Food addiction treatment

[Wired123]

Has anyone had any treatment for food addiction , especially treatment related to thyroid diseases?

Would love to hear about experiences and what works and what doesn’t.

Seems like a lot of treatment is available in the US but very little in the UK.

[bluebearski]

Hi Dk123,

I’ve used my local eating disorder service which has been helpful. They offer CBT and counselling for overeating and binge eating. Ask your GP to refer you to them.

Bluebearski xx

[greygoose]

Food addiction? I have to say, I've never heard of this before. And, quite honestly, it doesn't ring true. It sounds like another docto-invented excuse for not getting to the bottom of a problem. After all, you can't live without it, can you. It's rather like accusing someone of having an addiction to air. Any particular sort of food? Or just food in general?

Let me guess: you're hypo, and you've put on a lot of weight, which you cannot lose, so rather than treat you adequatly for your thyroid, your doctor tells you you're addicted to food. Is that it? Sounds like treading in very dangerous waters, to me. The doctor will always blame the patient rather than face up to his own inadequacies and lack of knowledge.

[Wired123 in reply to greygoose]

No actually this is not from an Endo, I only wish they understood it.

Food addiction is very real and quite a big field in the US. Plenty of people have got off bad diets through appropriate treatment out there. Just wanted to see if there’s any experience of UK-based treatment on this forum.

Food addiction is generally like any other addiction to alcohol, smoking or drugs. Processed foods are engineered to make us keep eating them and craving them. Plenty of research exists to back this up, so we should all consider this as part of our struggles. Whether it’s pertinent to thyroid patients or if it impacts us in a particular way as opposed to the general population is another question I am pondering.

[greygoose in reply to Wired123]

It sounds more like food education than treatment for addiction.

I'm pretty certain that not all hypos are addicted to processed foods. But, if they were, it would be understandable. Addictions happen when the person feels bad and needs something - anything - to make them feel better, even if it's just for a short while. Treating the root of the problem would give far more satisfactory results, because when the person feels better in him/herself, it's easier to break the addiction. But, that is just typical of the medical profession, always putting the cart before the horse! Just my twopenn'th.

[Wired123 in reply to greygoose]

I disagree, there’s plenty of food education around especially on the net. However like smokers who know it’s bad for them, they continue to consume food in massive portions.

Hopefully some other members will share their experiences.

[greygoose in reply to Wired123]

As I said it's difficult to over-come addictions when you're feeling bad in some way, either physically or mentally. And, I agree that education is not the solution, I didn't say it was. I said the solution was getting to the root of the matter, which isn't the food itself, but a fundamental feeling of malaise.

[Wired123 in reply to greygoose]

Well food addiction could be there purely as an addiction to food, without any underlying malaise. Plenty of fit and healthy people get addicted to cigarettes and alcohol, same with food.

[Naomi8 in reply to Wired123]

Crumbs,you kept your cool!

I used to post on here about depression but got sick of arrogant responses like that.

I can heartily recommend Overeaters Anonymous.Its on zoom at the moment.

[Wired123 in reply to Naomi8]

Thanks Naomi, this should always be a place to ask for advice and share knowledge and experiences. Opinions and dismissiveness doesn’t help anyone... and we already have doctors for that!

[Marz in reply to Wired123]

I think as this is a Thyroid Forum it is possible greygoose was coming at your question/query from that perspective.

So often there are members posting with other conditions that can and do link back to an under/un treated thyroid - so many over-lapping conditions exist. Just saying...

Hope you find the answer soon and one that works for you - we are all so individual. 🌻

[greygoose in reply to Marz]

I was coming at it from the perspective of addiction in general. It possibly does apply to a lot of hypos, yes, but also people with other conditions. Some people seem to have taken that as some sort of personal criticism, but I can't for the life of me see why. The intention was quite the opposite.

But, be that as it may, one thing I would never do is post hurtful comments about people where they're bound to see them. Arrogant I may be, but I do have some standards.

[Lora7again in reply to greygoose]

I agree with the arrogant bit 😉

[greygoose in reply to Naomi8]

Arrogance is in the eye of the beholder. Some people would have found that helpful or comforting. I know I did when I first heard it. I certainly wasn't intending to belittle or downplay addiction.

[Hidden in reply to Wired123]

Suppose you could classify food addiction as comfort eating with stress. When anxious I notice I run to the cupboard and fridge and stuff myself with starchy foods which are filling and make me feel satisfied. Most of the comfort foods do have gluten in them, and many such as coffee powder and chocolate powder may have dairy and gluten replicas. If you have a thyroid condition as you know this can harm the thyroid gland. The appestat is usually the sign of control. If you have a large appetite, the appestat may not be normal, so you crave foods. Rice and maize as well as bread, can fill your stomach, but shortly after wards, you may still want to eat again. I find now eating a plate of cauliflower or spinach, filling or other green vegetables, rather than eating potatoes bread or biscuits.

Now I look out for the calorie value of foods but also 0 calorie drinks sweetened with sucrose or hidden sweeteners as they convert to sugar in the liver and are stored as glycogen. Agree with you food addiction is complex, but so are potential endocrine blockers such as gluten. Hope you find the root to your addiction.

[Minnskimoo in reply to greygoose]

My daughter was treated exactly like this by her GP. Her symptoms are that of hypothyroid, her weight ballooned along with a myriad of problems. And, her eating habits did not change. Advised to ‘move more, eat less’ by the arrogant GP . No thyroid or hormonal problems, He said. Well, how wrong they can be at times!

Turns out she has polycystic ovaries!

Her thyroid symptoms are still debatable. Her weight still difficult to shift, symptoms debilitating.

😐

[Wired123 in reply to Minnskimoo]

PCOS is another ballgame with high insulin levels caused by insulin resistance. The high insulin can cause a drive to eat more which can eventually become food addiction in parallel.

Has your daughter tried low carb eating? That’s usually one of the ways to approach it. A close family member has PCOS and she saw a good nutritionist, which was helpful.

[Minnskimoo in reply to Wired123]

Hi DK123

She’s very good at low carb eating to be fair. This has been her frustration. She’s out running when she can, although recently said she’s finding her knees to be giving her trouble and her tolerance to exercise not as good as it was. She does boot camp Saturday mornings- which is why she’s frustrated. What makes me smile (wryly ) was that one relative who decided their somewhat pointed opinion mattered was that her weight problem was probably ‘glandular’ 🤔🙄

And as an aside -she sometimes gives me a roasting due to my love of home made brown bread with butter! 😬

[Wired123 in reply to Minnskimoo]

Have a look at some research that suggests heavy cardio can hamper weight loss due to triggering high cortisol.

It’s hard to know what will and won’t work as we are all so different.

I’ve read that weight training is better than cardio for PCOS. The increased muscle mass also helps mop up sugar and thereby reduces insulin levels which will eventually lower her bodyweight.

[Minnskimoo in reply to Wired123]

Thank you DK123

So very true! I suppose we have to try and see what works best for us . I do know she’s one for giving most things a go. 👍🏼

[Lora7again]

I have become a bit addicted to biscuits during the covid outbreak so I have now stopped buying them. I didn't want to eat something that is really bad for you and can damage your teeth. I then decided to eat nuts instead and I ended up breaking my tooth and having to see a dentist so sometimes you can't win! 😏

[Lora7again]

This is definitely me and I blame my grandmother for giving me sugar sandwiches as a child.

addictioncenter.com/drugs/s...

[Wired123 in reply to Lora7again]

Thanks for sharing the link, I liked this line the most: sugar is as addictive as cocaine

[Lora7again in reply to Wired123]

When I was a teenager I worked in a stables and I kept a bag of sugar lumps in my pocket for the horses and I would end up crunching a few myself. If any of my children had done this I would have been horrified but in those days sweets and sugar were eaten a lot.

[Hidden in reply to Wired123]

As an aside, it is well proven that fat and sugar combined sets off receptors in the brain that encourage you to keep eating, it's what makes cake and things so moreish.

This is because fat and sugar are only found together naturally in breast milk, stimulating the part of the newborn/infant brain to keep feeding because that's what will allow them to grow bigger and stronger. Those receptors wouldn't ever be set off again after weaning.

[Wired123 in reply to Lora7again]

PS what is a sugar sandwich?!

[Lora7again in reply to Wired123]

Bread spread with butter and granulated sugar sprinkled on the butter and then eaten. Yuk! no wonder I had loads of fillings lol

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Lora7again]

I think the real low point is sugar sandwiches made with cheapest possible margarine!

[Lora7again in reply to helvella]

We always had real butter 😉

[tattybogle in reply to Lora7again]

my mum insisted on a much 'healthier' sugar regime than sandwiches . She used to send us down the garden with the sugar bowl so we could dip the rhubarb in it. oops! I got lots of fillings too. and possibly a healthy immune system from eating rhubarb without washing it first !

I do think in my experience sugar is more addictive than cocaine ,or nicotine. I'm sure there is something about Mc ronalds chips + burgers that is addictive , and judging by the cats response to Whiskers, i Think that is addictive too!

I like Geworgies sugar/fat breastmilk theory. that makes a lot of sense to me. And hunter/ gatherer diets would have only had small amounts of fruit sugars and honey at certain times of the year, not like now when it's in everything.

So i'm blaming refined sugar for everything... and my mum for letting me have it.

[Wired123 in reply to tattybogle]

Interesting you are talking from experience on sugar vs cocaine!

I’ve never tried it but understand that usage is rife in certain industries.

[MMaud]

I appreciate this video refers to T2 diabetes, but the conference the presentation is from is broadly focusing on metabolic health.

The video might look long, but a few minutes in, there is an excellent audience participation exercise.

I do firmly believe in food addiction (thankfully that's not an issue I personally have). Some foodstuffs; particularly sugar and carbs have addictive properties for some folks. Sugar and salt is the perfect storm of addictive flavours. Salted caramel anyone?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=n8PEt...(Not working as expected?)

[Wired123]

Lots of interesting thoughts on here, including the video above. However very little experience of people receiving appropriate treatment.

Perhaps we are quite a bit behind the US where treatment programmes are more prevalent.

Overeaters Anonymous does look promising as a start point - thanks to Naomi for suggesting that.

Also was unaware that the NHS can provide counselling and CBT for eating disorders - thanks to Bluebearski for that info.

[tattybogle]

I have a friend who used to swear by the following as a method of re-setting his gut and his tastebuds when became aware he was needing to eat too much rubbish and cravings for fat/sugar /salt were getting the better of him......for a whole week he would take all the food out of the house and replace it with a large bag of brown rice and loads of natural live yoghurt and then not go to any shops. Then stick rigidly to a menu of wholegrain brown rice and natural live yoghurt and water to drink for a week........ very boring , but i tried it once and did find that the desire for salt/sugar /fat had disappeared by the end.

Sadly not a permanent solution. and does take will power. I only found it possible because i went camping in a field in the middle of nowhere for a week. It's very cheap tho !

[Wired123 in reply to tattybogle]

I saw a TV show where they showed an Austrian clinic doing something similar. It was plain stale bread and water only, very boring but also encouraging chewing food properly.

Worth a try for sure.

[tattybogle in reply to Wired123]

From a nutritional standpoint , i'd still recommend brown rice over bread, and the live yoghourt ought to put 'friendly bacteria ?' in your gut .Also , it takes so long to cook brown rice that it helps pass the time . ( especially if you 're camping LOL )

Hippy poem ;

Wet Wood

Brown Rice

Long Time

Tastes Nice

[Wired123 in reply to tattybogle]

BTW where did your friend learn that method? Would be interesting if it’s a book and there’s more ideas in it we can all use.

[tattybogle in reply to Wired123]

No idea , probably from talking to hippies sitting round a fire waiting for rice to cook.

[Sarfran in reply to tattybogle]

😂😂😂

[ThaiDogRescue]

I'm not 100% clear what food addiction is because it normally describes people binging on junk food I on the other hand binge on healthy food