Why You Can’t Stop Eating Sugar And Ultra Processed Foods with Dr Jen Unwin #652

About this episode

Dr Rangan Chatterjee discusses food addiction with Dr Jen Unwin, exploring the compulsive nature of sugar and ultra-processed foods.

Ever wondered why you can’t stop at just one biscuit? Or why your efforts to eat better go so well for a few days, but you’re soon back where you started – frustrated, ashamed and wondering what’s wrong with you? This episode has the answers you need, along with a roadmap for regaining control. I’m speaking with Dr Jen Unwin, a clinical psychologist who has struggled with and overcome food addiction. And if you’re thinking ‘I didn’t think that was a thing’ then stay tuned for the facts that will convince you otherwise. Over decades trying to understand her own relationship with food, Jen discovered that for a significant number of people, a compulsive habit around sugar and ultra-processed foods is real and damaging. In this enlightening conversation, she explains how sugar lights up the same reward centres in the brain as nicotine and alcohol. And how our hunter-gatherer ancestors may not have needed an ‘off switch’ for eating, but our modern food industry makes it almost impossible for vulnerable people to say no. The research is strong – and Jen is part of a charity campaigning to have food addiction formally recognised by the World Health Organization. That way millions of…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Guest: Dr Jen Unwin

Topics covered

• food addiction
• sugar
• ultra-processed foods
• compulsive eating
• health
• psychology

Keywords

• sugar addiction
• food addiction
• compulsive eating
• ultra-processed foods
• health psychology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Health Organization

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