Binge eating is thought to affect 2-3% of the general population and approximately 25-50% of the obese population. In many cases, binge eating can be triggered by low or fluctuating levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine, whose precursor is the amino acid tyrosine.
Tyrosine – > L-Dopa – > Dopamine – > Norepinephrine – > Epinephrine
Dopamine induces pleasure and calms us down after stressful events. It also helps improve focus, concentration and memory. Any impairment in the process of making and/or releasing dopamine will ultimately lead to the breakdown of self-control, which can precipitate binge-eating episodes.
Many things stimulate dopamine release and are part of a normal functioning body, such as fear, joy, pleasurable behaviors and foods and certain kinds of stress. Low dopamine levels are not comfortable and the body will send signals to increase those levels by whatever means necessary. Low dopamine levels can also dramatically increase your appetite. The foods that have the greatest impact on dopamine levels are high-fat, high-sugar foods (think ice cream, cookies, pastries and potato chips/snacks), so these are naturally the foods you will automatically reach for to raise dopamine levels.
In addition, recent research has shown that overeating blunts the dopamine-controlled pleasure response to high-fat, high-sugar “feel good” foods. So, the foods that once brought you pleasure will no longer trigger as much pleasure, leading you to over-consume them and/or look for other foods to provide more pleasurable substitutes. Feeling full or being full has nothing to do with it – your brain wants you to feel better and that means more dopamine – NOW.
So you continue to over-eat/binge. However, this also causes you to over-stimulate your brain’s reward/pleasure center and eventually your body will react by desensitizing the pleasure response, making you want to consume even more of these foods. This leads to many undesirable consequences, including over-consumption of food, food addictions, cravings, binges and ultimately, weight gain.
What’s worse is that you will feel powerless to fight these urges, which often leads to hopelessness and despair, which can lead to endless cycles of depression.
AND – it can be corrected.
Part 3 of this three part series will outline how.