Willpower
Willpower is “control exerted to do something or restrain impulses”. We exert willpower when we decline the donut at the morning board meeting or refuse that third drink at your friend’s barbeque. You might be able to stand firm on your choice, but some people have a harder time with willpower and give in to temptations. Why can some exhibit control, but others cannot?
“Happy Hormones”, as I like to call them, are serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, and they all play a part in our emotions, mood, and reaction to stimulus. In a normal environment, these hormones release slowly to stabilize our body and brain to the stressors we introduce like exercise and food. When we over-stress our bodies, happy hormones are forced to go into overdrive which leads us down a path of destruction. If we repeatedly introduce over-the-top stressors, the hormones react with a matching intensity, and our brain gets used to the elevated levels. In other words, we become tolerant. The more tolerant we are, the more we need the stimulant to release a higher dose of hormones to achieve the desired effect. If this sounds like a drug addiction, that’s because it is. You become addicted.
You may be familiar with drug (nicotine or alcohol), gambling, and sex addictions. The same hormone snowball can happen with food. Have you ever noticed that once you start eating, especially sugary or starchy foods, you have a difficult time keeping your hand out of the bowl? That is because the food sends your “happy hormones” into overdrive. You unconsciously feel happy, so you continue the behavior that keeps this feeling of euphoria. You don’t have a lack of willpower, your brain drives you to continue to eat, just like a smoker’s brain desires nicotine. The more food you consume, the more you need to keep your hormones in balance.
Not all foods have these addictive tendencies, and trigger foods differ per person. Scientist have observed the effects of food on the brain and found sugar to be the highest hormone stimulant followed by starchy foods and processed fats. All of which are found in manufactured foods. Do you think the food industry knows this?
