There is confusion about the origin and nature of abnormal eating behaviors. Most popular  ideas are probably wrong since eating is based on old primitive programs in the human brain and have little or nothing to do with the modern personality.

We are impressed by the constant presence of compulsive eating in many food-related illnesses. If we ask well-motivated people, who would not believe that they had a food addiction problem, to change their diet to regain their health, many will do so and report surprising success. However, a short time after recovery they will report a a relapse with loss of control of their food choices and eating behaviors. They will say: "I can't believe it! I was doing so well; then I ate some cookies and I couldn't stop. I ate everything in sight and now I am desperately ill!"

If we ask a bulimic who would not consider herself to be ill about health problems, we discover that she has had symptoms of food allergy since infancy. She will often report early colic, eczema, migraines, bloating, diarrhea and many other symptoms. She tells us that she had cow's milk allergy as an infant and still avoids drinking milk, but she binges on ice cream and cheese.

We note a distinct similarity of experiences in different groups of people with problems that look, at first glance, to be un-related. What links these diverse groups is difficulty controlling eating and drinking behaviors with adverse health consequences. We see the entire problem of eating disorders and illness disorders as different aspects of the same large and prevalent food problems. Your version of the story will depend on which part of the complex you are most concerned about.

We think of trigger foods as the "bad guys"; these foods cause symptoms and, at the same time, trigger cravings and compulsive eating or drinking. The term "addictive food allergy" was suggested to describe the connection between compulsive eating and illness. You have to stop eating these foods to regain control and to recover from any illness they cause. In the worse case,  you eat the trigger foods, your cravings are back and you lose control. If we apply these insights, we can arrive at some effective strategies to cope with cravings and compulsive eating and drinking.

Alpha  Health Education