Brain Betrayal: The Dark Truth About Ultra-Processed Foods
- Sarah Cosway | BABCP
- Aug 31, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 15
A Health Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight (Part 5 of 5)
"Just one more handful," you think, and before you know it, the bag of sweet treats is empty.
You might wonder why you couldn't stop and question your self-control.
But what if the struggle to resist isn’t actually about your self-control?
What if these snacks are uniquely designed to trigger your brain wiring into craving them...making it nearly impossible to cut them out?
This post is the fifth and final part of my ongoing series about the International Food Addiction Consensus Conference (IFACC), and I am going to tell you about the talks that revealed the fascinating neuroscience behind food addiction.
They gave insight into how ultra-processed foods can hijack our brains, and what cutting-edge research is revealing about this modern-day epidemic.
You're not alone in your struggle - this is not a failure on your part to take personal responsibility - there’s a deeper, neurological story at play.
back to top
I have written about each presentation in the same order that they were given on the day, but you can click on any title in the list below to jump straight down to a particular talk if you don’t want to read all of them.
So let's take a deeper look into the neuroscience behind food addiction.
Dr Nicole Avena – Your Brain on Food: Neuroscience Perspectives of Food Addiction
Dr Nicole Avena is a research neuroscientist with expertise in both Psychology and Molecular Biology.
This gives her a broad base for understanding the field of Ultra-Processed Food Addiction.
She started researching food addiction in 2001 at a time when it was still a very controversial concept, and she has significantly contributed to establishing the topic as a legitimate field of study.
The Neuroscience of Food Addiction: How Ultra-Processed Foods Hijack Our Brains
As with the other speakers, Dr Avena’s core message is that highly processed foods containing added sugars and fats can be addictive in a similar way to drugs of abuse because these food products activate the same reward pathways in the brain as the drugs.
Evidence from Animal Studies
Studies using rats have shown that when they are given intermittent access to sugar they will binge on it when they can, and show signs of building tolerance (i.e. wanting/needing to consume more and more).
When the sugar is taken away and they are unable to access it, they appear to experience withdrawal.
These signs are all hallmarks of addiction.
These same observations are seen in human studies.
The more highly processed a food is, then the more likely it is to be identified as being addictive, and Dr Avena made the point that processing can turn harmless natural substances into highly addictive, and potentially, dangerous products.
The example she used was of innocuous coca leaves being processed into cocaine.
Research shows that Ultra-Processed Food Addiction meets the clinical criteria for a substance use disorder, even though there are still some experts who argue that it isn’t ‘a thing’.
Homeostatic vs. Hedonic Hunger
Human motivation for eating is complex – we don’t just eat for fuel (what is known as homeostatic hunger), but we also eat for pleasure (hedonic hunger), and Ultra-Processed Foods are specifically designed to trigger us to eat for pleasure.
The current food environment makes it very difficult to avoid excess sugar and processed foods, in contrast to even our most recent past.
Think about the food your grandparents would have eaten - a huge number of the products available today didn’t even exist when they were young.
Until very recently (in evolutionary terms), food was very scarce, and a huge amount of work was involved in obtaining it.
But today, food is abundant, and the food itself has a much higher energy density when compared to what our ancestors would have eaten.
So there’s a double whammy…not only can we eat more because it’s so easily available to us with very little effort (e.g. Deliveroo vs hunting), but also what we are eating is providing significantly more calories per mouthful due to the nature of the processing.
Over time, the brain becomes conditioned to consuming Ultra-Processed Foods, and this makes it challenging for individuals to switch to a healthier diet (even if they want to).
This is because their brain function has been altered to seek the dopamine release that is associated with eating highly processed foods.
Redefining 'Food' in the Context of Ultra-Processing
Dr Avena called for the redefinition of “food”, arguing that many of the Ultra-Processed products should not be considered to be food, due to their highly engineered nature and lack of nutrition.
Differentiating between food and ‘edible products’ would perhaps help people to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy dietary choices, because although most people think that they can tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, the clever marketing from food companies means that there are considerable misconceptions about the healthfulness of, at least some of, the products.
Look out for a future blog post where I will go into more depth about Dr Avena's research.
With this neuroscientific foundation, we then turned to look at potential solutions and future directions in addressing Ultra-Processed Food Addiction (UPFA).
Dr Susan Peirce Thompson – Ultra-Processed Food Addiction Solutions: What Next?
Dr Susan Peirce Thompson is a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and founder of the Bright Line Eating Movement.
The point of bringing everyone together for the conference was to raise awareness of the efforts to build consensus in the field - her talk gave us the background to what has been going on behind the scenes.
Consensus Building: Defining Ultra-Processed Food Addiction
Over the last 12 months, 40 experts have been working in small groups to decide if food addiction is actually ‘a thing’, and if it is then how it is best defined.
She told us that as a whole, the group has come to an agreement on the name ‘Ultra-Processed Food Addiction’ (UPFA) for the condition.
Calling it this helps overcome some of the common arguments against the broader label of ‘Food Addiction’, which meets a lot of resistance because 'we all have to eat'.
Defining Ultra-Processed Food Addiction
The group defines Ultra-Processed Food Addiction as both a substance use addiction, and a behavioural addiction, agreeing that it can occur with, or without, eating disorders.
With agreement on the name and definition, the next job is applying for recognition to include it in the diagnostic manuals that clinicians use when treating patients.
Next Steps: Recognition and Research
But this far from the end of the story, really it is just the beginning!
Further research is needed to get a deeper understanding of this addiction, and the group proposes three projects:
(i) Comparing Ultra-Processed Food Addiction treatment approaches with standard eating disorder treatments;
(ii) Studying if abstinence-based treatments can cause eating disorders (a commonly held belief) or whether they can actually help reduce them; and
(iii) Studying the withdrawal symptoms experienced when eliminating Ultra-Processed Foods from the diet.
The fact that there is consensus from so many experts (37 out of 40) that Ultra-Processed Food Addiction is actually ‘a thing’ is very exciting, and if it becomes a recognised condition there will be wide-reaching consequences.
The Potential Impact of Official Recognition
With official recognition, these products can be banned more easily in public institutions, where they are currently very accessible to our most vulnerable (e.g. schools, and hospitals), and there can be greater restrictions put in place on the advertising.
It is still very early days, and Dr Peirce Thompson emphasised the need for community support for the research, and for the policy changes relating to Ultra-Processed Food Addiction.
Crowdfunding and public advocacy are going to be vital steps for moving forwards!
Bringing the day to a close, we turned once more to Dr. Lustig for his powerful concluding remarks.
Dr Robert Lustig – Rallying Call – Where from Here?
Dr Lustig returned to the stage to bring the proceedings to a close, stressing the need for both personal and societal interventions addressing this problem of Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) consumption.
The Path Forward: Combating Ultra-Processed Food Addiction
He acknowledges that it will be challenging to educate some groups, such as politicians and some health professionals.
But there is cause for optimism because data shows that the general public is increasingly aware of sugar’s role in weight gain over time – which demonstrates that efforts to educate the general public do work.
This awareness will surely start to broaden to an understanding of the impact of Ultra-Processed Foods, given the work that experts, such as Dr van Tulleken, are already doing to draw the attention of the general public through mainstream media.
Personal vs. Societal Interventions
A point that Dr Lustig made was that both personal interventions (like rehab) and societal interventions (laws) are going to be necessary to overcome the problems that Ultra-Processed Foods bring.
And he pressed the point that it is important to distinguish in the mind of the general public between toxic and addictive substances - something can be toxic without being addictive, and vice versa.
Distinguishing Toxicity and Addictiveness
If something is toxic but not addictive then once you know about the toxicity it’s relatively easy to avoid or control it.
The problem with Ultra-Processed Food is that it is both…so although an individual may be aware that eating this stuff is causing harm they:
Just.Can’t.Stop.
His view is that it is the toxicity of these products, more than their addictiveness, that will drive the needed societal change – societal intervention is generally easier (although not easy) for the public to get behind if we understand the harms to health.
The Path Forward: Education and Policy Changes
A dual-pronged approach is needed – education, paired with policy changes limiting the availability for consumption.
Dr Lustig’s key message in his summing up was that we, as attendees, should become educators to spread information about the dangers of Ultra-Processed Foods - something which I am embracing by writing this blog post!
We can’t all reach a wide audience in the way that some of these experts can with their books and their TV shows, but if we can pass the message on to 'just-one-person'...all those 'just-one-persons' will soon start to add up.
Ultra-Processed Food Addiction: Conference Conclusions and Future Directions
Reflecting on the wealth of knowledge that was shared at this ground-breaking conference, there are several key themes that emerge:
The addictive potential of ultra-processed foods;
The neurological similarities to substance abuse; and
The urgent need for policy interventions
The challenge lies in how to translate into practical solutions the insights that have been consistently highlighted by expert after expert.
It is clear that addressing Ultra-Processed Food Addiction will require a multifaceted approach involving research, education, policy changes, and individual action.
But with a consensus on the definition having been reached, there is now a common language for driving targeted research, informing the policy, developing effective interventions, and ultimately improving public health.
The International Food Addiction Consensus Conference has been a pivotal moment in the field and it is evident that tackling Ultra-Processed Food Addiction is not just a matter of individual willpower, but a societal challenge that demands both our collective action and systemic change, with collaboration across many disciplines, from science and medicine to policy and education.
All of the talks were recorded and the CHC is making them available to be watched on-demand.
You can gain access here: https://the-chc.org/fas/conference
They are only asking for £25 to access all 12 talks, which is really good value for all those hours of content.
The proceeds will go towards next year’s event and funding the research - the experts give their time freely but it is still a huge financial undertaking to run this project.
About the author: Sarah Cosway is a BABCP-accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist with over a decade of experience working in mental health, both within the NHS and in private practice. She offers tailored CBT in a compassionate, collaborative environment, empowering clients to build resilience and manage their mental well-being with confidence.
Enjoyed this post and found it helpful? Please spread the word!
Share it with friends, colleagues, or anyone else who might find it valuable. Your support helps grow my community and keeps the conversation going.
Stay in the loop! Sign up for notifications below and never miss a new post.
I respect your inbox—no spam, just fresh content delivered straight to you. Join my community of readers today!
Comments