Why do comfort foods make us so happy?
Research over the past 20 years shows the same result time and time again: when we’re stressed, we want what researchers call high energy and nutrient-dense foods -- those snacks, treats and meals that are high in fat and sugar.
Comfort foods improve mood, reduce loneliness and connect us to cherished memories, often linked to childhood. A craving for a comfort food typically stems from an extreme emotion, including happy, meaning we reach for comfort foods to celebrate.
According to researchers, comfort food preferences vary across age and gender. A look into the top dishes order by Grubhub in 2022 can offer insight into America’s preferences for comfort foods:
- Burrito
- Cheeseburger
- Cheese pizza
- Pad Thai
- Chicken quesadilla
- California roll
- Chicken fried sandwich
- Caesar salad
- Chicken tikka masala
- Boneless wings
The compilation of the top 10 might be obvious: those foods are delicious. However, the science behind why we crave comfort foods goes deeper. The journey into why we seek comfort foods is tri-fold, involving the convergence of mood, marketing and memories.
Mood
How we feel can dictate what we eat. Think about it: have you ever been too nervous to eat (say, on that first date or before that big job interview)? How did you feel after the nerves subsided? Were you able to tuck into a meal afterwards? Comfort foods often trigger our reward system by releasing dopamine, a hormone and neurotransmitter. When we take a bite of that comfort food, whether it’s a hot fudge sundae, peanut butter and apples, tikka masala or double bacon cheeseburger, dopamine floods the brain and gives us a huge boost of pleasure feelings. Any negative feeling we may have been experiencing before -- stress, anger, sadness or anything in between -- is diminished thanks to that hit of dopamine.
Memories
We seek out comfort foods because they bring us safety and, as the name implies, comfort. Foods become comfort foods, research shows, because of our associations with them. Comfort foods evoke general feelings of love, safety, homecoming, appreciation, control, victory or empowerment, says Dr. Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois. They bring about a sense of nostalgia, reminding us of childhood, home or other comforting memories. In fact, scientists say that taste and memory are linked as a human survival tactic; this is why we remember to avoid poisonous foods or other foods we don’t like. As such, because humans have different experiences, we’re likely to have different preferred comfort foods.
Marketing
How do you know what comfort food to turn to when you’re feeling nostalgic or stressed out? We can thank food marketing gurus for that. Marketing creatives have been working for decades to get the best of the human psyche in order to make you choose one branded snack food over the next. Food brands and marketers tap into our desire for nostalgia and simpler days of yore while reminding you that anytime is a good time to grab a bag of chips or cookies. Nowadays, food marketing comes in more forms than you might imagine, including traditional advertising, promotions, event sponsorships, guest loyalty (hello punch cards!), customer service, menu design, pricing and location. Some products may go so far as to include celebrity endorsements (who can forget Cindy Crawford’s 1992 Pepsi drinking?), product placements on TV or in movies and, of course, social media posts.
The hitch with comfort foods
The problem with comfort foods, nutritionists say, is that an overabundance of fat, sugar, salt and carbs can actually make us feel worse. Scientists have discovered that 20% of what we eat goes to our brains, which is why eating nutrient-rich food makes us feel better and can help individuals combat stress, depression and other mental health issues.
Some brain-rich foods that provide comfort include:
- Dark chocolate: A government study shows that people who eat dark chocolate regularly have a 70% reduced risk of depression symptoms. The same effect was not seen in those who ate at lot of milk chocolate.
- Avocados: High in healthy fats that enhance absorption of phytonutrients of other vegetables.
- Leafy greens: High in folate
- Seafood: High in omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve cognitive brain function
