“Comfort food” is defined as a type of food associated with psychological comfort and entertainment (Pixels)
Macaroni and cheese, desserts, warm soups, and hot chocolate with marshmallows attract us in the winter, as these and other foods make us feel good in cold weather. But why do we miss it in the winter specifically, and not in the summer?
Clinical nutritionist Hanin Al-Salem defines “comfort food” as a type of food associated with psychological comfort and entertainment, and it may be used to refer to foods that people usually eat to improve mood or relieve stress, anxiety, or boredom.
Convenience foods are often high in starches, fats, and sugars. Examples include pastries, chocolate, sweets, fried foods, and fast food.
Comforting food helps to feel pleasure, because it contributes to the secretion of high amounts of the hormone dopamine and serotonin, which are linked to a feeling of momentary happiness, according to Al-Salem.
The consumption of “comfort food” is seen as a response to emotional stress, as those who suffer from negative feelings tend to eat unhealthy food in an attempt to achieve immediate gratification, even if it does not last long, and this in turn is known as “emotional eating.”
Clinical nutritionist Hanin Al-Salem (Al-Jazeera)
Seasonal depression
In the winter, people are exposed to smaller amounts of sunlight, as the day period is shorter than the night, and then the lack of exposure to the sun leads to a deficiency of vitamin D, which is involved in the production of the hormone serotonin. With a decrease in the production of this hormone, a person notices changes in his mood and energy.
Therefore, seasonal depression is considered one of the common phenomena in the winter, which prompts a person to respond to mood swings by eating “comfort food” that improves the mood immediately, according to Al-Salem.
Chestnuts are a distinctive snack, as they are considered one of the most delicious and healthiest winter foods (social networking sites)
Seasonal foods
To deal healthily with the desire to eat comfort foods, the clinical nutritionist advises resorting to types that make you feel warm, such as healthy soups - such as lentil or vegetable soup - because they will help moisturize and warm the body and fill the stomach, which reduces the feeling of “emotional hunger.”
Al-Salem explains, “Including seasonal foods such as sweet potatoes, chestnuts, or corn as snacks is a great idea instead of high-fat foods, as they provide a good amount of healthy carbohydrates and fiber, which helps you feel full for a longer period.”
She concludes, "Let us not forget the importance of breaking the vicious cycle of emotional eating by replacing the habit of resorting to comfort foods to improve the mood with another habit, such as practicing a hobby or sport that the person loves. Practicing activities increases the secretion of the hormone endorphins, which improves mood and reduces stress."
One of the disadvantages of comfort food is that it contains high calories (pixels).
Mood
For his part, psychiatrist Osama Kanaan says, “There is a clear relationship between mood and food choices, and there are long and short-term benefits from our choices of the type of food we eat. When we are in a positive mood, we tend to focus on the long-term benefits. We usually want them to be “Our choices are healthy, so we choose healthy food.”
“When we are in a negative mood, we look for short-term benefits because we want to fix our mood quickly, so we usually tend toward unhealthy foods that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, which create a feeling of comfort.”
Kanaan defines “comfort food” as food that gives emotional value or a feeling of tenderness to someone, and is characterized by its high caloric nature, in addition to its ease of preparation.
He explains, "This food activates the dopamine pathway in the brain, which stimulates feelings of reward and pleasure. During times when we feel down, comfort foods improve our mood, even if only temporarily."
Osama Kanaan: Comforting foods may be associated with warm and positive memories with those we love (Al Jazeera)
Psychological reasons
Kanaan says, “The psychological reasons for increasing the consumption of comfort foods in the winter include several factors that interact together, and the psychological and mental aspects may interact with biological and social factors,” including:
Nostalgia and memories: Comfort
foods can be related to warm, positive memories with family or a loved one, evoking feelings of nostalgia for happy moments from the past.
The need for warmth:
Eating warm and delicious food can be a natural reaction to seek a feeling of warmth, which enhances psychological comfort in cold conditions.
Effect of hormones:
Changes in temperature and lighting in winter may affect hormone levels, such as serotonin and melatonin, which may affect mood and stimulate the desire to eat.
Psychological response to cold:
In some cases, eating heavy-textured food that contains high calories can be a psychological response to the body's desire to deal with cold.
Social influence:
In cold seasons, there may be a tendency to gather and spend time with loved ones indoors, and eating may be part of these social activities, which enhances the desire to eat comfort foods.
Increased happiness:
Some studies indicate that comfort foods, especially those rich in carbohydrates, play a role in increasing levels of serotonin in the body, which is a neurotransmitter linked to feelings of happiness and well-being.
Comfort foods work to give you a feeling of pleasure and happiness (Pixels)
Why in winter.. not summer?
For its part, the ABC website published reasons explaining why we long for comfort foods in the winter, and not in the summer:
The gut “talks” to the brain:
In the relatively new field of nutritional psychiatry, the stomach produces the “happiness chemicals” dopamine and serotonin. When we eat, a complex brain process means these neurochemicals trigger feelings of happiness and well-being.
Happiness chemicals:
These happiness chemicals are also produced when we exercise and are exposed to sunlight, which decreases in winter. This results in a change in the delicate balance between good and bad bacteria that live in the stomach, and thus there is a connection between the gut and the brain.
Evolution may have a hand:
Another reason why we crave more comfort foods during the winter months may be evolutionary. Before we enjoyed technological advances such as housing, heating, supermarkets and clothing, humans who increased their body weights during the winter to keep warm were more likely to survive in their environmental conditions. Thus, the desire to eat carbohydrates and high-sugar foods served as a protective mechanism.
Psychology, Desire, and Mood:
Social learning theory says that people learn from each other through observation, imitation, and modeling.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites