The Intimacy of Comfort Food (2024)

FAQs

What is the psychology behind comfort foods? ›

According to research, our cravings for comfort food are deeply rooted in psychology. These foods often trigger feelings of nostalgia and emotional comfort, providing a sense of security and familiarity in times of stress or sadness.

Other hormones that you may be familiar with that work together with dopamine include serotonin and adrenaline. Some animal studies suggest that these hormones that reduce stressful emotions may be released when eating our comfort foods, therefore leading to a habitual desire to eat them (Jacques et al., 2019).

“When we experience stress, our body releases stress hormones like cortisol. Cortisol can increase our appetite and drive cravings for calorie-dense 'comfort' foods, particularly those high in sugar and fat,” said Dr. Johannes Uys, a General Practitioner at Broadgate General Practice based in London.

Comfort foods remind us of our social relationships and help us feel a sense of belonging especially when we are so distanced and often isolated. When we eat comfort foods, it brings back happy memories from our past. Sometimes even the smell of comfort foods can trigger these positive memories.

Emotional or 'stress eating' is when we eat in response to an emotional state rather than when we are actually hungry. We look for comfort in food for both psychological and physiological reasons. Our body releases cortisol, a hormone that is released in response to chronic stress.

Key takeaways: Comfort food can bring up happy memories, connect people, and celebrate family and cultural traditions. And this can have a positive impact on your mental health. Craving comfort food is also a common response to stress, sadness, and loneliness.

Then in a separate choice study, researchers asked participants to rate the level of change in their own lives and then to choose snacks. Those experiencing more change chose the newer snacks. "This result is called the 'comfort food fallacy' effect.

The Psychological Aspect of Comfort Food

This is why we often crave the foods we ate as children, such as chicken noodle soup or grilled cheese sandwiches. In fact, research shows that the brain releases dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter, when we eat our favorite comfort foods.

When feeling stressed, eating comfort food can help you feel like you have some control over your life, which can help you feel more secure and less stressed.

When we feel lonely, we crave these foods to give us comfort and security. Plus, our olfactory (smell) memories evoke vivid and detailed emotional memories of our past and tend to be positive. Both the smell and taste of food can reduce feelings of loneliness.

Why do people with hypoglycemia reach for comfort food? ›

Stress is another common cause of reactive hypoglycemia. Poor diet and stress usually go hand-in-hand. Persons who suffer from a lot of stress often reach for those high sugar, high starch comfort foods to help them deal with the stresses in their lives.

Comfort foods are delicious, but can often make you feel sluggish if they're high in fat, carbs, and sugars, says Prest. The hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), which is released from the small intestine, is often to blame here.