food affects our mood

11 March 2014 Food Affects Our Mood The way someone selects, prepares, and eats food is tied to emotional experiences. People eat different types of food when they feel sad, bored, tired, or stressed. Although it is natural for humans and other animals to eat in response to emotions, we have to identify how we feel and understand our desire to eat when we are not really hungry because the relationship between our bodies, our minds, emotions, and our eating habits is complicated. Reading the current research on food and emotions can help us to identify strategies that will work best for us to come conscious of emotional eating habits. When people feel sad, they tend to eat food that is sweet, and one favorite is chocolate. Some studies suggest that “chocolate can influence levels of the mood-boosting brain chemical serotonin” (Siobha Manson 28). However, the difference will not be much because people would have to eat big quantities of chocolate, and the high does not last long. People choose to eat chocolate due to the fact that it is high in sugar, so it can provide a boost of energy. Of course, some people crave chocolate because they love the taste of it, not because they are physically addicted to it. People tend to overeat when they are bored because they are looking for something to do. I personally relate to this because when I am bored, I usually go to the kitchen and look for a snack. The problem is that I do not get fruit or something healthy; I end up eating chips or candy. Boredom can get in the way of people who want to lose weight because they eat just to pass the time, and this can create an eating disorder. We should listen to our bodies before we eat; if we are not really hungry, we should stop, and we would be avoiding overeating. Humans being are tied to believe that by drinking coffee our energy is going to rise. People could have become addicted to caffeine without knowing

Cited: Manson, Siobhan. "How Food Can Affect Our Mood." Sunday Times 5 Aug. 2001: 28. Print. "Mind What You Are Eating." Illawarra Mercury. 20 July 2011, Section: Zest: pg. 27. Print.