Food, We Need To Talk Overcoming Cravings and the Habit of Overeating with Jud Brewer
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May 27, 2024 Jud Brewer, a Brown University professor specializing in mindfulness and addiction, shares valuable insights into food cravings and overeating. He explains how emotional triggers, such as stress and boredom, can lead to mindless eating. The conversation covers the neurobiology behind cravings, the importance of compassion in changing habits, and how mindfulness can help reframe our relationship with food. Brewer also introduces his app, Eat Right Now, which aims to assist users in overcoming unhealthy eating patterns.
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The Dopamine Habit Loop
- Eating triggers a dopamine-driven habit loop of trigger, behavior, and reward.
- This reward system evolved to help humans remember food sources and dangers efficiently.
Emotional Eating and Hedonic Hunger
- Modern eating often responds to emotions, not hunger, termed 'hedonic hunger.'
- Food becomes linked to mood, causing us to eat for comfort or celebration more than sustenance.
Awareness Beats Willpower
- The brain’s reward hierarchy favors calorie-dense, tasty foods over healthy options.
- Awareness rather than willpower is the key to changing these reward priorities and eating habits.
