Ideally, comfort foods are high fat, energy dense as well as sweet. These are the foods that will make us feel better and give us distinctive pleasure. In this article, we discuss why we crave comfort foods.
Why We Crave Comfort Foods
Now and again, it’s ok to indulge in some comfort foods. Let’s get to understand why we crave comfort foods now.
Feel Good
It’s funny how the human body functions. You see, the brain’s reward system is activated when we eat certain foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. This is just like comps that we get from casino online south africa games; they activate rewards after something has been done. For instance, it is known that eating chocolate will reduce tension and increase pleasant feelings in a person. Comfort foods will activate the same brain regions that are active in drug addiction.
Self-Medication
For some reason, there is a connection between unhealthy foods and negative emotions. Most people suffer from what is termed emotional eating. Ultimately, people feeling low eat unhealthy foods. On the other hand, people feeling good to eat healthier.
The Need to Belong
Usually, certain foods are associated with certain people or events. For this reason, when people feel lonely, they crave these foods in order to feel secure and comfortable. This simply means that comfort foods have power in evoking memories of secure attachment. Research has shown that those with great family relationships tend to turn to comfort foods more whenever they feel lonely.
Nostalgic Eating
It’s been shown that there is a very strong link between emotional memory and scents. In fact, the smell of certain foods will evoke vivid memories of the past. The memories that are evoked by the smell of food are always positive. For that reason, the smell of those foods will improve our mood. Also, feelings of social connectedness will also be produced.
Special Occasion
It has almost become a tradition everywhere that people indulge in unhealthy food on celebratory occasions. These may be birthdays, anniversaries or celebrating that online gambling jackpot with friends at the park. For that moment, people indulge without second thoughts whatsoever. However, this might not be the best health choice.