What is Emotional Eating?
• Emotional eating is using food as a means to deal with negative emotions, such as fear, anger, anxiety, frustration, boredom, or sadness.
• It is using food to distract us from our feelings or to make us feel good temporarily because they are “comfort” foods.
Facts about anxiety and emotional eating
• Anxiety symptoms are often present when emotionally eating
• It may also be present in circumstances where the blood sugar level rises and falls.
• Blood sugar swings exacerbate emotional responses, making someone even more prone to emotional eating
• Try to find out the cause of your anxiety
• Most anxiety is caused by fear. Dig deep and find out what you’re afraid of.
• It may be something on a subconscious level that you are not aware of, so see a counselor to help you figure out what it is.
• Physically, caffeine, sugar, and alcohol increase the levels of lactic acid in the bloodstream. Studies have shown that a high buildup of lactic acid in the body can increase anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
• High or low blood sugar levels can also make us feel anxious: they can increase emotional reactions and cause cravings that will make us eat more foods that increase blood sugar, making us more prone to emotional highs and lows and the binges.
Good bacteria and anxiety
Recent research has found a connection between the bacteria in our gut and our moods. Problems like anxiety, irritability and depression can result.
“To confirm that bacteria can influence behavior, the researchers colonized germ-free mice with bacteria extracted from mice with a different behavioral pattern. They found that when germ-free mice with a genetic background associated with passive behavior were colonized with bacteria from mice with higher exploratory behavior, became more active and daring.
While previous research has focused on the role bacteria play in brain development early in life, Collins said this latest research indicates that while many factors determine behavior, the nature and stability of bacteria in the gut seem to influence behavior and any interruption, by antibiotics or infection, could lead to behavioral changes.
Bercik said these results lay the foundation for investigating the therapeutic potential of probiotic bacteria and their products in the treatment of behavioral disorders.” (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-anxiety-gut.html )
While there is much more to learn, we can help ourselves by eating fermented foods that promote good gut health. Eating fermented foods like kefir, yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha can help. Also try different probiotic supplements to see which ones can help you feel better. Aside from mood swings, you’ll also notice overall digestive improvements.
How to know if you are hungry?
Ask yourself these questions:
• When did I last eat? Has it been a few hours and how much did I eat?
• Does your stomach feel empty?
• Is it booming?
• You’re thirsty?
• Are you anxious?
• You’re bored?
• Are you depressed or angry?
Answering these questions can help you know if you are really hungry or are reacting emotionally and using food to manage emotional feelings. Thirst can also be mistaken for hunger, so drinking water regularly between meals can prevent this feeling.
Tips to tame emotional eating
• Remove temptation
• Develop new hobbies and activities that you enjoy.
• Redirect your attention to something else, perhaps a task or calling a friend
• Find healthy treats that give you the same buzz
• Do not deprive yourself
• Learn from your emotional setbacks when eating
• Develop relaxation and stress management techniques.
• Keep blood sugar levels stable
• Drink a lot of water
• Controlling stress
• Take a hunger test
• Keep a food diary
• Develop a support network
• Fight against boredom
• Get out in nature (walking is a great option)
• Talk to a counselor
When to seek professional help:
• Your eating problems are becoming too frequent
• Feels out of control
• It is interfering with your quality of life/making you sick
• You are causing problems with your friends, family, or your job.
• Find a counselor who makes you feel comfortable and with whom you can talk
Dealing with emotional eating can be difficult because it has sometimes been ingrained in us since childhood. Keep working on problems and never be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. You should also know that every time you surprise yourself, you start to break the habit. There is a way out and you can free yourself from emotional eating.