Summary

The article argues that comfort eating is a misnomer, as the comfort derived from food is actually a result of internal thought processes rather than the food itself.

Abstract

The article "Why There Is No Such Thing as Comfort Eating" challenges the common belief that certain foods provide comfort during emotional distress. It suggests that the act of eating these foods doesn't inherently improve one's mood but rather serves as a distraction from negative thoughts. The author posits that the comfort is an illusion, stemming from the thoughts about the food rather than the food itself. These thoughts can create a temporary shift in mood, leading to the belief that the food is a source of comfort. The article also explores the idea that cravings for "comfort foods" are often linked to positive memories associated with those foods, rather than a physical need for the food. It emphasizes that true comfort cannot be found in food, especially when considering the negative health impacts of processed foods high in sugar and fats.

Opinions

Comfort eating is not about the food but rather about seeking a distraction from negative emotions through the thoughts associated with certain foods.
The pleasure from eating "comfort foods" is more about the memories and feelings attached to those foods than the foods themselves.
The idea that sugar provides comfort is false; sugar can cause inflammation and exacerbate physical pain, leading to a cycle of craving and consumption.
Emotional eating is inevitable since emotions are tied to thoughts, and thoughts are always present, influencing when and what we eat.
True comfort and emotional relief cannot be achieved through eating; they must come from within, through our thoughts and memories.

Why There Is No Such Thing as Comfort Eating

Read this before you reach for chocolate to cheer you up

I’m probably going to upset or annoy you now when I say … that there is no such thing as comfort eating.

Before you switch off, hear me out.

I know that you might eat certain types of food when you’re upset, and this really looks to you as if you’re comfort eating but let’s unpack this a bit.

Do you only eat crisps, chocolate, a vat of ice cream or down a bottle of wine when you’re upset?

Or do you have a glass of wine to celebrate or buy a box of chocolates as a present for someone?

I’m sure that the foods you go to when you’re upset are those you go to full stop. Maybe they’re the foods you wish you didn’t go to, so feeling upset is a good excuse?

What is comfort eating?

Many people talk about comfort eating. So they’re eating because they’re looking for comfort; they’re not hungry but upset, tired, angry, etc. No one ever buys a kilo of apples to cheer themselves up, do they?

So there is a clue in the type of food people turn to for comfort. You’re turning to foods that you think you like best because they’re the kind of foods you imagine are a ‘treat’, and when you’re feeling down, that’s when you want a treat.

But how can something you eat make you feel better? Clearly, if you’re hungry, eating will make you feel better as you aren’t hungry anymore, but if you’ve just argued with your partner, how can eating a chocolate biscuit change your mood?

Well, it can’t. When you’ve got a head full of angry or upset thoughts, you want to eat something to change that feeling, and you think a chocolate biscuit will make you feel better. But all that happens is that you have a new thought about the chocolate biscuit and, in doing so, you’ve let go of the angry, upset thoughts.

You know that you can’t hold on to a thought, and you can’t choose your thoughts. Still, you do get into a neural pattern of repetitive thoughts until you change that pathway, and that is what happens when you have a thought about the glass of wine or chocolate biscuit and then feel better, even before you’ve sipped the drink or eaten a crumb of biscuit.

And then you attribute the good feeling to the biscuit or wine. You’re generating your feeling via the thought that arises in consciousness, this is coming from the inside out, so it is impossible for anything on the outside to change what you’ve created on the inside. The change can only ever come from the inside.

But I’m craving comfort food

What is it about the food that we crave (and, of course, what is craving? Yes, it’s thought) when we need comfort? Mostly the food has a memory attached to it.

We might crave a cake or a specific type of soup because that’s what we associate with comfort. It might be because if you were feeling low, your mum bought you a cake or if you were feeling under the weather, your grandmother made you soup.

So what you’re craving is the comfort you got from a person and your feeling about the person, not a food substance. The cake you buy in the supermarket will not hug you.

And, speaking of buying cake, the cake you’re buying in a supermarket is so far from a cake that your mum might have made you that just this alone can help you to see that there is no comfort to be found in a processed cake filled with refined sugar, trans fats and chemicals.

The comfort comes from the memory of spending time with your mum making and eating the cake, and you can access that memory without the calories.

Let’s test the theory. Think of a time you spent with someone you love; it could be someone from your past like a parent or sibling, a good friend from school, a university lover, or anyone who comes to mind.

Now think of an occasion that you shared with that person. Notice how you feel now what you felt then. If it was a fun occasion, you might smile or even laugh out loud. Or, if you were sharing a meal, you might remember the taste of the food.

I can remember my first beef stroganoff; I can taste the tender beef and the creamy sauce even though this particular meal was decades ago. I can remember enjoying each bite, and yet, I don’t eat beef or cream anymore and wouldn’t want to eat it now. The enjoyment is in the memory. Not in the food.

Notice how easy it is to bring back a memory and feel what you felt then. And this is what you’re doing when you reach for comfort food. That bar of chocolate is not the same bar of chocolate you had as a child, the ingredients are probably different, and the production most definitely is, so the food has nothing to do with the memory.

There is also a misguided belief that if you’re feeling upset or you’re experiencing physical pain, reaching for a sugary snack will comfort you.

Sugar comforts me

Wrong. Sugar creates inflammation, aches and pains in your body. So when you feel as if you need a pick me up or relief from your painful feelings (or even painful joints), you might reach for sugar to give you some energy, but what happens is the sugar will cause you to get a sugar high and then crash, making you feel worse and then what happens? You want to feel that high again, so you reach for another biscuit and go through the cycle again. Plus, sugar suppresses your immune system, so it increases physical pain.

So why does it feel as if sugar will reduce emotional pain? Because it’s a distraction. As I’ve said before, you let go of the painful thought to have a new thought about sugar and feel better and so you attribute the good feeling to the chocolate.

So can you see that you’re not a comfort eater?

Great, you might say. But I’m still an emotional eater.

Yes, you are. We all are.

What is an emotion? We know that we feel emotion via the thought that arises in consciousness. Yes, that’s right. It’s just a thought.

When aren’t you feeling an emotion? We’re constantly feeling something, whether that’s upset, anger or peace. And do you eat when you’re upset, angry or peaceful?

So you’re always an emotional eater; you can’t be anything but.

Especially not a comfort eater.