Wheat Addiction

How exactly does wheat affect the body? I started reading up because I think people look at me like I'm "a few sandwiches short of a picnic" when I say I am struggling with a wheat addiction. I get a response like, "Wheat's addictive? As if! You're just making poor food choices, that's all."

Yes, it's tough being surrounded by something you're addicted to. I know I've read/heard that with an alcohol addiction, you wouldn't say to the alcoholic, 'Now just have 3 drinks a day but NO MORE.' But with a food addiction, you're confronted with your addiction at least 3 times a day; each time you sit to eat you consciously have to wrestle with it, work through it. And it's legal and well, encouraged. Unlike other addictions, alcohol or drugs, for example, food is fuel for our bodies and we need to learn to work through these attachments.

So where does wheat fit in? How does it affect our bodies? Am I way off-base thinking it has addictive properties?

Apparently not. Read on:
http://www.nutramed.com/eatingdisorders/addictivefoods.htm
A quote from that article: "Pieces of milk and wheat proteins (peptides) can act like the body's own narcotics, the endorphins, and were described by Zioudro, Streaty and Klee as "exorphins" in 1979. Other food proteins, such as gluten, results in the production of substances having opiate- (narcotic) like activity. These substances have been termed "exorphins." Hydrolyzed wheat gluten, for example, was found to prolong intestinal transit time and this effect was reversed by concomitant administration of naloxone, a narcotic-blocking drug... The possibility that exorphins are addictive in some people is a fascinating lead which needs further exploration."

Another article: http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/health_food_addiction.html
"It is believed that food sensitivity exerts its most profound effect on the limbic portion of the brain. This section of the brain houses the control centers of our emotions as well as memory and vegetative functions, including body temperature, sexuality, blood pressure, sleep, hunger and thirst. Food allergies seem to affect most of these vital functions.

Some researchers speculate that frequent contact with allergenic foods triggers a rise in the brain opioid enkephalin. The enkephalin is a narcotic produced by the body that is as addictive as externally supplied narcotics.

The primary food allergens are coffee, dairy products, wheat, eggs and corn. In Oriental countries, rice is a prominent allergen. Among vegetables, white potatoes and lettuce are potent allergens. 92.2 percent of hospitalized schizophrenic patients were allergic to one or more common substances. When a group of patients diagnosed as hard-to-treat neurotics were tested, 88 percent of them were allergic to wheat, 50 percent to corn and 60 percent to milk."

http://www.anonymousone.com/faq195.htm
http://www.anonymousone.com/faq101.htm
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/wheat-addiction-140-lbs-lost.html

I'm not posting this to justify myself, or to say "I told you so". Not at all. I just am trying to come to terms with the emotional attachment I have to certain foods and wheat (baked goods) seems to be a huge trigger for me, despite not being raw, despite not usually being completely vegan either. I am committed to improving my health; knowing where I've come in the past 3 1/2 years, I know I don't want to go back to that place.

Namaste
~n~