Living Well
Eat In Peace: Your Life Depends On It!
May 23, 2017Our eating habits play an important role in our overall health. Most people don’t realize that our behavior and psychology can influence our eating habits. Emotional changes may increase or decrease our food intake and could also lead to lifestyle changes.
The Psychology of Eating
Even though hunger is the main driving force behind eating, other factors may drive us to overeat unconsciously. For example, insecurities, being upset or being angry can lead us to eat more than usual. These factors are not related to hunger, but can still cause compulsive eating.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a psychological disorder that is common in obese individuals. But, keep in mind that every person with this disorder may not be obese. Some people with BED may consume excessive calories, and then, use harmful methods to counteract the weight gain. One such harmful method is inducing vomiting after an episode of overeating.
Compulsive or binge eating may also be common in patients with mood disorders. Eating as a result of a change in emotions can be harmful, both for the body and the mind. An example of a feel-good food is sugar, which can become an addiction.
Being Happy and Relaxed is Good for Digestion
Despite following the right kind of diet regime, many people don’t witness any changes in their body. This could be because they are unable to cope up with their emotions. Our thoughts, feelings, stress and pleasure levels have a major impact on our metabolism. Emotional changes like these can lead to changes in the secretion of hormones, which can change our body’s capacity to burn calories and break down food. Stress and anxiety can disrupt the functioning of our digestive systems.
Food that is not properly digested can result in harmful cholesterol and unwanted fat deposits in the body. This is one reason why many people don’t experience weight loss even after following a proper diet. Being happy and relaxed has a direct impact on the proper functioning of our body systems.
To conclude, eating in a peaceful environment and in a calm state of mind results in slower eating and faster metabolism. Being happy also stops compulsive and binge eating. This way, you are satisfied with whatever food they consume and don’t need to eat more to feel better.
Mahesh is a hormone health counsellor & holistic health expert. He has a Mastery Certification in Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis from the US, is certified in Functional Nutrition from Washington State University and uses a wide array of healing modalities to guide his clients to vibrant health and well-being.
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References:
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00215/full
