Who ever heard of THAT?

  Biologically, "addiction" lies in the deep center of the brain, far away from the "gray matter" which is our thinking brain.  That part of the brain does not respond to logic because it does not "think".  It just tells us what to do.  It tells us to breathe, eat, urinate, etc. -- all the things that keep us alive.  For some of us (not all),  our food behavior (or drug use or alcohol use or gambling or, or, or . . . ), becomes centered in this part of the brain, and thus, becomes not in our control.  FOR ME, the ingestion of certain foods wakes up this part of my brain, and then that part of the brain starts to tell me what to do.   It truly is biological.  It truly is different for each of us.  

Again, that part of the brain is NOT CONNECTED to the gray matter.  The neurons are not connected.  If you are biologically addicted (and not everyone is), then you MUST not ingest the substance.  

If you use the analogy of a cucumber -- soak a cuke in vinegar for a few weeks, and the cuke changes its molecular structure.  It will never, no matter what you do, go back to being a cuke, it will always be a pickle.   Same with brain chemistry.  Once our behavior changes the way our brain functions, then it is always there.  For example, if you learn to speak English as a child, and move to a foreign country, you will never "unlearn" English.  It is there for life.  It has become part of the brain structure -- it becomes part of the way your neurons fire.  And because it was learned at a crucial time, it will never go away.  

Addiction to a substance (including food) is similar.  Once the brain chemistry has changed, it ain't going back.  

As Brandilyn has often said, respect your personal history with food.  That will tell you if you are addicted and what you are addicted to.  

I can forward a set of slides explaining the brain chemistry of addiction for anyone who is interested.