Stress Eating Isn’t Just More
Calories—It Changes Your Metabolism, Too
It’s no secret that stress affects
what you eat and how much you weigh. When people are stressed, they tend to
reach for high-fat junk food, so picking up a McDonald’s combo, pizza pie, or
tub of ice cream is no isolated incident.
When people are stressed and
feeling down they crave these kinds of food. The craving is three-fold:
you want a comforting taste, a little treat and freedom from your current
situation, and you want to feel good (meaning less stress). But the connection
between what you crave and what you eat isn’t without basis—that is you don’t
eat junk food just because it tastes good. These foods also generate chemical
and hormonal effects: the sugar releases serotonin, a feel-good chemical that
boosts your mood, while the carbs release hormones to battle
cortisol, the stress hormone.
But overall, eating is not a good
way to combat stress as it can have negative long-term effects on your weight
and health.
A group of researchers from Ohio State
University recently took a look at exactly how stress impacts digestion and
they came across some very interesting results. To read more, click here
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