Ever feel like you’re fighting a losing battle with a bag of potato chips? Your brain might be to blame. Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) activate the same area of the brain that’s triggered by gambling and addictive drugs, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

For the study, researchers fed 12 overweight or obese men milkshakes that were identical—except some were high-GI, while the others were low-GI. Four hours later, the people who ate the high-GI shakes were hungrier, had lower blood sugar levels, and had more activity in the area of the brain associated with cravings and addiction.

Eating junk food isn’t like gambling or taking drugs—so why does it have a similar effect on the brain? High-GI foods cause a spike then a plummet in blood sugar levels, says lead study author Belinda Lennerz, MD, PhD, a clinical fellow in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston. This rapid change triggers activity in the brain’s pleasure center, causing you to regain your appetite more quickly and give into your cravings more easily.

That doesn’t mean the food is necessarily addictive in the way that alcohol or cocaine are, though. While most addictive behaviors or substances aren’t essential for life, food is—with one caveat: “People actually eat for many other reasons apart from energy needs: for pleasure, out of frustration, to satisfy a craving,” says Lennerz. Behaviors like this, coupled with the increase in brain activity in the cravings control center, indicate that the risk of “food addiction” could potentially be real.

Do you believe that a person can be addicted to food? Tell us in our poll and sound off in the comments:

Do you think people can actually develop a food addiction?

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photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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NaturalNews) Ask nearly any smoker or ex-smoker why cigarettes are so addicting and they’ll probably say, “It’s the nicotine.” But delve further into the hook, and what is revealed is that most smokers breathe quite differently while smoking than they do when they’re not, aiding in relaxation by simply engaging in the same inhale – hold – exhale rhythm, sometimes 500 times a day. This pattern for many can be considered meditation, used for reflection or forward-thinking time, and when most people attempt to quit smoking cold turkey, they don’t even think about what they’re “missing.” The lack of that breathing pattern alone sends them right back to the well, as they light up again the first time something stressful comes their way (http://ezinearticles.com).

If you smoke a pack a day (about 20 cigarettes) and say you take 10 – 12 drags/puffs from each cigarette, that’s about 250 times you breathe in and out in a specific way. If you smoke 2 packs a day, that’s about 500 times. Research surveys taken from hundreds of smokers who have kicked the habit show that at least 50% realize, after going through the motions of breathing as if they were having a cigarette, that THIS is the major part of the addiction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G7OZPmlyCM).

95% of smokers need help quitting

One ex-smoker teaches a program called 14AndOut that brings to light this simple but critical breathing ritual. At the same time, this program points out how other stop smoking aids, like the nicotine patch, prescription medications, and nicotine gum fail to address the behavior modification necessary for up to 95% of smokers to be able to quit and not go back within 6 months. The organic 14AndOut program weans the smoker off cigarettes in 14 days or less without the use of chemicals, by combining knowledge and behavior modification with nutrition
(http://premium.naturalnews.tv/14AndOut__TV.htm).

Yoga instructors are the first to tell you that breathing is core to a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Nutrition and breathing work hand in hand. Therefore, despite the fact that cigarettes are loaded with chemicals and nicotine that’s all juiced up (that dates back further than just 10 years ago), the breathing pattern is part of the “escape” for smokers. If a smoker just practices breathing every time they would have had a smoke, then the cessation (quitting) process becomes much more practical, realistic, and usually works out for the long term. After all, who wants to quit smoking, only to go back the first time a friend lights up your brand, or a bill shows up you can’t quite pay, or you almost get in a wreck and just need to relax! (http://archive.tobacco.org/News/98minnesota.html)

Some people smoke for the pep of it, getting a little rush from the nicotine. That is why the 14AndOut stop smoking program also comes equipped with a nutritional guide. The breathing patterns combined with nutrients replace cravings and provide energy bursts, which is key to quitting smoking without fear of stress and anxiety.

The power of the breathing ritual

Most people are familiar with “hyperventilation,” which is breathing in excess of what the body needs to eliminate carbon dioxide, but for some smokers, when they do not have one “lit up,” their breathing pattern is “hypoventilation,” which is the opposite of “hyperventilation,” and occurs when breathing does not meet the body’s needs, sometimes less than 10 breaths per minute. This allows a build up of carbon dioxide in the blood and decreases gas exchanges inside the lungs, which is compounding problems. Plus, most tobacco is now genetically modified (GMO) by Monsanto, laden with pesticides inside and out, so the toxic volcano just builds up. (http://gmo-awareness.com/all-about-gmos/gmo-defined/)

Most people are seeking natural ways to quit, knowing that they’ve already bombarded their system with chemicals. Hypnotherapy and acupuncture are natural alternatives which show better statistics for cessation than any pill (Chantix and Zyban). These methods help with certain mental, physical and emotional aspects of quitting cigarettes, but when an ex-smoker actually practices the breathing ritual on a regular basis, research shows their chances of staying smoke-free for good are increased greatly.

Sources for this article include:

http://ezinearticles.com

http://www.smokerslungs.ca/lung-anatomy-physiology/breathing-patterns/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G7OZPmlyCM

http://gmo-awareness.com/all-about-gmos/gmo-defined/

http://thorax.bmj.com/content/43/1/65.full.pdf

http://www.naturalnews.com/034847_Michael_Taylor_Monsanto_FDA.html

http://archive.tobacco.org/News/98minnesota.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036075_smokers_addiction_breathing.html#ixzz1wvcTluRc

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