Why does comfort food make us feel better?!


Question: We are all tempted by the odd cake or scoop of ice-cream, yet why does indulging on such foods make use feel better ?


Answers: We are all tempted by the odd cake or scoop of ice-cream, yet why does indulging on such foods make use feel better ?

It has to do with a couple of things. First, the composition of the food itself (whether it's simple sugars, carbs, proteins, etc.) and how it breaks down within the body. Most comfort foods have a specific chemical reaction once digested that release certain hormones causing us to feel content, sleepy, relaxed, etc. The other factor is relative to our relationship with food. If we grew up eating a certain meal that reminded us of a good time, then we automatically associate it as a comfort food. Mashed potatoes, meatloaf, lasagna, etc. are all very popular dishes that most families serve and that are high carb foods that weigh you down after you eat them, but they taste soooooo gooooood!! Certain smells and tastes can be directly associated with comfort foods and with particular times in our lives. The coorelation of food and emotions is very strong, thus proving why so many people have problems with food in one way or another (being obese, anorexic, bulemic, etc.). Controlling our food intake to respond to our emotional state can prove to be a huge challenge.

People tend to use food to cram their emotions.

M?lon

i have no idea, it just makes me feel guilty as soon as i eat it tho

It realases endorphines (i think) which give us a feel good feeling - Like chocolate, yummy :D

Also some people just like actually eating

It is an illusion you should think ahead and what will happen if you continue, obesity is not pretty.

the fats and sugers in the food when detected give off pleasure responses in the brain, some people have said it's like a drug.

psychological.. I mean I used to get the comfort foods like at my grandma's house and my entire family would sit together for a meal. it was comfortable.. safe.. happy.. so it's easy to associate the foods with these feelings from my childhood.

And it just tastes good! It excites the pleasure regions in the brain.

the smells and tastes may bring back good memories that for some reason we associate with that food. People may also like a certain food because it helps them forget about stuff. I guess it is find of like drinking alcohol were the person tries to drink to forget about his/her problems. However, with comfort foods it hopefully isn't on that level but the foods just take our minds off of things.

Well, it really depends on the comfort food.

Many people go to foods parents would make for them for special occasions or ritualistically when they were kids, or they go for foods they do not typically eat, and make their own special occasion.

Part of it is recapturing a happy moment or a comfortable moment in life, which in turn cheers them up.

On a dreary raining day, I like to make Bigos, because my mother would make it when I was a little kid, and it would warm up the entire house, and it was tasty. It is not something I eat every day, because no one sells Bigos, and the Bigos I have found, on occasion were the crappy country version with the noodles and gross meat.

it fills you up and pampers and mellows your sadness in a bit like a subtute for love i suppose

iys like a false sense of security that everything is ok when you eat foods like that

put that cream cake down fatty!

It is because it is familiar food, food you probably really enjoy, whether it is a big bowl of chicken, vegetable soup.

On of mine is a plate of curried sausages and onions with a great pile of mashed potatoes and sauce.

Because when people think of comfort foods, they think of all the good food that their moms used to cook. Most everyone will say that their moms were the best cooks in the world, and that makes them feel good.

Because People cant!

Ever put a warm pancake down your pants?

Because we are being naughty and we all like to be naughty ! ! Don't we SPARKS x x





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