Devouring sweets when you’re stressed goes beyond having
a sweet tooth —a lot of it is in your head. How your frame of mind affects
everything from the foods you crave to the way you digest them?
The ancient poet Rumi once said: “The satiated man and the
hungry man do not see the same thing when they look upon a loaf of bread”. Although
in today’s world that loaf of bread may be gluten-free or sprouted, the truth
of that quote still rings true: our perception of food varies depending on our
relationship with it, but science is now telling us that these relationships
can even have an effect on how we’re able to metabolize our meals. You may never
look at a loaf of bread the same way.
Women in
particular can have an increased desire for food as well as a harder time
ignoring their cravings than men, according to a recent study using PET scans
to examine the brain activity of both men and women as they were exposed to the
sight, smell, and taste of various foods.
Food for Thought
Consider this: A dinner plate with chicken, salad, and rice
can be something completely different depending on the person it’s presented
to. A dieter sees the meal’s total calorie content, where as an athlete sees fuel
in the form of grams of protein.
A vegetarian sees the slaughter of a chicken. A scientist
who is studying nutrient content in food sees a collection of chemicals and
molecules. What is remarkable about that dinner plate is that each of those
individual’s body’s will metabolize and react to that same meal in very
different ways, based on how each of them relates to it. That is because one of
the most essential components of metabolism isn’t a vitamin, a chemical, or a
molecule; it is the psychological relationship with the food; meaning, how one thinks
and feels about what they are about to eat impacts how the body digests it. But
there’s more on that to come.
Devouring sweets
when you’re stressed goes beyond having a sweet tooth
