When we are having a bad day – whether it be from getting a bad grade, or from going through a rough breakup – many of us turn to some sort of favorite food; a comfort food. Some of us love ice cream, some of us want chocolate, or salty foods like chips. When people are in negative moods they seek these comfort foods because they believe these foods will help improve their mood. Do comfort foods actually help improve mood, or is the idea of comfort foods just a myth?
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Recent studies have looked into whether or not comfort foods actually have the ability to positively impact people’s moods.
One study suggests that consuming high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods produces improved moods for a very short period of time (normally just for a few minutes).
In another study, participants were first asked to complete an online questionnaire to specify their favorite comfort foods. Chocolate was the most common favorite comfort food, followed by ice cream, cookies and then brownies.
Following this questionnaire, participants were asked to watch films that induced a negative mood, and then were given comfort food (ex. chocolate, ice cream, cookies, or brownies). A week later participants were asked to watch another film that induced a negative mood, and then were served an equally liked non-comfort food (ex. almonds, cashews, or popcorn), a neutrally liked food, or no food at all.
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Their short-term mood changes were measured using a questionnaire that consisted of mood words (ex. anxious, sad, happy), which participants were asked to rate their current emotional state on a scale from 1 (very slightly/not at all) to 5 (extremely).
Unfortunately for comfort food believers such as myself, these studies found that comfort foods did cause improvements in mood, but to the same extent that other foods or absence of food can cause. In other words, comfort foods improve moods to the same extent that any type of food, or no food at all can. The improvement in mood thought to be caused by comfort foods seems to be caused by negative moods naturally disappearing over time.
So next time you are in a bad mood and thinking about grabbing a chocolate bar, try grabbing something healthier instead! An apple and a chocolate bar will have the same effect on your mood, and the apple will keep you healthy as well!
Check out this video for a summary on the findings of the second study:
YouTube video courtesy of: DNews
Posted by: Alex Ensing
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