Have you ever noticed how your mood directs your food intake? When you feel a certain way, you reach for foods that you wouldn’t normally eat. For example, if you’re sad, or feeling lonely, you would hunt down a box of biscuits or a chocolate bar in your refrigerator. If you are really excited or happy then you would crave for a heavy, spicy, delicious meal like a plate of biriyani or a large pizza.
Psychological and physiological factors affect what we choose to eat and dictate the relationship we have between food and emotions. We need fuel in the form of food to survive, but there are absolutely some foods that are only eaten in specific circumstances. Let’s take coffee–how many people can’t function unless they’ve had their shot of caffeine first thing in the morning?
Though we eat few food items during our mood swings, anger is one emotion that has a close relation with food. Anger is an emotion that is difficult to react, understand and most importantly bring under control. And yet, it's one of the most relatable human emotions.
It's seldom easy to understand or break down the root cause of anger when it's coming from someone else, but are we able to control anger when it comes from our side?
We often become pretty illogical when we are angry, and end up saying and doing things, which we ordinarily wouldn't. This often leads to embarrassment or acts of passion which lead to frayed relationships.
The link between food and emotion (especially anger) has been established by hundreds of scientific studies. Many showing that anxiety, or depression, lethargy, irritability and cravings can, result from a poor or imbalanced diet. Abnormal or irregular eating habit is one of the greatest mistakes that will affect both physical and mental health. Skipping meals and not eating on time can affect the normal balance of your body functions and can also be a sole reason for frequent mood swings like anger, frustration etc.
Our relationship with food is complicated, but it helps in understanding both our emotions and mental states. It is important to keep a regular timetable for our food timing. Human body works in a rhythm and all our body functions are following this. When we do not take food on time, it would result in various metabolic disorders which would ultimately lead to health issues like diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and digestive disturbances which directly or indirectly affects our mood.
In this modern time, when people are working even at nights, it is difficult to maintain proper timing for food intake. But, if you are careful about your health, know the importance of eating on time and arrange your meals in proper and planned way then you need not worry about your physical and mental health.
Our body is naturally systemized for optimum health and balance. We become thirsty when we are dehydrated, we shiver when we are cold, yawn when tired. These are the body’s messages for us to take action to meet our needs. In the same way as when we lose our peace of mind; our body directs us with an action to correct it. It could deliver a food craving for chocolate, which is really a way of saying you need to correct your emotional state of mind, which is feeling lonely, anxious or insecure.
Food cravings are most often an emotional hunger. It’s your body’s way of communicating a basic need that’s not being met. Perhaps it’s a need for comfort, touch, love, support, validation, or connection. By listening to yourself and uncovering what you are needing and then filling these emotions yourself, or reaching out to a friend for support, you can start to nourish yourself emotionally and you’ll soon find your food cravings will drop off.
If we can learn the difference between emotional and physical hunger, we can easily meet our emotional needs and stave off cravings. Some differences between these two types of hunger are:
1. Emotional hunger is based on our mind, is sudden and specific, wanting one food; while,
2. Physical hunger comes from the stomach, is slower and is open to a variety of foods.
Ultimately, we need to face our emotions instead of covering them up with food. While this may seem scary or challenging, it is the pathway to radiant health and vitality, along with balance and happiness. And the feedback loop when our body is well nourished and healthy is that our emotions become calmer, and the mind happier and more balanced, so it’s a journey well worth taking.
Thus, the three terms" Anger", "Time" and "Food" are inter-related to each other. Its good to eat what you love whenever you wish to but food cravings because of negative mind set must be under control. Eating the right food at the right time can set your mood right!
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