If you or a loved one is in need of food addiction treatment call Recovery Connection now at 1-800-993-3869. All calls are confidential and operators are standing by 24 hours a day to assist you.
Food addiction treatment has changed drastically over the last 15 years, as has our understanding of food addiction itself. Food addiction used to be viewed as a lack of willpower as it relates to food but it is now understood as being an addiction to food, over which the food addict lacks control.
The foods which create the intense cravings for more seem to be sugars, refined flour and wheat. Food addiction treatment programs used to believe every single person entering food addiction treatment needed to refrain from these types of foods. Today, food addiction treatment is more individualized taking into consideration the each person's:
- Medical history
- Psychiatric history, including present or past eating disorders
- Nutritional needs
- Recreation
Food addiction treatment also used to have every person weigh and measure their food, even after treatment and in public settings. The philosophy was to help the patient gain a better perspective of healthy amounts of food. While there were positive aspects of weighing and measuring in treatment, in the long run it only “fed" into their issue of control and perfectionism. Lastly, when these patients were asked to weigh and measure in restaurants and other public places it created shame and embarrassment, pushing many of them farther into their addiction.
Food Addiction Treatment Comes of Age
The latest treatment programs for food addiction are not all about reducing the amount of food that you eat. In fact, food addiction specialists are beginning to focus less on reducing daily caloric intake and more on the root causes of why people binge, purge or restrict. The eating behavior is now considered a symptom of the addiction and not the cause of it. Therefore, a quality eating disorder program will provide:
- Individualized patient care and treatment planning
- Medical treatment
- Psychiatric treatment
- Individual and group therapy
- Nutritional classes
- Dietary classes
- Art and recreational therapy
- Experiential group process
- Relapse prevention
- Trauma and abuse therapy
- Body image groups
- Family recovery
- Aftercare planning
Although the treatment for food addiction has taken on a more individualized approach, the fact remains that foods high in sugar and flour do trigger cravings and binges. However, most effective food addiction treatment programs do not deprive the individual or "starve them," but provide the patient with healthy eating plans. These plans generally do not involve weighing and measuring of food, but teach the person how to recognize what a healthy portion of food is, and that it is ok if you are a little over or under that amount.
In addition, many programs that provide food addiction treatment are even incorporating holistic services into their treatment protocol. Holistic services focus on treating the body, mind and spirit (the whole person). This seems to help the individual establish a "complete" recovery by providing them with a number of tools to use after treatment, as well as giving them a foundation of a healthier lifestyle. Some of the services provided in holistic treatment are;
- Yoga
- Tai-chi
- Meditation
- Breath work
- Stress reduction
- Acupuncture
- Physical training program
- Massage
For more information on food addiction treatment and to locate treatment centers in your area, call Recovery Connection now at 1-800-993-3869. All calls are toll-free and confidential.
Drug Rehab Centers:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
If your state doesn't appear on this list, please call Recovery Connection® at 1-800-993-3869 and we will be happy to assist you.
