Feeling blue? People each have their own food of choice to eat when in a bad mood
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These foods are collectively called “comfort foods” and include the classic Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream or the chocolate brownie. The foods are typically not healthy and have a high sugar and fat content. .
“The purpose of these studies is to investigate whether comfort foods actually provide psychological benefits, and if so, whether they improve mood better than comparison foods or no food. Participants first completed an online questionnaire to indicate their comfort foods and a variety of comparison foods. During two lab sessions a week apart from each other (and at least a week after the online questionnaire, counterbalanced in order), participants watched films that induced negative affect.
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In one session, participants were then served their comfort food. In the other, participants were served an equally liked noncomfort food, a neutral food, or no food. Short-term mood changes were measured so that we could seek out psychological effects of these foods, rather than biochemical effects on mood from particular food components (e.g., sugars or vitamins).
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Comfort foods led to significant improvements in mood, but no more than other foods or no food. […] Individuals may be giving comfort food “credit” for mood effects that would have occurred even in the absence of the comfort food”.
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Thus you now have another reason to stay away from unhealthy foods, even if you are feeling down!
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Source: Heather Scherschel Wagner et al. The Myth of Comfort Food. Health Psychology. 2014, Vol. 33, No. 12, 1552–1557.