Comfort Food: When you eat these foods, they make neurotransmitters in the brain go up, which makes you feel better and calm down.
Here we are going to discuss the below things.
1. What is Comfort Food?
2. The Brain-Gut Connection
3. Psychological Benefits of Comfort Food
4. Emotional Eating: The Good and the Bad
5. Seeking Professional Help
What is Comfort Food?
Comfort food is the food we turn to for solace when we’re feeling down. It’s the food that reminds us of our childhood and home cooking. But why do we crave it? According to psychologist Dr Neerja Aggarwal, the reliance on its stems from an innate human desire for relief during challenging moments.
The Brain-Gut Connection
They are usually high in carbohydrates and fats, as these provide the most energy and calories. A study published in the medical journal Neuron found that we crave high-calorie comfort foods when chronically stressed. This is due to the mind-gut connection; the brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines, and the very thought of eating can release the stomach’s juices before the food gets there. The same study shows that when we eat these energy and calorie-dense foods, our body feels good and we want to replicate this behavior as much as possible.
Psychological Benefits of Comfort Food
But it doesn’t just provide us with energy. They also provide us with psychological benefits. It can come to represent many emotional and psychological aspects that can operate unconsciously and which people may be driven to use for themselves in different situations. The association between our brain and can make us feel rewarded and calmed after consuming it.
Emotional Eating: The Good and the Bad
However, it’s important to remember that emotional eating can have both good and bad effects. It can provide us with short-term relief, but it can also lead to a vicious cycle of eating comfort foods every time we’re upset. It can even lead to a binge-eating disorder in extreme cases. For this reason, it’s important to analyze our emotions before turning to it.
Seeking Professional Help
While comfort foods can provide temporary relief, it’s important to seek professional help if you feel like you can’t cope with your emotions. It’s important to go back to the root of the problem and access the appropriate resources. Professional help can provide long-term solutions and break the barriers preventing us from seeking help.
Read Also: Reasons for Phones and Chargers Catch Fire | Top 7 common mistakes