Mood and Unhealthy Foods
Although some disregulated eaters
head toward food when they’re in a good mood, most emotional eating is done
when we feel crummy. If you think that eating unhealthy food makes you feel
better, think again. Research says it ain’t necessarily so.
Penn State researchers did a small
study on 131 women to assess their moods before and after eating unhealthy
foods, those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat (Tufts Health and Nutrition
Newsletter, 6/13, v. 31 #4). Their results: “If the women were in a bad mood” before
they ate unhealthy food, eating made them feel even worse. Those who were in a
good mood before eating bad food (“bad” is the study’s word, not mine),
however, reported little change in their emotional state.
Okay, this is one small experiment that
leaves us with lots of questions, too many for generalizing. The subjects were
only 131 random women who did not necessarily have eating problems. Maybe the outcome would have been different if the women self-reported as
disregulated eaters; men might have reacted totally differently as well. Perhaps women
with ongoing eating problems, as opposed to study participants, would have eaten
unhealthy foods and had their bad moods lifted. More research needs to be done
on this subject to understand it better and get a more complete picture.
However, for the purposes of this
blog and your recovery, my question is, Do
you really feel better emotionally after eating foods that are high in...
Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs
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