Do food addiction diets work?

Is food addictive? If so, how can you wean yourself off the bad stuff?

There is growing research that says some foods are addictive. In the article Do food addiction diets work? author Nara Schoenberg cites research by Dr. Nicole Avena and her colleagues showing that rats who binge repeatedly on sugar behave much like rats addicted to morphine or alcohol, exhibiting symptoms of bingeing, tolerance and withdrawal.

Kathleen lost 60 pounds on a diet that aims to reduce cravings. (Gretchen Ertl/Photo for the Tribune)Are you a food addict? 

One of the best ways to determine if you have addictive tendencies when it comes to food is to take the Yale Food Addiction Scale survey, said food addiction researcher Avena of the University of Florida. If you want to tackle addictive eating, start slowly, Avena suggests. If you're a heavy soda drinker, maybe you can replace soda with mineral water. Once you get comfortable with that change, you can identify another sugary problem food you want to cut out, perhaps a dessert. You eventually may end up with an eating plan very similar to the 90 percent unrefined plant food-based "Eat to Live," Avena says, but you'll get there in a way that increases your chances of long-term success.

"There have been plenty of studies with learning that have taught us that if you want to make a change, it has to be done in small steps," she says.