"I can't go a day without sweets," says 26-year-old Dana. "I'm addicted to food - it's something that my mind focuses on until I'm able to get something sweet to satisfy the craving. It almost is a high for me ... I just feel powerless and I really want to understand what the underlying causes are and how I can work to fix it." Rachael introduces her to Dr. David Bull, who says that a new Scripps Institute study on rats may shed new light on Dana's experience. "What Dana says I find fascinating, because it's a new scientific study that's been done that basically shows that there may be changes in our brains that are triggered by high-fat, high-calorie foods," he explains. "Those sort of foods may be as addictive as heroine or cocaine." He says the study focused on dopamine levels in the brain, which is a pleasure chemical that is released when we have food or sex. Three groups of rats were fed differently and then given an electric shock on their feet; the groups given healthy foods all day and high-fat high-calorie foods for one hour a day both stopped eating after being given the shock, but the group that was fed high-calorie, high-fat foods for 23 hours kept eating after the shock. Dr. Bull says that desire is similar to the behavior of a cocaine addict. "The more you take, the more you have to take to get the same high, and so that's why I think this study is very interesting because for the first time it may show that the same mechanism is at work. So the more that we expose ourselves to high-calorie, high-fat foods the more we need to get the same high." While more research needs to be done, Dr. Bull says this offers new insight for handling your food cravings. "If this is true, and there is a true chemical addiction change, then maybe instead of beating ourselves up the whole time when you eat those foods, maybe change the way that we deal with it and deal with those foods as an addiction ... why not do what we do with people who are addicted to drugs? Why not set a 12-step point cut down, slowly cut down on those foods. Don't cut them out, because the minute you cut them out you are going to crave that kick." He suggests that you start by truly viewing those foods as treats to only be used on occasion, and if cutting back means you start to slim down and your friends offer some positive reinforcement, Dr. Bull says those nice comments might become the perfect replacement for the treats. "That will give you the feel good chemical, so there are other ways of getting that chemical - not just in your food!"