Food Cravings

Many people have cravings no matter if it's chocolate or a caffeinated drink. Mary Turk talks about the effects of food cravings on an individual in her book Food and Emotions. One very interesting thing that she talks about is most people's longing for chocolate. Chocolate has actually been chemically tested and as it turns out, it contains certain chemicals that cause "good" neaurotransmitters to be released in the brain. The chemical Phenylethylamine has been found in chocolate which is also the the same chemical released when someone feels love. When Mary Turk states "Food says love" in her book it just proves that food can effect a person's emotions (30). Food can console someone, make someone feel loved, and also be someone's burden. In her book she talks about how some people struggle with addictions to certain foods and caffeine. The important thing is just to know how to control that craving. The last thing that I thought was very interesting was Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). In this novel Mary Turk talks about how when there are hour changes in the fall and winter it can actually change a person's mood, sleep patterns, and eating habits. She said that when a person suffers from this disorder they are actually drawn to carbohydrates in the fall and winter to fill the void of not having the pretty weather. Mary Turk has very interesting points about food and emotions that are just fascinating.

While reading this chapter of Mary Turk's novel it made me make a lot of correlations in my life to what she is talking about. Because she does talk about aspects that effect me, it gets me really interested in this topic about food and emotions. When she talks about how chocolate has been chemically proven to improve someone's mood I just thought that was so thought provoking. Because chocolate is one of my favorite foods, the author made me think about how it may effect me personally. Luckily I haven't had to experience a food addiction to the severity that I just have to have it, but it was interesting reading about how some people struggle and have to cope with the constant longing for that specific item of choice. When Mary Turk talks about SAD I never even knew that existed. I learned a lot about that disorder and how it effects individuals and their food cravings. She made really good points in her book and it got me even more interested in the topic of food correlation with emotions.

Turk, Mary. Food and Emotions. Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2001. 27-33. Print.