Kenny is not alone in his quest to analyze the science of how certain foods can manipulate the brain. Twenty-eight scientific studies about food addiction have been published this year alone.

In Kenny’s study, his team fed rats fatty and sugary processed foods such as bacon, pound cake, cheesecake and cake frosting. Rats that were given nutritious food all day long and sweets for one hour started binge eating. Rats that had access to the fatty foods all day long became obese.

In a similar Princeton University study, rats had increased cravings as they drank more and more water mixed with high fructose corn syrup. Their brain patterns became consistent with those who take more and more cocaine. The rats eventually became obese and when the sugary effect was blocked with a drug, they experienced withdrawal symptoms of tremors and anxiety, also consistent with withdrawal from cocaine.

While humans have always had natural sugar and fat in their diet, modern processing may be a culprit in causing food addiction. Processed foods have higher levels of sugar, refined flour and unhealthy fat. David Ludwig, a researcher for Harvard and the director of New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Children’s Hospital, states that extremely processed foods may make blood sugar rapidly rise and decline and also overstimulate and desensitize the reward receipt in the brain. This desensitization is why people feel they are not getting enough of their desired sensation and crave more and more of the food that is pleasurable, but unhealthy.

Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, M.D., of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, states that even cocaine was altered so that it could be smoked or injected to more efficiently affect the brain. This purification made the drug more addictive. Today’s food has been altered in the same way. Whole grains have turned into white bread and corn has turned into high fructose corn syrup.

Wang and Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, conducted a study of dopamine levels in 10 obese volunteers. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that signals reward. As a person uses more cocaine or other drugs, the dopamine signal may stop responding, which leads the abuser to take more. Wang and Volkow’s study found that the dopamine levels were also lower in the obese volunteers than in a leaner control group.

In a country where a third of adults and 17 percent of children are obese, this research is encouraging scientists like Mark Gold, chair of the psychiatry department at the University of Florida, to find drug treatments for obesity. He is currently working on a drug to alter a person’s food preferences without altering their regular appetite. With continued research and the trend of companies to offer healthier fun snacks, the victory against obesity is hopeful.

Although the number of women suffering from food addictions tends to be higher, gender alone is not an indicator as the condition affects both men and women. Neither can food addiction be determined by appearances since people of all weights and shapes have been known to suffer with the affliction. Food addictions have physiological connections, but they are also psychological conditions very often linked in some way to trauma experienced in childhood.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, only the person suffering from food addiction can decide if their eating is truly out of control. Therefore, the clinic suggests using questions to gauge where you have an unhealthy relationship to food.

Others argue that the sufferer is too close to see their behavior as abnormal, since for them it has become a regular, normative pattern. These experts encourage people around the food addict to be aware and ready to consult a physician on behalf of another.

Usually a person with a food addiction has cycled through a behavior pattern which involves over-eating, followed by purging, over-exercising or depression, which leads to another episode of over-eating. The person finds that they cannot control their eating compulsions and soon other parts of their life feel similarly unmanageable.

Symptoms of overeating alone are not definitive. While a person may answer affirmatively to some indicators and not be addicted to food, common signs of food addiction include:

1. Eating when you are not hungry (e.g., finishing food on plate despite feeling full)
2. Eating habits that differ in public from private
3. Eating large quantities of food and then purging
4. Feeling guilt or shame over what has been eaten and/or how much has been eaten
5. Emotionally driven eating
6. Having tried unsuccessfully to control eating habits

Other symptoms associated with food addiction may include depression, insomnia, headaches and moodiness.

Eating is more than a utilitarian function; it is something intended to be enjoyed, most often with others. However, for the person suffering with a food addiction, eating has lost all pleasure and has instead become a source of guilt, shame, secrecy and depression.

Successful treatment of food addictions is directly connected to how early a person seeks intervention. If you suspect you may be addicted to food, do not wait to seek out help. If you suspect someone you care about may suffer from food addiction, be willing to step in and lovingly share your concerns with a health care professional.

Science has established, through numerous studies, the connections between certain foods and a person’s mood. Certain foods impact the brain’s chemistry, boosting levels of serotonin, endorphins and insulin, to create pleasurable sensations.

In other cases, food can hold emotional connections through memories and associations. Foods that are strongly linked to pleasurable memories can make people feel psychologically reassured when consumed. In some people, this results in eating compulsions, called binging. According to the National Health Information Center, an estimated 25 million Americans suffer from binge-eating disorder.

Signs of Emotional Eating

Eating Disorders Anonymous has created a list of common signs of emotional eating. These include:

1. Food-obsessed thinking
2. Feeling that you are unable to control your eating habits
3. Shame and guilt following episodes of binge eating
4. Not eating in front of others and hiding evidence of eating
5. Fluctuations in weight
6. A preoccupation with body image
   Consequences of Emotional Eating

   There are a number of health risks associated with emotional eating. To begin with, studies reveal that emotional eaters have more difficulty losing weight than those who do not have disordered eating habits. Once they do lose weight, emotional eaters are more likely to regain the weight. Furthermore, emotional eaters are considered to be particularly vulnerable to obesity.

   Not all emotional eaters are obese and neither are all obese people emotional eaters. Nevertheless, emotional eaters are caught in an unhealthy cycle that can easily lead to further health complications. The emotional eater who engages in binging, for example, can end up dealing with hypertension, depression, type 2 diabetes and/or a sleep disorder in addition to their eating disorder.

   Emotional eaters often avoid eating in public and may even hide the evidence of eating in their own homes. They are eating in order to distract themselves from feelings, but the eating initiates an unhealthy and potentially dangerous cycle. The person feels guilty about their eating (particularly if they engaged in binging), but those feelings of guilt and shame only lead them to eat again in order to escape troubling feelings. The person may try to escape guilt and shame by purging (using vomiting, laxatives or diuretics) or engaging in overly restrictive dieting and excessive exercise. This destructive cycle can lead the person into depression or even into more life-threatening eating disorders.

   Overcoming Emotional Eating

   Emotional eating may be overcome by following a few key steps:

   1. Don’t skip breakfast. Not eating breakfast can lead to feeling stressed and inordinately hungry later in the day.
   2. Concentrate on meeting nutritional guidelines.
   3. Stay active. It’s no secret that exercise works wonders at reducing stress.
   4. Develop positive ways to manage anxiety and practice them.
   5. Avoid dieting, but do make positive lifestyle changes.
   6. Therapy and/or eating disorder treatment can help emotional eaters to discover the root causes and triggers for their eating.

   Food can be pleasurable. We don’t always eat just to live. But when food becomes an unhealthy means of avoiding dealing with fears and self-image issues and leads to isolation, then it is time to take positive action to reverse the spiral of negative thinking and behaving.

It’s great to see the multi-talented Carrie Fisher back on the scene again. Not that the actress, author, motivational speaker, celebrity spokesperson has been totally missing in action. It’s just that she feels and looks so much better now that she’s lost 50 pounds in nine months on the Jenny Craig Program.

With her ever-present wit, she quips, “I can now leave my house and not be humiliated. I even took my body to the Laker game. I still felt short, but I was absolutely thinner.”

Just listening to Fisher’s words, doesn’t Princess Leia from the original Star Wars trilogy spring to mind? Perky, plucky, determined and always outspoken, Fisher has continued to amaze and inspire individuals throughout her life.

As a recovering addict who’s also overcome bipolar disorder, Fisher is a sought-after speaker and respected advocate for these communities. She also appeared on the floor of the California Senate urging state legislators to increase government funding on medication for people living with mental health issues. Fisher has also received dozens of various awards for her commitment to fighting mental illness and the stigma associated with it.

Overcoming addiction and learning to manage her bipolar disorder is well documented in one of Fisher’s five previous books, Wishful Drinking, a New York Times best-seller and the subject behind the HBO Documentary “Wishful Drinking.” That she had to contend with being overweight was just another part of the picture – one that she’s now been able to work through by utilizing a comprehensive and coordinated plan of nutritional counseling, healthy eating, exercise and creating a balanced approach to living.

In Fisher’s weight-loss quest, she met weekly with her personal consultant Kathy who helped the actress to structure a program that was right for her busy schedule. It included incorporating a nutritional menu, a plan for physical activity, motivational techniques designed to explore the behavioral reasons behind Fisher’s weight gain in order to achieve a long-lasting and healthy lifestyle.

Keeping up her witty remarks, Fisher continues, “I can even go shopping now. It’s nice going into stores and not have to ask for sizes that don’t exist. I even bought a suit the other day, and guess what? It fit.”

Fisher began her weight-loss program with Jenny Craig in November 2010 and achieved her original 30-pound weight loss goal in May 2011.

As a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Fisher will be seen in commercials for the program beginning August 29.

Look for Fisher’s sixth book, Shockaholic, due out this November. With the provocative title, along with the author’s byline, it’s sure to be another best-seller. Interested? You can pre-order it now on Amazon.com and other outlets.

And don’t expect that the irrepressible Fisher will keep herself scarce anytime soon. After all, she’s always got a lot to say – and for that, along with her positive influence to those seeking to embrace recovery, we applaud her.

Up to now, there hasn’t been really much we could do about it, other than trying to retrain ourselves to stop reaching for something to satisfy our sugar fix. Now, however, there’s a product that promises to stop sugar craving addiction in its tracks.

Oh, really, you ask? Is it possible to just take something that will magically erase all craving for sugary foods and drinks? If reports are true, then there might be something to this after all. We’ll take a look at this new product and see what all the hype is about.

Yes, that is the name of the product. Developed by Sarasota, Florida heart surgeon Robert Carlson, MD, Stop-It ™ is a revolutionary new product that’s designed to help stop sugar cravings and break sugar addiction.

What exactly is Stop-It ™? According to Dr. Carlson, a cardiothoracic surgeon who’s been practicing medicine for 25 years, Stop-It ™ is an all-natural herbal lozenge that blocks sugar receptors. In essence, by blocking our sugar receptors, the product gives us the ability to break our addiction to sugar. When we get rid of sugar, says Dr. Carlson, “you’ll have a fighting chance to age well with energy, vitality and good health.”

What Prompted the Development of Stop-It ™

It doesn’t matter if you reach for a little pick-me-up in the late afternoon, thinking that candy bar will give you the extra energy you need, or you find yourself craving something sweet after dinner or in the evening – what you may not realize is that you’re likely addicted to sugar.

Besides the decadent slice of chocolate cake, sugar-laden pie or other desserts, Americans also consume diet sodas and so-called low-fat products that are literally crammed with sugar for added taste. In addition, the artificial sweeteners most commonly found in diet drinks – saccharin, Splenda and NutraSweet – have been shown to cause even more cravings. Not to put too blunt a spin on it, but this seems as if it was planned to entice consumers to drink more. Shades of the type of tactics tobacco companies use to get users hooked on their product? It may very well be so.

Dr. Carlson knows well how devastating an addiction to sugar can be. Sugar cravings, in fact, are largely responsible for the obesity and diabetes that plague millions of Americans and threaten to destroy health. The Mayo Clinic says that today, about one in three Americans is considered to be obese. As for diabetes, the American Diabetes Association says that 25.8 million children and adults in the United States (8.3 percent of the population) have the disease.

Excess intake of sugar has been linked to depression and fatigue, inflammation and heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for the past 80 years and is a major cause ofdisability.

Seeing so many of his patients trying without success to break their addiction to sugar, Dr. Carlson switched his practice to preventive medicine five years ago. He wanted to find ways to impact the health of his patients in a positive manner and also to prevent having them ever wind up on his operating table.

How Stop-It ™ Works

According to Dr. Carlson, the all-natural herbal lozenge, Stop-It ™ not only helps break sugar addiction, it also helps the individual to lose weight and build the stamina needed in the ongoing battle against cravings for sugar.

The way to use the product is to take one or two of the lozenges when you feel the craving for sugar. After you’ve taken the lozenges, if you do decide to consume that mountain of ice cream or over-sized piece of cake, you’ll find that it tastes decidedly unappetizing. Dr. Carlson says that at best, it tastes “like a clump of mud.”

This sounds, in principle, like the same kind of aversive behavioral conditioning that alcoholics go through when they take Antabuse. As long as they continue to take Antabuse as directed by their doctor, alcohol loses its draw in the sense that the medication produces unpleasant effects.

The difference with using a product such as Stop-It ™ is that there aren’t any of the mild to severe effects if you do consume something sugary or sweet – it just doesn’t taste very good. And taste is a huge part of why people think they’re being satisfied when they go for the sweets. No good taste equals less desire to consume. It’s a matter of re-training yourself relative to how and what you eat.

You simply take one to two lozenges of Stop-It ™ and this will reduce sugar taste in your mouth for 45 minutes to an hour. The additional benefit of the negative feedback from the taste (if you consume something sugary after taking Stop-It ™ will likely reduce or eliminate cravings for a lot longer than just the initial 45 minutes to one hour.

When to take the product will differ depending on your individual patterns. If you crave something sweet in the morning, or mid-day, afternoon, or late at night, know your vulnerable times of the day and take Stop-It ™ before sugar cravings overpower you.

Ingredients in Stop-It ™

Okay, so Dr. Carlson claims that Stop-It ™ is all natural. But what specifically is in it? Here’s a look at the ingredients.

There are three main ingredients in the all-natural herbal lozenge called Stop-It ™. These are Gymnema Sylvestre, peppermint and Erythritol.

·        Gymnema Sylvestre is a plant that grows in the tropical forests in parts of Africa and central and southern India. It has been used for years in preparations that have the effect of suppressing sweet taste sensations. There have been no documented side-effects of taking Gymnema Sylvestre at doses used for taste reduction.

·        Erythritol is a naturally-derived sugar substitute. It looks and tastes much like sugar but has no calories. It comes in powered and granulated forms. Erythritol, classified as a sugar alcohol, occurs naturally in small amounts in grapes, melons, mushrooms and pears. It is about 70 percent as sweet as table sugar (sucrose) but has none of sugar’s side-effects as it is immediately absorbed and removed by the kidneys.

·        Peppermint, one of the oldest home remedies for digestive problems, heartburn, gas, nausea and stomach aches, can help expedite weight loss and benefit overall health. Peppermint is a natural appetite suppressant that helps improve digestion, reduce hunger pangs and make food taste better while it leaves you feeling more satisfied. 

Causes of Sugar Cravings

There’s not a single cause of sugar cravings. In fact, a craving for sugar is multi-faceted, involving psychological, physical, emotional factors, serotonin, the release of dopamine, and a whole lot more.

What most people don’t know is that chocolate and sugary foods release opioids when they’re consumed. Yes, opioids, just like heroin and opium. You’d never think that you’re consuming an opioid when you bite into that chocolate cake or bolt down that sugary energy drink, but that’s in effect what you’re doing.

Here’s what happens. When you eat or drink that sugary substance, the opioids bind to receptors in your brain, the same ones that trigger feelings of pleasure and well-being. When you block the receptors, you reduce the cravings. It’s as simple as that.

Four Types of Sugar Addiction

On Dr. Carlson’s website (http://stopsugarcravingseasily.com/), there are loads of facts and information about sugar cravings, sugar addiction, how Stop-It ™ works and much more. We’ll summarize here two of the four types of sugar cravings.

·        Type 1 Sugar Addict – Sugar and caffeine are the mainstays for the type 1 sugar addict. Whether it is energy drinks and coffee or even soft drinks loaded with caffeine, when you’re a type 1 sugar addict, you automatically turn to these drinks to get a little “lift” or buzz when you start feeling low energy. The problem is that the human body normally only has about one cup of sugar circulating in the system and these drinks often contain up to 10 cups of sugar. Sure, you get an immediate rush that temporarily satisfies you, but there’s the inevitable crash that occurs one to three hours later as spiking insulin levels push sugar into the body’s cells and cause the blood glucose level to plummet. The next thing you know, you reach for another jolt of sugar via your favorite caffeine or sugar-laden soft drink.

·        Type 2 Sugar Addict – This person’s life is always in a state of crisis. Often, type 2 sugar addicts are women, because of their constant juggling of so many different full-time jobs: that of wife, mother, working woman – and everything in-between. Stressed-out to the max, the woman reaches for good-old comfort food – whatever is loaded with sugar. This gives her an immediate boost, but the feeling is only temporary. It isn’t too long before she’s after more of the same. The result is not only type 2 sugar addiction but adrenal fatigue – where clothes no longer fit the same as insulin levels and sugar in the blood stream become fat in the belly region. This is how the human body reacts to survive anticipated stress. In various studies, it has been shown that women in adrenal fatigue will gain an average of more than 30 pounds.

But Does Stop-It ™ Work?

According to Dr. Carlson’s website, Stop-It ™ is 100 percent guaranteed to block the taste of sugar and to stop sugar cravings – when used as directed. If the product doesn’t work as promised, consumers have a money-back guarantee.

Suffice to say that Dr. Carlson, or Dr. Rob, as his patients call him, has an extensive biography. Highlights include: Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, three-time recipient of “America’s Top Doctor Award” in cardiothoracic surgery, 2005 Physician of the Year, Man of the Year in Medicine and Healthcare 2010 (American Biographical Institute), and founder of Andros Institute for Preventative Health Care. See Dr. Carlson’s full biography on his website (http://stopsugarcravingseasily.com/about-dr-rob/).

Make Up Your Own Mind

We began this article promising to take a look at a so-called revolutionary new product that is intended to stop sugar craving addiction. While Stop-It ™ certainly sounds like it has what it takes to do just that, it’s ultimately up to individuals to research the claims and make up their own minds. This is not an endorsement for the product that Dr. Carlson has developed or a paid product review. It is simply an overview of what Stop-It ™ is, what it claims to be able to do (stop sugar addiction) and nothing more.

If you’ve read through all this because you find yourself identifying with sugar addiction, want to do something proactive to learn how to change your behavior and stop consuming so much sugar, then you may be motivated to continue to learn more about what causes sugar addiction and how to take steps to overcome it.

Perhaps the best way to approach this is for you to speak with your family doctor or go to see a nutritionist to find out other ways to jumpstart a healthier eating lifestyle – one that doesn’t involve capitulating to your intense sugar cravings. If nothing else, this may serve as a starting point for you to take the next steps toward making changes you want and need to make in your life.

Stop the vicious cycle of sugar craving addiction. It’s something each of us needs to do for our own health and well-being – whatever approach we ultimately take to get there.

The team used a Yale questionnaire which had been specifically designed to quantify seven discrete symptoms of addiction as recommended by the American Psychiatric Association. Those symptoms are: tolerance, withdrawal, substance taken in increasing amounts, inability to control abuse, large amounts of time spent in activities related to obtaining or using the substance, missing social or work events, and continued substance use despite obvious problems. The researchers substituted the word food for the word drug in each of the questions. The group of obese men and women given the questionnaire were subsequently divided, according to their responses, into addict/non-addict categories.

The two groups were then compared in three areas with relevance to addiction: 1) co-morbidity, or illnesses that often present together 2) psychological risk factors, both emotional and physiological, and 3) abnormal motivation for the substance. The two groups (addict/non-addict) showed no difference in age or weight but did demonstrate other key differences. In fact, the study appears to establish a psycho-behavioral outline for persons suffering from food addiction. Development of patient profiles is key to not only establishing the disorder, but also to effective treatment. Those in the ‘addict’ group were identified as experiencing higher incidences of binge-eating disorder, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. According to Dr Davis’ findings, the personality profile for food addicts also encompasses higher degrees of impulsivity, and an increased likelihood of ‘self-soothing’ through food. The respondents in the addict category also displayed higher sensitivity to foods’ pleasurable qualities. Dr Davis points to current research being done with animals investigating fat and sugar addiction, saying that her findings extend prior research evidence to include men and women as experiencing such dependencies. Her team’s research corroborates those studies and gives strong evidence for similarities between drug and alcohol addiction and addiction to food substances.

The Toronto team believes their findings identify food addiction as a quantifiable condition with clinical (medically observable) symptoms similar to those exhibited by drug abusers. Understanding the various risk factors and the pre-dispositions involved with food dependency and compulsive eating could prove beneficial in the treatment of obesity and eating disorders, something Dr Davis hails as a necessary advance.

Where binge eating often happens, it turns out, is at restaurants. Binge eaters are not ordering excessive amounts of food, but instead eating the large portion sizes normally served at restaurants in the U.S. Binge eaters aren’t hiding the amounts they are eating, and the food may not be identified as a common culprit for weight gain.

A study published in the November issue of SAGE Publications’ Western Journal of Nursing Research shows that when it comes to binge eating, disordered eating behaviors may be taking place regularly at restaurants.

Based on American habits of eating out, large portion sizes in restaurants, frequenting fast food restaurants and a sedentary lifestyle, it is easy to find the sources of obesity. However, the study’s authors wanted to explore the restaurant eating habits of those who binge eat.

The study compared the eating behaviors of those who binge eat and those who were dieters in order to gain an understanding of how the restaurant environment affects binge eaters.

The researchers asked the all-female participants, both binge eaters and dieters, to record their daily food intake. The analysis showed that the participants in both groups consumed more calories and fat on the days they ate out. In addition, the study showed that approximately 30 percent of binges occurred while eating out at restaurants.

The participants in the binge eating group often saw their restaurant eating as out of control and excessive. The report of a high level of binge eating at restaurants contradicts previous perceptions that binge eating is a private, hidden activity.

National Institute of Health shows that restaurants may provide an environment that is high risk for binge eaters, encouraging uncontrolled eating.

The information may be helpful for eating disorder treatment programs that train patients in life skills for healthy eating behavior patterns. Avoiding restaurants, particularly ones that serve large portions or a large percentage of high-fat foods may help recovering binge eaters avoid a relapse. Being mindful of how much food is consumed is more difficult in a restaurant setting.

A recent study sought to better understand the responses that the brain experiences when it is exposed to food. The study will be published in the August print issue of Archives of General Pyschiatry, and is available immediately online.

The authors explain that the dopamine release in certain regions of the brain and the levels of that release are similar in both food and drug consumption. The study is the first to investigate additive eating behaviors at the neural level.

Lead author Ashley N. Gearhardt, M.S., M.Phil., of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues looked at the connection between food addiction symptoms and neural activation. The food addiction level was measured using the Yale Food Addiction Scale and neural activation was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The researchers tested the responses of subjects to cues signaling the expectation of a food item (chocolate milkshake), compared with a tasteless control solution. They also compared the actual consumption of the milkshake with the tasteless solution. The participants were 48 healthy young females with a wide range of body types who were recruited for a healthy weight maintenance trial.

The results showed that food addiction scores were connected with a higher level of activation in certain areas of the brain, including the anterior cingulated cortex, the medial orbitofrontal cortex and amygdale when the brain anticipated the delivery of food.

As the researchers expected, the areas of the brain that were activated during the investigation were similar to the response exhibited when a person considers the rewarding properties of a substance like drugs or alcohol. The results indicate that compulsive food consumption may be motivated by the anticipation of a rewarding experience.

The researchers explain that the study shows evidence that measurable biological differences correlate with variations on the food addiction scale. The study may help food addiction therapists incorporate strategies that have worked well for other types of addictions.

Further research may be necessary to determine whether certain foods are more addictive than others, which may help explain why obesity is difficult to overcome without relapse.
 

Lead author Gene-Jack Wang, a physician at Brookhaven Lab and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said that the results show that dopamine is important in the neurology of binge eating disorder (BED). Previous studies by Wang’s team identified a similar dopamine increase in drug-addicted individuals when shown images of people using drugs, as well as other similarities between drug addiction and obesity, such as dopamine triggering drug and food cravings.

Wang said that in previous studies of healthy people who had been deprived of food for 16 hours, dopamine releases were associated with food craving and hunger. In the current study, the researchers wanted to find out whether obese individuals who binge eat would should stronger conditioned responses to food stimuli compared to non-binging obese individuals.

Wang explained that better understanding the mechanisms underlying drug cravings and food stimulation could help researchers develop new treatments to help people regulate their eating behaviors.

In the study, the researchers examined 10 people who were diagnosed with binge-eating disorder and 8 obese people who were not binge eaters. They used brain scans after injecting a radiotracer that binds dopamine receptors in the brain. The tracer competes with the brain’s natural dopamine to bind to the receptors, and the signal picked up by the PET scanner measures the brain’s dopamine levels. A strong signal indicates low levels of natural dopamine, and a low signal indicates high levels of natural dopamine.

Each participant was scanned four times over two days, testing the effects of food stimulation versus neutral stimulation, both with and without methylphenidate, a drug that amplifies dopamine signals by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, allowing it to stay in the brain longer.

For the food stimulation, the participants’ favorite foods were waved in front of their mouths and noses so they could smell and taste small amounts of the food; for the neutral stimulation condition, researchers showed participants non-food-related pictures and objects such as toys and clothing so the participants could smell them while in the scanner. All participants hadn’t eaten for 16 hours before the scans.

Binge eaters who were given methylphenidate and food stimulation showed significantly increased dopamine levels in the brain compared to non-binge eaters. Those with the most severe BED had the highest dopamine levels. Dopamine levels did not significantly rise significantly in other brain regions or under other conditions in either group, and were not associated with the subjects’ body mass index (BMI).

Wang said the main difference between binge eaters and non-binge eaters was an increase in dopamine levels in the caudate region of the brain in binge eaters in response to food stimulation. This means that the sight or smell of favorite foods in binge eaters triggers food cravings.

The researchers note that the dopamine response is in a different part of the brain from what has been observed in drug addiction studies. The caudate is associated with reinforcement of action that potentially leads to reward, but not necessarily in processing the reward. This suggests that the dopamine response gets the brain ready to seek the reward; a pattern that is also observed in drug addicts.

Because binge eating is not exclusive to obese individuals, the researchers note that more studies need to be done to determine the neurobiological factors that may differentiate obese and non-obese binge eaters.

Source: Science Daily, Binge Eaters’ Dopamine Levels Spike at Sight, Smell of Food, February 28, 2011

Selena Bartlett, PhD, Director of the Pre-Clinical Development Group at the Gallo Center, said that ezlopitant is an NK1-receptor antagonist that blocks the action of substance P, a neurotransmitter that may be involved in the brain’s reward system, which is associated with addiction and cravings. Bartlett said that substance P is released in the brain in response to stimuli, and must bind with neuron receptors to have an effect. Ezlopitant prevents the binding.

The rats that were given ezlopitant were significantly less motivated to drink sugar water, saccharin water, and an alcohol solution. Bartlett said this could be because the NK1 receptor is involved in the reward system of the brain that controls cravings for sweets as well as drugs and alcohol.

Previous studies have shown that NK1-receptor antagonists such as ezlopitant has decreased alcohol cravings in humans, and Bartlett says that their study found that the decreased consumption of sweetened water in rats was even greater than the decreased consumption of alcohol, which suggests that the receptor might be linked to compulsive eating. This could be an important discovery for treating food addiction.

Source: Science Daily, Biochemical Pathway May Link Addiction, Compulsive Eating, September 2, 2010