Imagine for a moment that you have just had one of those really terrible, awful, horrible days in which all of your plans have somehow gone awry. As humans we often feel the urge to take away the pain and memories of a bad day by sticking something into our mouth: let’s call these comfort foods and drinks. Consuming these things provides relief from the memories of the bad days and makes life feel like it is worth living again.
Comfort foods are a form of emotional eating. Some studies divide comfort food into four basic categories: nostalgic foods, indulgence foods, convenience foods, and physical comfort foods. Comfort foods can modify moods (should we call these mood altering foods). Foods which have nostalgic and/or sentimental memories associated with them help to trigger good feelings of past times. On the somewhat negative sides, some studies suggest that the consumption of comfort foods is also associated with feelings of guilt.
One study of American comfort foods found that men were more likely to prefer meal-related foods such as steak, casseroles, and soup. On the other hand, women tended to choose snack-related foods such as chocolate and ice cream. According to one study, only one-third of women reported healthy eating during times of stress.
For me, there are several categories of comfort foods, ranging from major to minor. In the major category are things like pizza, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, and beef stroganoff. In the minor category, for less awful days, are substances such as gelato, flan, chocolate doughnuts, and brownies.
Welcome to Street Prophets Saturday. This is an open, stress-free, thread. So, what are your comfort foods? Do you feel guilty when you indulge in eating comfort foods?