Some of you may recall that I engaged fellow blogger "VB" in a conversation about the existence of food addiction last week, and she has responded. In part, here's what she said: 

Am I/was I a Food Addict by my definition? No. I was/am addicted to refined products. Am I/Was I a Food Addict by Michael's definition? Yes. Because refined sugar and grains are food, therefore I was a Food Addict. Now, I could be making the same mistake Michael did and taking his view out of context. Perhaps if I read his book, he would delve into the greater issue of hiding behind the term Food Addiction as an excuse to do nothing.

I was little troubled as I read on, especially when I saw the part about taking something out of context; I'm pretty sure I'm not doing that. But when I arrived at the end, about hiding behind the term as an excuse to do nothing, I begin to understand her denial of the phenomenon's existence.

We're talking about different phenomena! Nowhere in the definition of "food addiction" do I include any notion or thought of doing nothing. I've said this before, but it's worth saying again in a world that usually doesn't understand:

I Do Not Think A Diagnosis Of Food Addiction Means I Can Do Nothing About It.

Far from it. Does a diagnosis of, say, cancer, include "an excuse to do nothing"? Of course not. It gives a road map of what now must be done to overcome the disease, and a pretty good idea of what will happen if those steps aren't taken.

This is also worth saying again, for those who don't understand: No One But Me Ever Put Any Of The Things, Or The Incredible Volume Of Things, Into My Mouth That Led To My Obesity.

It was insane, what I did — I knew that eating so much was hurting me, and yet I went to the food for comfort from the hurt! But, you'll note, insanity is an illness, too, and after all, one of the cornerstones of my treatment was 9 weeks in a psychiatric hospital, in the eating disorders unit. Psych hospitals is where they treat insanity, among other things.

I can applaud, easily, a declaration of processed-food addiction. I think processed food quickly multiplies the danger and undercuts the health of things we put in our mouths. I just don't think that it covers the field of my experience. I can abuse myself with completely natural and whole foods, and have done so. I often abused myself with volume, where the substance was (almost) immaterial.  So just as, say, anorexia, or sugar addiction, is a subset of the problem, so is processed-food addiction.