According to a new study out of John’s Hopkins University, fatty, sugar-laden foods alter opioid receptors in the area of the brain that controls food intake. Opioids are feel good chemicals in our brain. So the scenario in those with binge-eating disorder may look something like this: eat highly pleasureable fat and sugar-laden food, feel guilty for eating “off limits” food, increase opioid activity, eat more fat and sugar-laden food.
This research, presented at the 2009 Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) meeting provides a glimpse into the biological basis for eating disorders. It also sheds light on the role of trigger foods in eating disoders. Like that first drink that an alcoholic takes, sending them into a downward spiral, binge eaters have to stay away from certain trigger foods because their “shut-off” mechanism doesn’t operate in a fully functional manner allowing them to stop after one serving of their favorite fatty, sugar-laden food.