This story describes studies that say stress, deprivation, and certain foods lead to binge eating.
In light of their findings, she says, "Highly palatable food can mimic opioid drugs by releasing opioids or activating sensitized receptors, so imagine what it can do in a human with a history of dieting. If only rat chow is available, even rats with a history of dieting when stressed don't binge -- but when they get a little bite of cookie first, they do."
The lesson seems to be that that "allowing" yourself that first bite can be deadly.
