All of us has experienced it: the urge to satisfy our craving for ice cream or chocolate. We might not even be particularly hungry at the time, but when you want something so bad, you have no other option but to cave in.

A study at the Monell Chemical Senses Center (located in Philadelphia) shows that, in some ways, food can be similary addicting as cocaine or alcohol. It is obviously not to the same degree, but the effect is nonetheless the same. Scientists showed pictures of delicious foods to test subjects, and brain scans show that the parts of their brain that get excitied are the same ones that were activated in drug addicts.

Researchers believe that this is caused by the hormone dopamine, which serves to trigger motivation and pleasure for humans. The prevailing theory is that the less dopamine receptors you have, the more food you need to create the reaction caused by dopamine.

In response to this, diet pills are being developed in order to regulate cravings. These pills are projected to reduce appetites and boost metabolisms, both of which are key factors in weight control. Two of these drugs are vigabatrin and tesofensine. Vigabatrin has been tested on obese lab rats, and scientists report that the rats lost a significant amount of weight after 40 days of use. Tesofensine has been tested on humans, and the results are similar: patients reduced their weight by an average of 13.5 kilograms.

However, expectations are tempered by similar pills in the past. Taranabant and Acomplia are two such drugs that produce similar results, but both came wide side effects such as mood swings and depression. Government regulation must be a priority in order to minimize the risks of taking such diet pills.

It is clear that more natural methods are in order. In most cases, cravings arise from the need to cope. Whenever we are faced with a stressful or depressing situation, a common reaction is to eat comfort foods. This can be classified under “emotional eating”. In this case, it is very easy to change this habit. Simply find a different coping strategy rather than eating. Viable alternatives are going for a walk or taking a hot bath. Once you become accustomed to that new strategy, then it becomes much easier to stick with it.

Always be mindful that being strong mentally can help you avoid cravings. Mental health and physical health usually go hand-in-hand with each other.