Why do we do it?
Most people experience some level of compulsive eating – those who don’t are the exceptions. So what causes it? The first is physiological: low blood sugar drives us to seek out fast releasing energy – this is a very strong survival mechanism that is hard to resist. In a similar way, if we are deficient in essential fats, our bodies will seek out fatty foods. And we can also get hooked on the feel good chemicals (adrenalin, serotonin, etc.) that some food and drink release in us. The brilliant thing is that improving our diets from the nutritional perspective will help with a lot of our cravings – freeing us from the need for willpower. However, we still need to address any remaining cravings and urges to overeat.