Healthy Eating & Eating Disorders - Anorexia, Bulimia, Binging | Huberman Lab Essentials
Andrew Huberman
17 jul 2025
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Define your own healthy eating plan based on personal metrics
No expert can define the single best eating plan for any individual, as 'healthy' is defined only by personal measurements like blood work, performance, and mood.
Address impulse control in bulimia with ADHD treatments
Bulimia is characterized by a lack of inhibitory control due to an underactive prefrontal cortex, which is why drugs that treat ADHD by boosting focus can also be effective.
Recognize anorexia as a disorder of habit formation
Anorexia is a disorder of habit formation, where the brain's reflexive, subconscious pathways, not conscious decision-making, drive the avoidance of certain foods.
Rewire reward circuits to understand anorexia's food avoidance
Anorexics are not consciously punishing themselves; their brain's reward circuits have been rewired to provide a sense of pleasure and reward for avoiding high-fat foods.
Recognize distorted self-perception in anorexia through VR studies
Anorexics suffer from a genuine visual perception defect, causing them to see themselves as overweight, a phenomenon confirmed in VR studies where they inaccurately adjust their own avatars.
Utilize intermittent fasting for easier dietary control
Many people find intermittent fasting effective simply because it's psychologically easier to abstain from eating entirely than to practice portion control.
Recognize anorexia's historical stability as a biological issue
Contrary to popular belief, rates of anorexia have remained stable for the last 400 years, suggesting a strong biological cause rather than influence from modern media.
Leverage body fat and leptin to enhance fertility
The hormone leptin, secreted by body fat, signals to the brain that there are sufficient energy stores to support fertility, triggering ovulation in females and sperm production in males.
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