How Food Obsessions Dictate Lives

On Anderson's "My Food Obsession is Destroying My Life" show, three guests join him: Katrina, who is addicted to eating cornstarch; Markee, who is addicted to eating salt; and Ryan, who has eaten the same two meals for the past seven years of his life.

Ryan's diet has consisted of four chicken biscuit sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A and a dinner of a grilled chicken taco at Chili's. Ryan goes out of his way to stay consistent with his food routine, and he said the repetition is dictated by fear.

But Dr. Mike Dow, a food addiction specialist and author of "Diet Rehab," wants to help Ryan, who he says has a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

"We use baby-step therapy," Dr. Mike Dow says. "You do something, a baby step at a time, and when you do something… and you don’t die, there's a little part of you that learns that you will be okay."

Dr. Dow challenges Ryan to take his first "baby step" by mixing a some tap water with the designated brand of bottled water that Ryan exclusively drinks. Dr. Dow also asks Ryan to take a bite of a baked potato, a food he hasn't eaten since he was a child.

Will Ryan succeed? Take a look.

Ryan has taken his first "baby step," but can Katrina? Dr. Dow tells Katrina that she is so addicted to cornstarch because of the serotonin-inducing effect that cornstarch has on the brain. There are, however, alternative foods Katrina can eat that produce the same levels of serotonin, but are much healthier.

"It makes me want to cry, because I know the effects it's having on my body, but I can't stop by myself, and I need some help," Katrina says.

To show Katrina just how dangerous cornstarch is to her body, Dr. Dow shows Katrina a cornstarch and water concoction, which replicates how the cornstarch is being digested.