11 Questions About Food And Emotions

According to Sigmund Freud, human beings have two important basic needs: hunger and love. Hunger is calmed with food; love, when relating to others.

Food is never just food : it is a taste, a memory, a wish, a ritual, a relaxation and much more. Food and emotions are linked to form an imaginary knot, and proof of this is eating disorders.

The compulsion towards certain foods involves the same neurochemical mechanisms and the same brain circuits as the processes of addiction to numerous drugs. The brain is trained to maintain a healthy relationship with food and control body weight through specific hormonal brain circuits.

However, it has been shown that foods rich in simple carbohydrates (sugars) and fats can cause an overproduction of certain brain hormones and induce a compulsion that motivates people to eat even more.

When we are hungry, a brain center called the striatum is activated , where a high concentration of endorphins accumulates – substances that, when released, induce a state of pleasure and euphoria. When eating, the striatum receives a stimulus from the digestive system and releases endorphins and dopamine.

This activates the reward mechanism – it produces a feeling of relaxation and happiness – and we feel satisfaction from the food we eat and satiety. In other words, the brain “thanks” us in this way for the energy ingested and we experience well-being.

Many precooked and processed foods are high in sugar and fat with the ability to be easily absorbed by the digestive mucosa.

These artificial and calorie-packed nutrients induce a greater stimulus on the brain and force the striatum to suddenly release a high amount of dopamine and endorphins. The reward mechanism that kicks in is so intense that it can be addictive.

1. Does food fill the emotional void?

Yes. There are people with lack of affection, loneliness, difficulties of expression … to whom filling themselves with food produces a short and pleasant sensation of reward. When not lived to the fullest, certain foods can comfort and evoke satisfactions from the past.

2. What foods are the most calming?

The foods rich in carbohydrates, sugars and fats can cause overproduction of dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, hormones brain inducing a feeling of being linked to brain reward mechanisms.

3. Can stress lead to eating more?

Yes. Stress involves a high release of hormonal substances, such as cortisol, adrenaline and insulin, to face the supposed challenge. This leads to an alert that generates a feeling of continuous and uncontrollable hunger, with a point of anxiety.

4. Why is sadness less hungry?

Sadness and depression are linked to a lack of serotonin and dopamine, which are well-being and happiness hormones involved in metabolic circuits related to appetite. If there is a deficiency of both neurotransmitters, you eat less.

5. Does worry reduce appetite?

Depends on the person. Some eat less by focusing all their senses on the emotional problem and “disconnecting” from their own body. Others, on the contrary, devour and peck almost nonstop to fill this emotional void until the worry is resolved.

6. When does the appetite usually get out of control?

Some people eat neatly during the day but indulge their desires at night. Others are very attracted to certain foods at work but not outside of it. The diet on the weekends differs from the weekdays. The important thing is to realize what is happening.

7. Is there a relationship between emotions and organs?

Chinese medicine links every flavor and emotion to an organ. Sweet can tone the spleen and ease worry. The sour taste stimulates the liver and attenuates one of its expressions: anger. Salt activates the kidney, which is weakened by fear. The spicy affects the lung and melancholy …

8. How do serotonin levels influence?

Low levels of this hormone that regulates mood are implicated in disorders such as anxiety, irritability and insomnia. The amino acid tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, is abundant in dairy products, fish and meat, almonds, soybeans, bananas and whole grains (rice and wheat).

9. What is the relationship between diet and dopamine?

Many modern, pre-cooked, processed, and refined foods, with very easy-to-absorb calories, force the brain to suddenly release a high amount of dopamine. This reward mechanism is so intense and enjoyable that it can be “hooked.”

10. Why is chocolate so attractive?

Chocolate, whose anandamides share brain receptors with marijuana, can be considered more than a food but less than a drug. Its theobromine also has stimulating effects on the nervous system. And to that is added the combination of fats and sugars.

11. Can the way of eating be somatic?

The problems with food foreshadow the emotional world. Some internal conflicts in turn reflect complex metabolic mechanisms. The body somatizes with voracious hunger messages or, on the contrary, cuts off the appetite. They can be ways to reduce tension, protest, etc.