According to Sigmund Freud Human beings have two important basic needs: hunger and love Hunger is calmed by food; love, when relating to others.
Food is never just food: it is a taste, a memory, a wish, a ritual, a relaxation and much more. Food and emotions are united forming an imaginary knot, and proof of this are eating behavior disorders.
By Dr. Irina Matveikova
The compulsion towards certain foods involves the same neurochemical mechanisms and the same brain circuits as the addiction processes to many drugs. The brain is trained to maintain a healthy relationship with food and control body weight through specific hormonal brain circuits.
However, it has been shown that meals high in simple carbohydrates (sugars) and fats can cause a overproduction of certain brain hormones and induce a compulsion that motivates people to eat even more.
When we are hungry, a brain center called striatum, where a high concentration of endorphins accumulates –substances that when released induce a state of pleasure and euphoria–. When eating, the striatum receives a stimulus from the digestive system and releases endorphins and dopamine.
This activates the reward mechanism -produces a feeling of relaxation and happiness- and we feel satisfaction from the food eaten and satiety. That is, the brain “thanks” us in this way for the energy ingested and we experience well-being.
Many precooked and processed foods have a load high in sugar and fat with the ability to be easily absorbed by the digestive mucosa.
These artificial, calorie-packed nutrients induce a greater stimulus on the brain and force the striatum to suddenly release a high amount of dopamine and endorphins. The reward mechanism that is activated is so intense that it can be addictive.
1. Does food cover the emotional void?
Yes. There are people who lack affection, loneliness, difficulties of expression… to whom filling up with food produces a short and pleasant feeling of reward. When not living fully, certain foods can comfort and evoke satisfaction from the past.
2. What foods are the most calming?
The foods rich in carbohydratessugars and fats can cause a dopamine overproductionserotonin and endorphins, brain hormones that induce a feeling of well-being, linked to brain reward mechanisms.
3. Can stress lead to eating more?
Yes. Stress involves a high release of hormonal substances, such as cortisolthe adrenalin and the insulin, to face the supposed challenge. This leads to an alert that generates a sensation of continuous hunger and little controllable, with a point of anxiety.
4. Why is sadness less hungry?
Sadness and depression are linked to a lack of serotonin and dopamine, which are hormones of well-being and happiness involved in metabolic circuits related to appetite. If there is a deficiency of both neurotransmitters, you eat less.
5. Does worry reduce appetite?
Depends on the person. Some eat less because they focus all their senses on the emotional problem and “disconnect” from one’s own body. Others, on the contrary, devour and peck almost non-stop to fill this emotional void until the concern is resolved.
6. When does the appetite usually get out of control?
Some people eat orderly during the day but give free rein to their desires at night. Others are strongly attracted to certain foods at work but not outside of it. The weekend diet differs from weekdays. The important thing is to realize what is happening.
7. Is there a relationship between emotions and organs?
Chinese medicine links each taste and emotion with an organ. The sweet can tone the spleen and ease worry. The acid taste stimulates the liver and attenuates one of its expressions: anger. Salt activates the kidney, which is weakened by fear. Spicy affects the lungs and melancholy…
8. How do serotonin levels influence?
Low levels of this mood-regulating hormone are implicated in disorders such as anxiety, irritability and insomnia. The amino acid tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, is abundant in dairy products, fish and meat, almonds, soybeans, bananas, and whole grains (rice and wheat).
9. What is the relationship between diet and dopamine?
Many modern, pre-cooked, processed and refined foods, with calories that are very easy to absorb, force the brain to suddenly release a high amount of dopamine. This reward mechanism is so intense and pleasurable that it can “hook”.
10. Why is chocolate so attractive?
Chocolate, whose anandamides share brain receptors with marijuana, can be considered more than a food but less than a drug. Its theobromine also hasstimulating effects on the nervous system. And to that is added the combination of fats and sugars.
11. Can the way of eating be somatic?
The problems with food They shine through the emotional world. Some internal conflicts in turn reflect complex metabolic mechanisms. The body somatizes with messages of voracious hunger or, on the contrary, cuts off the appetite. They can be ways to reduce tension, protest, etc.