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Evidence of Malfunction of Serotonin

In addition to the phenomenon of opium-like chemicals being created inside the brains of addicts, there is a body of research pointing to what is called a malfunction of serotonin production. This is explained in very understandable terms in Ann Katherine’s Anatomy of a Food Addiction and I would encourage anyone interested in learning more to consult her writings.

In brief, just as the biochemistry of one addiction may differ slightly from that of another, it is useful to look at the differences in foods commonly experienced as addictive, starting with the food most often considered as potentially dangerous—sugar. The science of addiction points to an explanation of chemical dependency on sugar as a result of a malfunction in the production of the brain chemical serotonin, or in its use in the body.

Serotonin synapses in the brain signal the alleviation of physical and emotional pain, and someone without enough serotonin can be quite anxious or depressed. The highs become too high and the lows become too low. When refined carbohydrates (sugar, flour, alcohol) are ingested, serotonin is manufactured and released. This was first presented to the general public as a problem of addiction by Kay Sheppard in Food Addiction: The Body Knows. The current science on this is best summarized by Katherine in her more recently revised Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating. Katherine explains:

“So if your serotonin level is functioning poorly and your life becomes stressful, you can get some relief by eating sugar. We all learn pain relief very quickly. When something stops pain we repeat it. If sugar stops pain for you, you will eat it again.”

Use can lead to abuse and ultimately to addiction: when the use of sugar becomes unconscious, a person is food dependent. If one cannot stop the process of self-medicating with food, one has crossed over the line of food addiction. Katherine continues:

“Will you stop eating? If serotonin reaches certain concentrations, it is supposed to tell you to stop eating. It’s suspected that some people have a malfunction in the feedback loop. So these folks can eat a whole loaf of bread without triggering the ‘stop eating’ message.”

When someone cannot stop using a food drug by reason and will power alone, this is chemical dependency on food—or something else amazingly similar.

Evidence of Overeating Stimulated by Endorphins

We find a second biological explanation for sugar addiction in the functioning of what are called beta-endorphins. Endorphins are often called brain chemicals that create a natural “high.” Beta-endorphin is produced by the pituitary gland and is reported to produce a more intense sense of well-being than any of the other endorphin types. Beta-endorphin levels are increased whenever a person craves sugar, simple carbohydrates and some fats.

The degree of increased craving and the specific foods that induce these cravings vary from person to person. Thus, just as there are those who are more sensitive to pain and more receptive to being medicated by internal chemicals such as serotonin, there are those who are more or less susceptible to becoming addicted to their own endorphins. As Anne Katherine states, “they eat to trigger release, because when the endorphins are released they feel better.”

This is yet another way food can become a drug since the next step is the increased use of this means of “getting high,” leading ultimately to a chemical dependency on sugar and refined carbohydrates which quickly become simple sugars during the process of digestion.

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D., writes in The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program:

“When the sugar-sensitive person tries to stop using the sugar that evokes this wonderful beta-endorphin response, the receptors start screaming. This is called withdrawal. The person experiencing withdrawal may feel cranky, irritable, and out of sorts but never knows it was last night’s sugar binge creating the horrible feelings. Cravings loom large as the beta-endorphin receptors scream and relief is as close as a can of soda or a doughnut. The physical dependence on sugar to relieve the discomfort of withdrawal reinforces the need to use more and more. The addiction grows into a real problem.”

It is also true that the body’s beta-endorphin reaction is accentuated during fasting, dieting and other stresses. Thus, food addicts who try to control their weight by will power and behavior modification—as they see normal eaters around them doing all the time—often are actually enabling the progression of their biochemical dependency. For those who are genetically pre-inclined to food dependency or who already have crossed the line into addiction by overeating on mood altering foods for long periods of time, dieting may help them lose weight in the short term, but make them actually more chemically dependent on sugar in the long run.

Another stressor can be at work here as well. In our culture, those who are overweight or obese are often taunted or made fun of. Chronic stress of this type, created by the internalized shame of not being able to live up to cultural norms of thinness, leads to more overeating as a way to relieve the pain of being outcast. Overeating itself creates increased stress, whether it be the result of discomfort with one’s own body or from the pain of external criticism both real and imagined. Ironically, the food addict overeats to deal with the effects of overeating, and thus becomes trapped in a never-ending vicious cycle.