Why We Indulge in Emotional Eating
Posted on Jul 27th 2011 12:00PM by Health.comFiled Under: Diet & Weight Loss
For AOL Healthy Living
Anyone who's sought solace in pizza or a pint of ice cream knows that food can be comforting. But experts still don't know exactly why we gravitate toward fatty or sugary foods when we're feeling down, or how those foods affect our emotions.
Taste and the pleasant memories associated with junk foods surely play a role, but that may be only part of the story. According to a small new study, hormones in our stomachs appear to communicate directly with our brains, independent of any feelings we have about a particular food.
Most research on food and emotion has looked at the overall experience of eating -- the tastes, smells, and textures, in addition to nutrients. In this study, however, the researchers took that subjective experience off the table by "feeding" the volunteers through an unmarked stomach tube.
To read this article in full, visit The Huffington Post's health and wellness destination site, Healthy Living.
More from Health.com:
Love to Eat? The Trick to Staying Slim
Foods That Boost Your Mood
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Getty
Taste and the pleasant memories associated with junk foods surely play a role, but that may be only part of the story. According to a small new study, hormones in our stomachs appear to communicate directly with our brains, independent of any feelings we have about a particular food.
Most research on food and emotion has looked at the overall experience of eating -- the tastes, smells, and textures, in addition to nutrients. In this study, however, the researchers took that subjective experience off the table by "feeding" the volunteers through an unmarked stomach tube.
To read this article in full, visit The Huffington Post's health and wellness destination site, Healthy Living.
More from Health.com:
Love to Eat? The Trick to Staying Slim
Foods That Boost Your Mood
25 Diet-Busting Foods You Should Never Eat
