Food Addiction, one last time
Published 8.5.2025: At long last, this is the final piece on the vegan seminar, "The Truth about Weight Loss." And fittingly, the topic for the final talk given by Dr Stephan Esser is food addiction. It's fitting because Chef AJ and most (all?) of the presenters believe in it. I have blown hot and cold on the topic throughout these write ups, but in the end, I have to say that I don't think food addiction is real. They have not convinced me.
I know that people think that food addiction is real, but I think the point that a binge is not an addiction is telling. Food is necessary for life; drugs are not, nor is alcohol. In any event, Esser plainly thinks that food addiction is real… and that hyper-palatable ultra processed food (HPUPF) are to blame.
And while I'll admit that the food industry has done everything in its power to create craveable foods… the one power it doesn't have is to force feed people the food they create. If you don't buy the foods, then you won't eat the foods. You will still be eating, you just won't be eating HPUPF. There isn't a chef in the world that doesn't try to make palatable foods— that's the job. A chef that doesn't create palatable meals isn't going to be a chef for long. All of which is to say that avoiding HPUPF does not guarantee that you will not be fat.
Esser spends a lot of time in this presentation making the case for why food addiction is real. He talks about the brain, and about how if you're bingeing (because in the end, that's what food addiction is) you shouldn't think that it's your fault or think that you are bad.
McDougall's diet (eat starch until you can't any more) seems more and more to be predicated on the fact that so many people just want to stuff their faces. Barnard (in the podcast, The Exam Room, not his talk) makes this point as well. If you eat low calorie density foods (like fruits and vegetables) instead of cheese and meat then you will lose weight. In fact, you can eat all the fruit and vegetables that you can, and you'll still lose weight, so long as you don't add a bunch of oil. The trouble is that most people don't want to eat that way.
I'll go ahead and give Dr Fuhrman some props here— his diet is very low in calories, by design. And he makes no bones about it, he thinks most Americans are fat and eat too much. I think (though he hasn't publicly said) that Fuhrman believes that McDougall's way of eating hastened his death. I know he's said in interviews that he's changed his way of thinking because he watched his idols fail as they aged. He, more than any other, vegan doctor admits that supplementation on a vegan diet is necessary— and not just a begrudging admission that vitamin B12 is required.
I'm far afield of Esser's presentation at this point— but as I don't agree with the premise, I don't think I would give a decent accounting of it. He goes though a variety of ways to think about food and bring a positive energy to it. But the more I think of it, the more I think that too many (by no means all) fat people have a binge eating disorder. Restriction is part of the disorder, many people don't binge and even reduce how much they eat, but then something happens or goes wrong and they are right back to bingeing. I suppose that would also describe addicted behaviors too— I just don't believe food is something you can be addicted to. You must eat to survive— you don't need drugs or alcohol. Obviously, "drugs" does not include any a doctor prescribed legally.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!
I know that people think that food addiction is real, but I think the point that a binge is not an addiction is telling. Food is necessary for life; drugs are not, nor is alcohol. In any event, Esser plainly thinks that food addiction is real… and that hyper-palatable ultra processed food (HPUPF) are to blame.
And while I'll admit that the food industry has done everything in its power to create craveable foods… the one power it doesn't have is to force feed people the food they create. If you don't buy the foods, then you won't eat the foods. You will still be eating, you just won't be eating HPUPF. There isn't a chef in the world that doesn't try to make palatable foods— that's the job. A chef that doesn't create palatable meals isn't going to be a chef for long. All of which is to say that avoiding HPUPF does not guarantee that you will not be fat.
Esser spends a lot of time in this presentation making the case for why food addiction is real. He talks about the brain, and about how if you're bingeing (because in the end, that's what food addiction is) you shouldn't think that it's your fault or think that you are bad.
McDougall's diet (eat starch until you can't any more) seems more and more to be predicated on the fact that so many people just want to stuff their faces. Barnard (in the podcast, The Exam Room, not his talk) makes this point as well. If you eat low calorie density foods (like fruits and vegetables) instead of cheese and meat then you will lose weight. In fact, you can eat all the fruit and vegetables that you can, and you'll still lose weight, so long as you don't add a bunch of oil. The trouble is that most people don't want to eat that way.
I'll go ahead and give Dr Fuhrman some props here— his diet is very low in calories, by design. And he makes no bones about it, he thinks most Americans are fat and eat too much. I think (though he hasn't publicly said) that Fuhrman believes that McDougall's way of eating hastened his death. I know he's said in interviews that he's changed his way of thinking because he watched his idols fail as they aged. He, more than any other, vegan doctor admits that supplementation on a vegan diet is necessary— and not just a begrudging admission that vitamin B12 is required.
I'm far afield of Esser's presentation at this point— but as I don't agree with the premise, I don't think I would give a decent accounting of it. He goes though a variety of ways to think about food and bring a positive energy to it. But the more I think of it, the more I think that too many (by no means all) fat people have a binge eating disorder. Restriction is part of the disorder, many people don't binge and even reduce how much they eat, but then something happens or goes wrong and they are right back to bingeing. I suppose that would also describe addicted behaviors too— I just don't believe food is something you can be addicted to. You must eat to survive— you don't need drugs or alcohol. Obviously, "drugs" does not include any a doctor prescribed legally.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!