Dr, Nora Volkow. Inspirational, drug researcher.

Dr, Nora Volkow. Inspirational, drug researcher. 12/24/2009

Dr, Nora Volkow, is a passionate advocate for addicts of all kinds, she is determined to find a cure. Her work with drug addiction may offer help for overeaters.

Dr. Nora Volkow is determined to change people’s minds and make them realize, it is not only the weak that become addicted

I have an interest in drug rehabilitation. I have worked professionally with drug addiction from the emergency ward, through into the psychiatric wards and in several of the best private drug rehabilitation centres in Victoria. I have combined my certificate in health sciences with my arts training to become an arts therapist, working in this field of health care. I have always felt compassion for those with addictions, I have had my own battle with overeating in the past and not so, past, I have no reason to feel superior to people fighting worse demons in their lives.

Dr Volkow is the director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health) and is one of the leading addiction researchers, Volkow says brain science is proving that we all have the potential to become addicted to something: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, gambling, even food. Overeating and substance abuse are "two sides of the same coin,"

The brain chemistry of over-eaters and drug addicts was very similar. Drug addicts, alcoholics and smokers all have the same type of brain chemistry, which prevents them from quitting their habits, except with great difficulty. When people eat, way beyond their need and store the excess fat, there's a debate as to whether you want to call that a disorder of the brain

Addictive drugs hijack the normal food reward system that humans need to survive. For example, the dopamine signaling system in the brain is activated, by food cues, such as the smell of turkey roasting in the oven. This system drives us to eat and feel satisfied after eating. Brain-imaging studies show this same system is at the core of drug addiction.

With understanding of what triggers addictions we will more easily be able to manage them. This research certainly backs up what statistics tell us, that it is stress management, changing our thinking and lifestyle rather than going on a diet, that is the only long-term pathway out of obesity for a former overeater like myself.