Comfort foods refer to consumable items or meals that offer the consumer a feeling of well-being or consolation and are usually high in sugar and carbs. In a 2020 poll, 41% of people admitted to eating comfort foods because of the pleasures derived from consuming them.
During the pandemic, 75% of Americans also gave in to comfort foods at least five times a week. Aside from comfort, there are other reasons why people crave these foods, including the following.
1. The feel-good factor
The limbic cortex is the part of the human brain responsible for happiness and stimulating the need to feel good. Science has not found reasons to explain how the limbic cortex activates itself to demand the feel-good factor. The closest science has come to explaining this is the linkage to your emotions.
In times of extreme emotional and mental stress, the brain finds a way to increase pleasant feelings as a natural way to reduce tension.
This is where comfort foods come into the picture. According to research, your brain remembers the positive feelings of eating pizza, chocolates, ice cream, burgers, etc. It stores memories of comfort foods in the taste buds, preserves the aroma deep within the brain, and processes the overall euphoria associated with these meals.
Therefore, whenever you crave these comfort foods, your body may be finding a way to increase dopamine (the feel-good hormone). In some circles, it is regarded as the brain’s reward system for the body.
2. Nostalgic eating
Did you know there is a link between smells, taste, and memory? This explains why certain foods can transport you mentally and emotionally to your childhood or a specific event. This is known as nostalgic eating, and comfort foods play a major role here.
Perhaps, when you were younger, your parents would reward you with an occasional ice cream bar. As you get older, you may unconsciously associate ice cream with self-reward. Even though adulthood may expand your comfort food choices, ice cream will still hold.
Indeed, nostalgic eating is not entirely about the taste and smell of a particular food. It has more to do with experiences and relationships from the past. Therefore, your predisposition to these actual events provokes those cravings you cannot seem to ignore.
While there are health concerns about eating comfort foods regularly, there are precautions you can take. You can still enjoy comfort foods without worrying too much about excessive sugar, salt, and high-fat consumption. You can do this by gradually changing your usual comfort foods with healthier options like chicken and dumplings made in the slow cooker. The slow cooking hours allow more nutrients to seep into this creamy dish, and you can enjoy it without feeling guilty.
3. Association with special occasions
Have you wondered why comfort foods are more common on special occasions like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries? These occasions are happy events that trigger the brain to produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone responsible for appetite. Grilled cheese, cakes, mac and cheese, butter waffles with syrup, and chicken fried steak dipped in cream are a few examples of popular special occasion comfort foods.
For several decades, comfort foods have made it onto the table, and that’s because people love to indulge when the opportunity presents itself. After some time, these occasions can trigger cravings even when the associated food item isn’t present. Before you know it, you have consumed more than you ordinarily would.
Should you stop eating comfort food? Definitely not! Just recognize the craving when you have it, and give into it…but do so slowly and intentionally. Make sure that comfort food is an occasional treat, not the mainstay of your diet. (Unless your comfort food also happens to be healthy, that is.)
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