Do you turn to chocolate or a nice great big bowl of some type of your favorite comfort food when you are feeling depressed or stressed? Well, you don’t have to feel too guilty anymore because you’re just doing what your body wants you to do to reduce your stress. That’s right, in a way, you can’t help it.
A new study shows that there is a biochemical link associated with junk food and the decrease of stress. In particular, foods that are high in fat and sugar are the ones that will help you reduce your anxiety the most.
It makes sense that the holidays is just one big smorgasbord of comfort food. Stress levels are high for many people during the holidays. People are dealing with crowds at the mall, relatives they would rather not deal with, and anxiety over doing everything they want to do in time. The next thing you know, people are stuffing their faces of all the great holiday foods at parties and family gatherings. If they can’t find stress relief around them, they will eat their way to at least some sort of temporary happiness. It’s temporary because once these people step on the scale after the holidays, depression sets in, which is why losing weight is one of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions. 
Photo Courtesy of: Jayel Aheram on Flickr
Tue, Dec 1, 2009
Stress