Although food nourishes us and provides fuel for our bodies, it is also strongly associated with mood and emotion. What we eat and how we eat can impact how we feel — and conversely, certain feelings, good or bad, can motivate our food choices.
Our relationship with food can be complicated as certain foods and emotions surrounding them can have stigmas, which may, in turn, lead to disordered eating. However, understanding our moods and how food and society can impact us is a step towards a healthier relationship with food and ourselves.
Emotional Eating vs. Physical Hunger
When we’re physically hungry, we may experience a gradual onset of hunger, headache, weakness, lightheadedness, and a rumbling/growling stomach. This is our body’s way of telling us we need to eat. However, emotional eating occurs when food consumption is not spurred by physical hunger but rather by feelings.
The main difference between physical hunger and emotional eating is that emotional eating starts in the brain and includes sudden onset feelings of anxiety or sadness, specific cravings, not feeling satisfied even when full, and feelings of guilt after eating.
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Ways to Regulate Emotional Eating
Emotional eating can have adverse effects on physical and mental health. One way to regulate it is to recognize patterns connected with emotional eating. A journal can help identify how you are feeling when you engage in emotional eating. When you notice that you are eating at the time you are feeling a certain way, write down the emotion(s) you are experiencing, along with your food choice. Over time, you will be able to see patterns that you can then address.
Finding other ways to deal with your feelings instead of eating at those moments can help break the unhealthy patterns. Doing something active, such as going for a walk, playing music you enjoy, or meditating, can redirect your focus away from eating and toward something more positive.
How to Enhance Positive Feelings with Food
The association between negative feelings and food has been the subject of much study — including feelings of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness. When people (either consciously or unconsciously) eat in an attempt to alleviate or soothe bad feelings and to comfort themselves, they often crave specific foods. Another aspect of emotional eating is the process of specific cravings, usually including unhealthy, energy-dense foods. These are characterized by high amounts of calories, fat, sugar, and/or salt — and low nutrient value.
Positive emotions also play a role in our relationship with food. Certain foods create feelings of nostalgia and pleasant memories. Certain foods have cultural significance related to traditions and history that evoke positive feelings. Research shows that the taste and aroma of foods related to family or friends, social gatherings, and celebrations are associated with feelings of contentment, belonging, and self-esteem.
Several hormones are related to eating. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter known as the feel-good hormone, is part of the brain’s reward system. Eating fatty, salty, and sugary foods triggers a quick release of dopamine. This dopamine boost can lead to a cycling effect, where eating highly palatable foods leads to more cravings for those same non-nutritious foods. This can lead to a cycle of overeating, which can result in overeating and weight gain or obesity.
While some non-nutritious food releases dopamine, dopamine levels can be increased by the consumption of nutritious foods. Diets rich in tyrosine naturally increase dopamine. These foods include poultry, nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, bananas, beans, and fish.
Serotonin is another hormone and neurotransmitter linked to mood. Almost 95 percent of our serotonin is produced in the intestines, and eating foods high in tryptophan boosts serotonin levels. These include salmon, tofu, turkey, pineapple, oats, eggs, and cheese.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Appetite. Negative emotional eating patterns among American university students: A replication study
PubMed. Emotion Suppression, Coping Strategies, Dietary Patterns, and BMI
PubMed. Food-evoked nostalgia
Molecules. Neurotransmitters Regulation and Food Intake: The Role of Dietary Sources in Neurotransmission
Advances in Nutrition. Tryptophan Metabolism: A Link Between the Gut Microbiota and Brain
Allison Futterman is a Charlotte, N.C.-based writer whose science, history, and medical/health writing has appeared on a variety of platforms and in regional and national publications. These include Charlotte, People, Our State, and Philanthropy magazines, among others. She has a BA in communications and an MS in criminal justice.
