cooked food addiction

[shakti17]

this was my experience of cooked food addiction for the day....

i ate raw all morning until 2 pm - i felt awesome, happy, i looked pretty in my office bathroom mirror (usually by 2 pm i look horrendous! i thought from the computers, etc but now i think it may be a cooked ugly"

anyway, i decided to go downstairs because i wanted a cooked lunch (i am embarassed to write that here - but i am not 100% raw today)... anyway, i ate a bit of bread - just a bite -- and all of a sudden i wanted everything cooked! like i was already imagining what i would eat after my sandwich, chocolate, etc

it seemed to me a major addict response!

:confused:

here is my question for y'all...

now i am thinking, well is EVERYONE addicted to cooked food? it seems like it - but i know that i am an addict to other things to, drugs,etc that i have given up.... but EVERYONE is not an addict to drugs. some people can drink a glass of wine or smoke one cigarette and be fine - no craving for more, no destructive cycle beginning.

so is everyone addicted to cooked foods? i think so.... hmmmm..... well, why isn't everyone addicted to other things? :cool:

[Sharon in Colorado]

IMO, yes.

There has been research done that leads to the conclusion that the denaturing of foods causes addictive qualities, particularly with grains, dairy and meat.

I've heard of a fellow saying it was harder to give up cooked food than get off his morphine addiction.

[cornvalley]

I believe if you are to flip flop from raw to cooked and not feel good about your choices, then find a cooked choice that does not bring with it the idea of failure. It takes a long time and many years of experience to know that the ideal diet is based on a combination of sound rational principles that work primarily for yourself first and foremost. Your psychological construct is as equally, if not more important, than the nutritional elements. If your struggling from what you are 'expected' to experience from the 'gurus' you will miss the oppourtunity to take from what you are personally experiencing and grow from that. It's pretty simlple actually to be well nourished physically. It's the emotional issues that tend to be neglected or worse yet, attribute nutritional 'mistakes' to psychological conditions. Your journey is to find a happy place....and be happy.

[Amberly]

but EVERYONE is not an addict to drugs. some people can drink a glass of wine or smoke one cigarette and be fine - no craving for more, no destructive cycle beginning.


The difference is that people who are cooked food addicts have been eating it for a very long time. Drinking a glass of wine or smoking one cigarette of course isn't guaranteed to cause an addiction, but it they were to do it for several years (addicted or not) then they would more likely have a difficult time coming off of it. I think the time consuming it is a factor.

[AutumnBreezColordLeavz]

Only my opinion:
If the THOUGHTS are obsessive, nagging, and disabling you from things that are positive, you may want to consider them as an addiction. Food is a need for the body to function and so allows us to survive, this is true. Don't confuse it with desire. That is the trick. It becomes addicting when you consume more than you need, or when you can't get your mind off the item you crave, that chocolate bar and coffee that you don't need to survive. Cooked food brings more then food, it brings lots of connectors to feelings of past conditionings. Good and bad. Family gatherings, fun and suprising events you are conditioned to relating them without realizing it. Mommy feeding you at the highchair that thanksgiving dinner, or which ever cultural event you may be associated by your ancestory, up to you sitting at the kids table, then you looking forward to being at the big table. Time. True. Food has been served heated for a long time, and many diseases have been around to fill the gaps and graves for the same period of time, from obesity, diabetes, and numerous cancers, some maybe associated with food addiction, too much food, too much sugar, etc. Age plays part, but what we do inbetween makes me wonder what needs to be changed. History should be learned from, not ignored.
There are other things you can grab to fill your body with nutrients other then bread and meat in order to survive. Natures own veggies, fruits, and nuts. Cows eat grass because....they can't get a home cooked meal?
Are our teeth a reflection or in connection/conjunction to our digestive systems?
Addiction? My dog loves table scaps more then her own food, she associates it with her pack- us her family, but if she ever feels sick, she will go and eat grass all on her own. If she were brought up as a pup from us and never recieved a single scrap from anyone, this would not then be an addiction we have to hear her beg for.. Had we been brought up with all raw and nothing else given at all, we would have an addiction to raw. We are creatures of habit unfortunetly, it is our choice to rewrite the paths, not an easy feat, but not impossible either. They say it is harder to beat food addiction then drug addiction. Perhaps this is because they we have been eating far longer then ever taking drugs to escape. A drug dependant newborn infant can be given chemicals to get them off from the drugs within time. Nutrition still needed to sustain. Cooked food have chemicals our bodies react to, just as do drugs and toxins, but not needed to sustain life, just pleasure, but for how long?

[Peas&Carrots]

Well, I think about this topic nearly every time I stray from 100% raw. I keep a journal, and it has been almost consistant that I 'cheat' every other day. "Cheating" can mean anything from a cup of tea, to a piece of dark chocolate, to a spoonful of soy ice cream, to a bag of corn chips. It's usually no more that 200 calories, but it is keeping me far from 100% raw. How detrimental is this to the diet/exercise/weight loss efforts? It's very hard to live with non-rawies when that kind of food is around! I stay as far away as I can from wheat, because I do honestly believe it is chemically addictive. But as far as the other items I mentioned, I don't know if they are chemically addictive or if they're just MENTALLY addictive. Like, we want more because they just taste good and the fill us up for the moment. Everyday, I tell myself that I should really really stick to 100% for a month, and these addictions (chemical or mental) will go away, and my body will adapt to getting full on 100% raw, assimilating the most out of my food. But I've been struggling with this for six months. So, those are my thoughts and concerns at this moment. I'm with you, and I would like any tips and support as well.

[mandarin honey]

I experienced the same thing today. I was doing fine until around 5:30 pm and lost it. You really do have to think of it as an addiction and constantly remind yourself of that. I was really bummed afterwards so for me it's not fulfilling to slip up. It's downright disappointing. I hope I can remember that tomorrow when I start all over again.

[ELLE]

Isn't it ironic how sometimes we cannot control ourselves?
Moderation with anything is the key. That is what I have to learn.

[cornvalley]

and I would like any tips and support as well.
You know, not all cooked foods are created equal. If the desire to have that dietetic 'indiscretion', try a fallback position that is still good for you. That includes a mental aspect. Why throw out the total health program when you consume something 'not 100% raw'? Isn't your mental state as important as the physical state you're desiring. Here is a list of conservativly cooked alternatives to the items most people seem to talk about when they 'go off' and consequntly feel terrible about.
Baked Yam or potatoe or cooked brown basmati & wild rice combo in addition to a a large vegetable salad is still a HEALTHY meal, not an unhealthy meal. You can still feel good about this.
Then, going back to 100% raw will not feel like you have to pay penence with a detoxing process brought upon by eating much more unhealthy items. Try it next time.
I have the feeling in reading the writings here on the site that many have never experienced another way of eating for health other than 100% raw. Yes, raw is best and to strive for that everyday is ideal. Having a healthy outlook on a fallback meal of conservatively cooked starch and salad can save your total health program.
For health and happiness.....Cory

[deedub]

I am powerless over... This is part of the 1st step of AA. I see this as I do something even though I say I don't want to. I assume there are people who do not eat things that they said they were not going to eat. And who really don't think about it that much. No one can take or leave food the way some people can take or leave say coffee, alcohol. etc. I mean you have to eat something where as you don't have to drink or drug. But I personally really don't care about those people. I am not one of them. I have managed to stay raw for five months, not long in the general scheme of things but long to some I would imagine. I have literally had to stay in my house because I knew if I left I would eat something that I said I would not eat. For me I approach staying raw the same way I approached staying sober. I do what ever it takes, call someone, post on this board, sit on my hands,whatever. Eating raw and live food is a choice I made when I found out that cooked food in fact did not nourish my body and in fact was a hinderance. In just this short period of time I am convinced that raw is optimal. Of Course there are cooked foods that are less harmful than others, but here we strive for 100% raw, as we say because it is optimal. We know the benefits. If anyone is still reading Hang in there if anyone truly wants the raw life sytle I believe it is theirs.
Peace and Love

[Ariannah]

so is everyone addicted to cooked foods? i think so.... hmmmm..... well, why isn't everyone addicted to other things? :cool:

I think it's possible. Like Sharon said, since the de-naturing of foods changes the quality, it triggers an addictive response.

It's always been my belief that many people (I speak for myself here, and from what I've observed in others) overeat because while they may be getting their "calories" for the day, they are undernourishing themselves, so the body claws its way to get more of whatever trace nutrient happened to be in the sub-par substance they were consuming. The brain then interprets that as "more of the same, please!" So we then feed it more of the wrong things. The body sends some powerful signals, but we "hear" quite incorrectly on a cooked diet, it seems. That's my take on it.

Now, I tend to be a "big eater" on raw food, but I think it's just an old habit dying off, and it's not nearly the amounts I used to eat. I find myself extremely satisfied with less and less. That's my body telling me it's satisfied, in my opinion.

I've never had a day on cooked (barring sickness, and even then... ) where I've just not felt like eating. On raw, I've been truly able to listen to signals and when I've not felt hungry, I've put off eating, and it's not been something I have to force. On cooked it has.

[shakti17]

Cory,

I like what you are saying about the healthy cooked options - i agree, a sweet potato and brown rice are healthy , and i do feel good when i incorporate that in my diet (as i did for a while with raw breakfast and lunch, then cooked dinner, which was "healthy" cooked) but the problem is, i think, i am still figuring this all out, that i can do a week of healthy cooked and raw and feel great! actually even better than doing a not healthy version of 100% raw (like too many raw treats not enuff salad or something)...

so my point is --- the healthy cooked eventually leads to total not healthy candybars, sandwiches, etc...

so this reminds me of the "don't take the first bite!!!" addiction thing --- for example an alcoholic may not go binging the first night he has a cup of wine, but a week later it could be a mess, and it was really that first cup - that first taste that did it. so can the brown rice and steam veg be that first taste that will lead to worse and worse choices? for me i think yes, because i know i have an addictive personality, but that brings me back to the same question.. is everyone a cooked food addict? maybe not because some people do manage to have balanced diets of raw and cooked. At the moment i am hoping to balance - if i eat a cooked lunch i can plan the rest of my daily meals to also be healthy. i can plan to go home and have a salad for dinner, and if that is the plan - avoid binging on chocolate or cigarettes just because I "broke my raw streak" but it is not just because i "broke a streak" i really feel as tho it makes me crave more -- is it physiological or psychological is the question i suppose. i think it may be both, hmmmm

bla bla bla.... i feel like i am not making sense, but this subject of addiction interests me.

[Kris]

It's always been my belief that many people (I speak for myself here, and from what I've observed in others) overeat because while they may be getting their "calories" for the day, they are undernourishing themselves, so the body claws its way to get more of whatever trace nutrient happened to be in the sub-par substance they were consuming. The brain then interprets that as "more of the same, please!" So we then feed it more of the wrong things. The body sends some powerful signals, but we "hear" quite incorrectly on a cooked diet, it seems. That's my take on it.

I have to say that I agree with this statement 100% in terms of my own experience. I have very distinct, cooked memories of eating and eating and eating, but feeling so sick and bloated and wishing I could stop. I had no idea why I couldn't just put down the food and walk away, and I always attributed it to an unhealthy relationship with food learned from my parents and an utter lack of willpower.

However, because I have not had a single binge episode while raw, or even thought about food in that addictive, compulsive sort of way, I think I have to let myself off the hook with this one. I don't know WHY cooked and raw foods produce such different physical responses and mental attitudes for me, but they do. I can't say for sure that it's true for everyone, but when I see morbidly obese people continue to stuff themselves with SAD garbage day after day, I can't help but think that they're doing it out of something other than simply a desire for something that tastes good.

Does that mean that cooked food itself is necessarily addictive? Certainly not. But its unnatural, modified composition and its status as a commodity and entertainment product do apparently produce addictive behaviors in many individuals. The same thing happens with alcohol, right? What a frightening realization.

[Bobbi Kay]

Corn Valley,
I loved your first response. My husband doesn't understand my all or nothing attitude. He truly can stop eating desert in the middle or have a couple of cookies or stop eating when he isn't hungry. This week he has skipped dinner almost every night just because he wasn't that hungry.

The only time I have been able to skip dinner nonchalantly is when I was eating RAW or mostly RAW with some planned grains. I rarely have been able to eat a few chips or one bite of a chocolate bar or even one diet soda.

Being RAW frees me from food addiction when my mind is healthy enough to accept it. Eventually my life stops revolving around food consumption and I begin to eat to live rather than live to eat.

This is my umpteenth million time going RAW. I feel more committed to it this time than the others except for the first time when I was totally committed to it.

I HAVE LESS PAIN TODAY. YES! BEING PAIN FREE IS MY NUMBER 1 REASON FOR GOING RAW.

BOBBI KAY

[dreamrawalwz]

I didn't a chance to read ALL the comments, but I agree with the ones I've read and I'm sure the rest go along the same lines :) All children (except those lucky ones brought up raw) are taught to eat cooked foods and don't realize they're addicted until they find the raw path and try to get off and they then realize it's SO difficult and cravings get overwhelming. I think that if the child is brought up raw they can be addcited to raw (in a REALLY GOOD way) and know that it is much better than cooked...maybe that didn't come out worded right though, oops. As for dealing with any addiction, food is harder to deal with than drugs or alcohol because it is EVERYWHERE and you must eat it to survive.

[AutumnBreezColordLeavz]

I agree too, I really want to be 100%, but I also want to enjoy other things that I know can not be completely duplicated with raw. Sorry, but I don't like every thing that is raw. I almost get to the point that I can not look at a veggie without feeling ill. Not so much with fruit. But greens for some reason, I begin to feel icky just thinking of a salad. I have gone 5 days and already starting to doubt my intentions of lifetime 100%. Don't know, if I really want that, I want to enjoy life but am I if I am always struggling to be 100% , I don't want it to be a struggle. I think that macrobiotic is not so bad to follow along with raw. It allows you to have warm/hot food, but you are not cooking but steaming the veggies, doing so without losing the nutrients from cooked. This could be my alternative when battling raw greens. Just to keep in the groove. I love spinach steamed. Keeping active and loving life. ABCL

[cornvalley]

This word 'addiction' really has me bugged. It gets thrown around too freely here to have much real meaning. I don't see how a 'non stimulating' conservatively cooked starch without condiments or spice can be thought of as an addictiive substance if it is part of a total healthy outlook. Having it OCCASIONALY, by it's very definition, defies addiction. I think the negative thoughts about such choices can be ruinous to your health much more than the actually food (which in reality is not harmful at all).
How about foods which raise your blood sugar fast and you get habituated to the lift? Or the salt or the vinegar, cayenne? Fractionated foods and spice items are more a problem to me. How bout oils, sugar syrups that are mainly devoid of any nutrients beside calories and lacking in fiber associated with a slow absorbtion process? These are much more refined and unhealthy, in my world anyway. It takes effort in thought, not just making right food decisions 100% of the time to have a feeling of success. Long term satisfaction is not garanteed because you feel euphoric for the moment on sugar and fat with some spices thrown in for extra zip.
I'm kinda getting wound up:) Not meaning to inflame anyone here. I wish health could come effortlessly with food choices alone but that is only part of a greater picture we all must fill in for ourselves.
peace...Cory

[ebonysea7]

I think that using the term addiction relates to whether one is in control of what one eats. It's one thing to choose to eat something (regardless of what it is) and another to feel like you'll die if you don't have it.

/gfj

[Rawkinlocs]

I think it's all in what the person is craving or having a struggle with.

But the bottom line is, when you eat something that wasn't on the "agenda" to eat, not to dwell on it, not to allow feelings of guilt, failure, shame and defeat enter in.

Sometimes eating a thing WILL lead to eating other non-productive things and I believe it's those instances that make people deem cooked foods (or at least certain ones if not all) addictive.

It's also most times an emotional thing. There are some emotions or some instances going on that brings on the desire to reach for old comfort foods.

I don't think there is a problem if someone chooses to eat mostly raw and have a baked sweet potato or some steamed veggies, though I DO feel personally that an all-raw diet is most optimal, but not if the person is poisoning themselves with stressful feelings about their raw eating choice. Eating raw shouldn't be about stress and pressure, but it should be about freedom and that is where many of us are trying to get...to a place where we find freedom and joy and peace with eating raw foods. I feel I am there...I LOVE eating raw, but I do have my moments where cravings come in, but there isn't this inward struggle of whether I should eat cooked or raw foods.

With the baked sweet potato, I don't think I'd enjoy one if it doesn't have Nature's Balance spread on it and THAT may pose a problem. Unfortunately the cooked foods that I tend to run to or crave ARE (IMHO) addictive (chips and other junk foods) and so it behooves me to try my best to just leave them alone, period. Other than that, I'm perfectly fine with raw foods.

Now rice, that may be a different story as I keep reading and I believe that grains do something to us and are hard to shake. But perhaps not as rice is rice, but when you talk about bread (and not the pure, sprouted with nothing else added kinds) you're talking about the other things that are added in WITH those grains. But I could be wrong about that too...perhaps there IS something to grain consumption in humans *shrugs*

It's a touchy subject...to do all or nothing or to do a little of this and a little of that. I think it depends on the person. But if a person's desire and goal is to want to eat 100% raw diet, then they should not be made to feel that it is an impossible or futile feat. But at the same token, for SOME it might take easing into it more gently and gradually as to avoid the destructive and toxic feelings of guilt and shame if they should happen to have something non-raw. Not everyone can do it all at once and not everyone can do it gradually.

All-in-all, we MUST learn to treat these experiences as just that, experiences and not let them break us or make us feel inferior or that we've failed.

Anything in life that we learn to do that is new to us will take time and mistakes will be made. All we can do is learn from them and keep moving on.

[cornvalley]

Well said Rawkinlocs.

[Ariannah]

I am someone who is not using the term "addiction" lightly. When a substance interferes with one's life, one's ability to reason, one's ability to function in life, one's desire to be honest, and clouds their very being, I think "addiction" is putting it mildly.

I get miffed when people joke about being "a chocolate addict", when they have maybe 2 pieces of chocolate a year.

Most cooked food (steamed vegetables - although I much prefer veggies raw, and brown rice being exceptions) sends me on binge-land. I can be around it, I can even cook it for my family, but one bite and all bets are entirely off. One Christmas 2 years ago when I caved to pressure after over a year doing well was my undoing and it took me a long time to finally stick to my guns and do it.

The above having been said, one doesn't have to be 100%, from what I can see, to be "a raw foodist". I am 100% for me because for the first time in my life I feel like a zillion bucks. Nobody's going to zap you if you eat a baked potato (those are my undoing even without garnish), or a bowl of rice ...


Classically, food is not considered a "substance" addiction. I can understand the difficulty people have with seeing some types of food as an addictive substance. It is often joked about too much to be taken seriously :( But what we take in our bodies does affect us. Everyone here who raves about how good raw makes them feel and how they no longer have the desire to binge is an example of that.

[plucked]

Holy craving! I got my period today, which although I rarely associate cravings with it, this has got to be related -it's so out of the blue! I woke up from a nap wanting to bite into a big, fat cheesburger. when the heck was the last time I wanted one of those?! I mean, I daydreamed about the fat glistening off it, the "secret sauce", the smell of it too.

I hope it means my body's burning up some old cheesburger like that located on my belly or something. :rolleyes:

Now, how to make something to compete with that? Ive been gorging on pumpkin seeds the last couple days, so alot of fat is out. Is it salt I want?

hmm..