Food addiction was almost unheard of a century ago. Most foods didn’t light up the pleasure centers like modern incarnations do, so people just ate to satisfy their hunger and didn’t think about eating the rest of the time.
However, that started to change by the middle of the twentieth century. All of a sudden, many foods that couldn’t exist naturally started to appear.
The question today, though, is which of these foods is most likely to result in food addiction? Let’s take a look.
Sugary Drinks
Topping the list are sugary drinks. This substance is one of the only foods that most health experts agree is bad for you.
The worst culprits are sugary sodas. These are empty calories that spike blood sugar levels to extremely high levels, causing metabolic issues. They also contain additives and other toxins that the body struggles to manage when consumed in high quantities.
Iced tea, unfortunately, often falls into this category. Historically, iced tea was just tea that had been put in the refrigerator, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But these days, it comes with a megadose of sugar to enhance the flavor experience.
These sugary beverages, like soda and iced tea, are easy to consume in massive quantities because the body can’t recognize the calories. Receptors can’t detect what’s coming in, so it is easy to drink an entire bottle.
Chocolate And Candy
Number two on the list is chocolate and candy. Again, these are incredibly easy to over-consume.
What makes chocolate particularly powerful is the combination of sugar, fat, and often salt. These three in combination signal to the brain that it has found a high calorie food and that it should eat more.
Evolutionarily, this was helpful. Whenever the brain found something like this, it meant that food was just around the corner and that good times were coming. Unfortunately, the massive exposures we have today hijack this system and cause it to work against our health goals.
Beware of options like chocolate-covered nuts, too. While the nut inside might be healthy, the chocolate will still usually contain a large quantity of sugar and fat, and those are ingredients that you’ll want to avoid at all costs if you can.
Furthermore, these snacks overload the brain’s pleasure centers, preventing proper signaling from taking place. When you get used to consuming something that lights up the brain at a high level, it dulls the experience of eating regular food, which is something you’ll want to avoid at all costs.
Fast Food
Third on the list is fast food. It’s also addictive for several reasons, mainly because of the combination of fat, salt, sugar, and meaty umami flavors.
Burgers are the ultimate example of this. They contain plenty of sugar (in the form of starch) and fat in the form of meat and cheese. They also often come served with beverages that are high in sugar, completing the experience.
Unfortunately, many fast food companies engineer their food to make it even more addictive. Chains know how to enhance the experience to make it even more compelling, getting people to come back time and time again.
For many people, the most addictive element of the food is the fries or the pizza slices. Plus, it tends to be cheap and convenient, although that’s been changing recently.
Ice Cream
Ice cream is also a highly engineered food that would have been almost impossible to produce naturally (unless you lived in the Arctic and had a supply of cows). However, it is now the go-to dessert for many people and is one of the main reasons it is so hard to become healthier these days.
Ice cream, however, isn’t just popular because it contains a lot of fat and sugar (which it does). It is also easy to eat and has a smooth texture that enhances the eating experience. There are also plenty of novel flavors to try, which, again, boost brain pleasure and make people want to indulge in them. Once you start eating ice cream, it can be challenging to stop.
Chips And Salty Snacks
Chips and salty snacks are another culprit likely to lead to some food addiction. These don’t work like other foods, but they can become habit-forming due to their saltiness and subtle baked-in flavors.
The most popular chips are potato chips, but pretzels and tortilla chips can also be addictive. The problem with this food is that once you eat one, you want more because of the high level of reward your brain gets from consuming it. Ultimately, keep them out of your house if you can.
Breakfast Cereals
Strange as it may sound, breakfast cereals are now one of the foods most likely to lead to addiction. Many people find themselves consuming these every day at breakfast and then again at night before bed, just because they want another hit.
Breakfast cereals can, therefore, be confusing. All the marketing around them suggests they are healthy, but the reality is that they aren’t. Most of them are refined ingredients, and many have added table sugar, plus colorings and other additives you’ll want to avoid.
If you want cereal for breakfast, look for options like millet, quinoa, or oats. Porridge mixed with real fruits and nuts is usually the best option.
Processed Cheese
Finally, some people can develop an addiction to processed cheese. This substance has little to do with regular cheese and is often much higher in salt and fat. People like it because of its umami flavor and deep, creamy texture, which makes it hard to stop eating, especially when paired with other foods.
Cheese dips fall into the same category. These go well with nachos, but the combination can be challenging to stop eating. Ultimately, it is addictive and leads to weight gain in most people.
So, those were the foods most likely to result in addiction. Which do you eat?
