I read a very interesting chapter of a book having to deal with food and a person's feelings. In this source they state many interesting facts about how what you eat correlates with how you feel and what emotions you express. In the book Food and Emotions by Mary Turk she explains how there are three main ways food effects a person's mood. The first two reasons are medically proven. She explains how when someone consumes food, that the substance that is digested has an impact on the neurotransmitters in the brain, causing the brain to make mood-changing chemicals. The second reason deals with blood sugar levels in a person. The author explains how when someones eats certain things it causes an increase or decrease in the amount of sugar that is sent into the blood, therefore causing an increase or decrease in a person's energy level. All of this meaning that if a person eats something with a lot of sugar it causes them to be energetic. The third and last reason about how food correlates with emotions, Mary Turk explains, is that "people react to food because of its assosiations. Their mind connects food with past experiences and feelings" (Turk 6). Another interesting thing the author talked about was comfort foods. She explains how different foods may cause certain feelings. Such as she talks about chicken soup making someone feel good. But what I thought was fascinating was that it may not actually be the food that triggers the emotion, but the association with that food to a special memory. She also states that it may be a combination. The combined efforts of the food and the memory correspond to make someone feel good and comforted.
I feel that the author made good, valid points in this chapter of the book. I, myself have experienced the feeling of comfort food. I think that food has a medical and emotional impact on how someone reacts to what they eat. It was interesting to read about the influence of how food can effect your brain and blood sugar levels. I think that it is just so interesting to read and hear about the correlation between different foods and people's emotions.
Turk, Mary. Food and Emotions. Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2001. 4-11. Print.
