For many of us, the urge to reach for food when we're stressed can be almost impossible to resist. But neuroscience suggests it goes much deeper than a lack of willpower.
For some people, no matter how much they try to eat healthy, when intense emotions surface, overcoming food cravings seems impossible. We reach for the comfort foods that we hope will make us feel better in the short term, but afterwards often end up feeling down in the dumps. That feeling of shame can be overwhelming — particularly in a diet-driven society where maintaining a healthy relationship with food is difficult, especially if it’s used as a coping mechanism.
suggests that when emotional eaters are primed with negative emotions and then eat, they think the food actuallybetter, indicating that their reward system is prone to react positively to food when they’re stressed. “Food becomes a tool for self medication that releases dopamine in the brain, similar to what happens when someone uses a drug of abuse.” says Avena.
While there are some genetics involved, Avena says emotional eating leans much more toward environmental factors. The availability of unhealthy foods, coupled with all the stressors of everyday life, can trigger the cycle of overeating and regret.
Food is a natural reward because we need it to live. But presumably, says Steinglass, there’s also more complex behaviors serving the reward systems of the brain. Food can provide a very personal reward just by its psychological associations. And when this rewarding behavior is reinforced time and time again, it becomes habit and moves to another part of the brain.has shown that the basal ganglia, located in the brain’s cerebrum, is associated with habit formation.
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