Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain: Fight Cravings and Break Free from a High-Sugar, Ultra-Processed Diet Using Neuroscience

“Our ‘druggified’ food supply makes us all vulnerable to the problem of compulsive overconsumption. This practical guide, informed by the latest science and decades of clinical experience, is a tutorial in self-compassion as much as a science-help approach to overeating.”
—Anna Lembke, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Dopamine Nation

A game-changing approach to overcome food addiction and radically improve your health.

Have you ever wondered why you’re addicted to certain foods? Would it shock you to learn that the food industry engineers food products with the express purpose of getting you hooked? With millions wrestling with food addiction, is it any surprise that much of what is meant to sustain us is in fact making us sick? The increasing dependence on unhealthy, ultra-processed foods invites a host of health problems—from obesity and heart disease to diabetes. So, how can you break free from this destructive cycle?

Written by an addiction psychiatrist with decades of experience, this powerful guide combines proven-effective techniques based in addiction and eating disorder treatments to help you overcome the unhealthy food habit, once and for all. In addition to real-world stories from others who have battled food addiction, you’ll learn how certain foods can actually alter your neurochemistry—lighting up reward centers in your brain just like nicotine, alcohol, and other drugs. Most importantly, you’ll discover how to move beyond the self-blame, shame, and internalized stigma that is associated with food addiction, so you can start taking steps toward lasting recovery.

If you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of yo-yo dieting, crazy cravings, and binging (with or without purging), this evidence-based guide can help you get back on track. It’s time to say goodbye to “big food,” and the packaged products that keep you from nourishing and enriching both your body and mind. This powerful book can help you get started today.

Claire Wilcox, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction psychiatrist, associate professor of translational neuroscience at the Mind Research Network, frequent guest on the Food Junkies podcast, and adjunct faculty at the University of New Mexico. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including a medical weight loss clinic and an eating disorder treatment facility, and she completed an internal medicine residency before her psychiatry residency. She has been awarded National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for her research in addiction neuroscience, and has published numerous academic works, including a textbook on food addiction titled Food Addiction, Obesity, andDisorders of Overeating. She was associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch from 2017-2020, blogs regularly on Psychology Today, and has written for Santa Fe Reporter and Science in the News, among others.
           
Foreword writer Clarissa Kennedy, RSW, is a clinical social worker and addiction recovery specialist with more than fifteen years of experience helping individuals and families navigate food addiction and eating disorders. Her personal recovery journey informs her compassionate approach, fostering trust and understanding with clients.
 
Foreword writer Molly Painschab, LCPC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor, nationally certified counselor, and expert in addiction recovery with a special focus on food addiction and its intersection with trauma and mental health. Painschab is cofounder of Sweet Sobriety, where she empowers individuals to overcome challenges associated with ultra-processed food addiction and cultivate healthier, more fulfilling lives.
 
Foreword writer Vera Tarman is author of Food Junkies, and medical director of Renascent. She is also cohost of the successful Food Junkies podcast, along with Molly Painschab and Clarissa Kennedy. You can also find her on her free Facebook group, “I’m Sweet Enough: Sugar-Free for Life,” and her YouTube channel: Veratarmanmd.