances – consuming increasing doses and experiencing rapid absorption.
Ashley Gearhardt, associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, stated in an interview with the American Psychological Association that ultra-processed foods differ significantly from real food and should be considered a chemical substance, especially for children. Her research found that 12% of children and 14% of adults exhibit signs of food addiction.
“It’s not just about calories. It starts to become about pleasure, reward, and emotional regulation—all things that this starts developing in childhood,” Gearhardt said. “We do see that those who are showing these signs of addiction in their eating are more likely to have a higher BMI score, engage in more emotionally driven eating, have a lower sensitivity to satiety, and have a higher body fat percentage.”
Gearhardt, along with other professionals, utilized the DSM model traditionally used to differentiate social drinkers from alcoholics and applied it to food. Ultimately, she developed a Yale Food Addiction Scale covering 25 questions to determine if someone is experiencing any of the following:
• Consuming a substance in greater amounts than expected;
• Wanting or unsuccessfully trying to cut down on the substance;
• Spending excessive time and effort obtaining the substance;
• Neglecting obligations or social activities as a result of substance use;
• Continuing to use the substance despite feeling unwell;
• Increasing the substance consumption for the desired effect;
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, or other physical discomforts;
• Facing clinically significant functional impairments or distress.
While awareness of food addiction is growing, many still do not believe it to be a real or substantial issue, or fail to recognize food as the root cause of binge eating and obesity. The Food Addiction Institute, a non-profit organization, is lobbying to have food addiction recognized as a diagnosable substance use disorder and has openly called for support in signing their petition.
A study published in the journal Appetite in 2024 highlighted the ongoing debate over whether food addiction is an effective, practical, and measurable diagnosis. Based on statistical analysis, the authors believed that food addiction was not the root cause of most issues and might be related to other mental health problems. The prevalence of food addiction was found to be 4.7% in a sample of American adults. However, at least 39% of the same sample were overweight, had a history of dieting, attempted weight control, or believed they were overweight.
An article in Obesity Review questioned the rationality of food addiction and found preliminary supportive evidence, recommending more evidence before drawing conclusions.
“Therefore, we advocate for a more proactive approach in trying to propose some methods to further explore this model to determine its effectiveness,” the authors wrote. “We take recent cautions seriously – without appropriate neuroscientific research, we should not simply dismiss this concept to avoid ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater.'”
Gentile’s awakening came after watching a video from the Addiction Reset Community (ARC), a private online support group for food addiction. The video made her realize that cravings for food were the root cause of her physical issues.
“Otherwise, the rational part of my brain would never willingly hurt itself in this way,” Gentile said. Subsequently, she became a certified addiction recovery advocate for ARC.
For Amy Lammert, now the assistant director of ARC, this revelation was crucial. She viewed it as a diagnosis.
“If there is a reason, then there is a solution,” she told The Epoch Times.
Lammert had spent years caring for chronically ill patients in a high-intensity work environment. She had doubts about whether her body could hold up as years of intense physical activity exacerbated her knee pain, with doctors not recommending surgery.
She stumbled upon a video from ARC and started doubting if she also had a food addiction issue. She had eaten natural foods versus ultra-processed ones since childhood but had never differentiated between the two.
She had always eaten whatever she wanted and remained slim – until she became a mother. Afterward, she attempted dieting repeatedly until an overweight doctor convinced her to stop dieting because her body was “obviously happy at this weight.” No one had warned her that her daily diet choices could be an issue.
To verify if she had a food addiction, Lammert eliminated some processed foods from her diet, but the pain only slightly eased. In order to improve her mobility, she eventually gave up all processed foods and sugars entirely. Within four days, the pain vanished.
“Food addiction sneaks up on you. I didn’t expect it to be there,” she said. “I don’t drink alcohol because one drink is not enough. I always knew I had addictive tendencies. My ‘drug of choice’ was sugar.”
The intertwined overlap between food addiction and other diseases often leads to misconceptions. A study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions in 2024 explored the distinctions between obesity, binge eating, and food addiction.
Approximately half of individuals with binge eating disorder, often the more severe cases, were found to also have food addiction. Binge eating refers to consuming more than normal amounts of food in specific situations or periods, accompanied by distress and a sense of lack of control.
Binge eating disorder patients typically engage in fasting or dieting for periods to “compensate” for binge eating. Their motivation often centers around weight loss and body image concerns.
Both food addiction and binge eating involve an inability to successfully reduce food intake, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, reward dysfunction, and strong food cravings. Emotional dysregulation means a lack of skills in handling emotions and turning to food to regulate them.
Eating disorders and food addiction are both closely connected to dopamine-related reward response mechanisms in the brain. This common neurological foundation may explain why weight loss programs usually do not help individuals with food addiction-induced obesity.
This study suggested that differentiating these conditions might prompt “individualized assessments and tailoring of treatments for this patient population.”
The misunderstandings around food addiction make it particularly challenging to recognize. The stories of the following two women highlight some common misconceptions:
Lammert and her doctors focused on her weight, not the type of food she consumed. Despite always eating healthy meals and valuing real food, her pantry was always stocked with various pre-packaged and industrially produced snacks.
For Gentile, the misconception lies in people assuming that she acquired her eating disorder from dieting and fighting against food, rather than food addiction. She also felt frustrated by a common attitude prevalent in the medical system, indicating that food cannot be addictive and does not lead to health issues.
Tackling food addiction in ways similar to other addictive behaviors can provide individuals with the opportunity to regain their health. H. Theresa Wright, a registered dietitian at the Renaissance Nutrition Center, views food addiction as “painful but repairable and treatable.”
Wright told The Epoch Times that the core of dietary plans for food addiction involves eliminating sugar and flour, as well as foods that trigger sensitivity in individuals, while ensuring adequate nutrition intake. She is the author of “The Sane Food Solution.”
“Abstinence means you’re not eating those ‘addictive foods’ anymore,” she said. “It means you need to manage your emotions in other ways rather than relying on food.” She added, “Abstinence requires a lot of effort, including spiritual growth, meditation, physical activity, and lifestyle changes.”
In addition to being confident about the unacceptability of certain foods for health, Wright also emphasized the need for individuals to establish rest habits in their lives. Lack of rest often leads individuals to unconsciously numb themselves or shift attention with food in a busy state. Rest allows time for individuals to reflect on the emotional underpinnings driving unhealthy food choices and develop reasonable plans for managing eating schedules and stress relief activities.
Failure to manage stress properly can become a risk factor for food addiction, as stress can lead individuals to rely on highly enticing foods to achieve temporary positive emotions through chemical changes in the brain.
Wright explained that since food addiction is often closely intertwined with emotional or psychological issues, which may emerge after discontinuing binge behaviors, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) often becomes a key part of the recovery plan. This therapy equips patients with tools to regulate their emotional health and change destructive thinking patterns.
Gentile found support and assistance at ARC (Addiction Reset Community).
She said, “Our brains are saturated with this information – the ARC community is our ‘food partner.'”
“When I make dietary choices, I refer to other people within the ARC community, not my family and friends – they are still eating and drinking the foods I am trying hard to avoid,” she added, and noted that the process of tackling food addiction alone was filled with sadness and loneliness before finding this community.
For those seeking support, there are programs available that offer accountability supervision and community support. One of these is Overeaters Anonymous (OA), a free support group founded in Los Angeles in 1960, mirroring the model of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), providing face-to-face, telephone, and online check-ins with 7,000 venues across 80 countries globally.
Additionally, the Food Addiction Institute offers an online directory listing more recovery and rehab programs, as well as professionals specializing in food addiction counseling to help those in need find suitable support.
Joan Ifland, the founder of ARC and a food addiction Ph.D., shared in an interview with The Epoch Times that failing to formally recognize food addiction has created a blind spot, leading Americans to continue craving foods that damage their metabolic health.
Poor metabolic health manifestations include obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart disease.
Ifland added that understanding food addiction could explain why Americans are still grappling with cardiovascular metabolic diseases’ high prevalence despite receiving medical treatment. She is a co-author of “Processed Food Addiction: Foundations, Assessment, and Recovery.”
She pointed out that without recognizing the addictive factors in related diseases, issues like obesity and eating disorders become a revolving door for the industry to profit, benefiting both the food and medical sectors. Many patients undergoing weight-loss surgery experience weight regain post-surgery. Weight loss medications have better effects alongside lifestyle changes.
A report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2022 cited that only about 7% of adults have ideal cardiovascular metabolic health. Based on this statistical data, the authors called for interventions on a national scale and in the clinical public health domain, to help individuals across income levels and backgrounds.
Food addiction experts suggest that resolving the issue may require more support to overcome abnormal appetites and change dietary habits.
According to research compiled by Ifland for her books, most Americans meet six or more food addiction criteria, demonstrating that individuals cannot stop eating even when they suffer consequences from consuming junk food. She noted that this degree requires significant support to overcome cravings and change dietary habits.
Ifland mentioned that severe alcoholics often need two years of treatment, and controlling processed food addiction also requires a similar approach.
“You need a very high level of support. Processed food is harmful and quite dangerous in the damage it causes,” she said. “You have to put yourself in a group that doesn’t eat processed food and isn’t fooled by this deception.”
The deception she referred to is subtle and influenced by tobacco companies – for example, enticing children with advertisements and introducing highly palatable ingredients into processed foods.
A survey in a 2024 Current Obesity Reports article suggested that instructing calorie counting or moderate dieting for food addiction sufferers might backfire, including triggering withdrawal symptoms, promoting cravings, and causing relapses. The article noted that there is currently no evidence-based intervention for ultra-processed food addiction, but increasingly, online self-help and community groups show that clinical support needs are not met.
The authors wrote in the report, “There is much to explore in the next steps in this area of research. Developing and validating innovative treatment methodologies for ultra-processed food addiction may provide more favorable clinical outcomes for this underserved population.”
In addition to diet, Ifland also recommended considering the following points when overcoming food addiction:
• Develop a diet plan suitable for your lifestyle – not everyone can completely give up all ultra-processed foods at once.
• Develop tools to help select and prepare natural foods.
• Improve sleep habits, as inadequate sleep can affect metabolism and alter hunger signals.
• Engage in exercises like food flashcards to reevaluate food thinking. For example, write “donut” on one side and words like “obesity, fatigue, diabetes, and hypertension” on the other.
• Enhance communication skills, such as learning to express needs. For instance, ask family members not to place ultra-processed foods on the table.
• Set boundaries to prevent relapses, including dealing with verbal and non-verbal pressures from others to avoid eating like them.
Statistics showing that about 57% of American adults consume ultra-processed foods make it challenging for people’s brains to consider them “normal” and resist consuming more unfamiliar natural foods.
“You need to learn to manage relationships because everyone in your life will find it odd. They will try to pull you back to the processed food-eating habits of the past,” Ifland said.
By rewriting this news article, the important information about food addiction, its effects, causes, and potential solutions has been conveyed in a detailed and comprehensive manner, providing valuable insights and understanding for readers.