Do you know that compulsive eaters come in all sizes, ages, gender, economic levels and race?  Are you a compulsive eater?  You are not alone!  If you can’t stop eating just one cookie, a few chips, one small bag of M&Ms or one cup of breakfast cereal, you’re like millions of others. 

Three years ago, a handsome, hardworking, 50-year-old man sat at my counseling table and said, “Dar, I am tired of eating like an adolescent.  Now that I’m 50, I want to start eating like an adult.”

What Rick meant was that he was tired of bingeing on junk food and highly processed carbohydrates such as cookies and crackers and grabbing fast food for lunch while downing several Mountain Dews for energy. 

Rick would often come home from work and eat non-stop--peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, and ice cream—until he was exhausted. Then he would fall into bed and sleep fitfully, waking up feeling depressed from the sugar. Disgusted with himself, Rick knew he was out of control and would repeat the behavior again that day.  This behavior is similar to that described by alcoholics in treatment.

If you experience this guilt-ridden, remorseful, out-of-control eating behavior, you are not alone!  Food is no longer the solution. It is your problem.

Some professionals might label people like Rick compulsive or emotional eaters.  As a nutritionist specializing in therapeutic nutrition, I understand this is not a psychological or emotional problem; it is a biochemical/nutritional problem.

Could our food supply be part of your problem?  Let me explain.  In 1840, a typical person in the U.S. consumed two teaspoons of sugar per day.  Nowadays, that person consumes 53 teaspoons of sugar each and every day!

Unfortunately, most of those 53 teaspoons are in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (which is more damaging to cells than sugar).  Rick’s soda is loaded with high-fructose corn syrup. Even more disturbing, many food manufacturers include corn syrup in baby food.  Often it is the first ingredient, meaning the product has more corn syrup than anything else.  We see babies suckling this sugary liquid from their bottles.  Dr. Marian Nestle, author of the popular book What to Eat, calls soft drinks liquid candy. 

Now stop and think: Did you grow up drinking pop?  As a child in the 1940s, I was never exposed to this soft drink. Even in the 1950s, it was a rare “treat.”  Corn syrup was introduced when I was a child. Since then, its use in our food supply has increased a thousand percent!  Researchers have found that diabetes and obesity have increased at exactly the same rate.  It’s not hard to understand why food has become the problem, instead of the solution.  Yes, we are preparing our children to be addicts. 

I was able to help Rick understand that his problem was biochemical, not emotional.  I changed his eating plan as follows:

·         Eliminated all foods containing high-fructose corn syrup

·         Brought back “real” food

·         Incorporated real protein several times a day 

·         Included sufficient healthy fat in the form of olive oil, butter, avocados and nuts

·         Rick started packing his lunch full of vegetables, making sure he had real food for all his meals and snacks.

The result?  His out-of-control behavior stopped within a few days.  His energy returned.  He started sleeping soundly through the night. And his feeling of well being and zest for living returned—all within a month!

As a nutritionist, I know that real food is the solution, but people need ongoing support as well as facts.  Because our food supply is designed for profit, not health, we must be proactive in our quest for accurate information and professional guidance. Next time you find yourself eating compulsively, realize that all the guilt in the world will not correct the behavior. A more productive approach would be to schedule an appointment with a therapeutic nutritionist who can help rebalance your biochemistry. Remember, real food is the solution.