Instead of having a healthy relationship with food, the food-addicted person is obsessed with food. The food-addicted person may express this obsession by thinking about food constantly, being influenced in their food choices by their food cravings and the person may find it difficult to stop the food related behaviour that is harmful to their health including overeating.



Unhealthy Obsession

Food addictions affect your health when the cravings are for unhealthy foods. Unhealthy food cravings that can be dangerous for your health include salty and sugary foods. The health effects of food addictions, depending on the craved food, can include weight gain, hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetic conditions and other medical conditions.

Your emotional health and Food Addictions can affect one another. Many times people will use food as an emotional crutch when they are in a stressful situation or are unhappy.

Issues Not Addressed

Instead of addressing the frustration or emotional turmoil, a person may turn to chips or ice cream, which means that the stress problem does not get resolved and the person can start gaining weight if it happens too often. After awhile, you may gain so much weight that you become depressed about it, which can trigger even more eating.

A person who has a food addiction may not even know that they have a problem with food because the person is too worried about something else. To regain health, Food Addictions must be addressed. One of the first steps to restoring a healthy relationship with food is recognizing the food addiction.

Different Types Of Eating Disorders

Bulimia, anorexia and compulsive eating are eating disorders that result from an unhealthy relationship with food. Many symptoms can accompany a food addiction and these include a love-hate relationship with food, uncontrolled or over controlled eating habits, great concern with body image and deep feelings about eating food.

Who Can Help?

You can find health services for Food Addictions from food nutritionists, your doctor, dieticians, mental services, and other related specialists. You can find the treatment type with which you are comfortable and that you think can work for you. The types of treatment that you can find are educational programs, individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy.

You can learn more about effects of Food Addictions on health. There is help available for restoring healthy eating habits and developing effective strategies for recovery if Food Addictions are affecting your life.