Comfort Food vs. Healthy Food

Comfort food is closely intertwined with society and well-being but why do we so commonly include food deep into our society and into our personal relationships? Troisi and Gabriel talk about how important feelings of loneliness and connected-ness are and why comfort food acts as a "social surrogate" or as a substitute for social experience. But we make that substitute because we want the feeling of belonging that those social situations give us. So why do we always turn to unhealthy foods high in carbohydrates, fats and sodium?

Hendy brings in the fact that our eating in cycles makes us feel better or worse in two-day cycles so if we eat poorly today, right now, we wont necessarily feel bad until 48 hours later. Also, that unhealthy foods high in carbs, fats and salts make us feel worse that healthy alternatives but possibly better at the time of eating them. This doesn't help lonely or sad people because they may feel better immediately with unhealthy comfort foods but two days later they'll feel physically poorly and that can lead to emotional unhappiness. If healthy alternatives and keeping a restrained diet make us feel better in the long run should we be eating healthy constantly to maintain a consistently happy mood? I think so!

But baked goods are a favorite and they're high in fats (think butter, crisco) and carbohydrates (flour is a primary base for many) and they are, if well prepared, anchored in our society as delicacy with famous and time consuming pastries, bakers and bakeries. So does that mean that since they aren't healthy they'll make you feel emotionally and physically unhealthy? I don't think so! This is where portion sizes should probably come in, right? Obviously, an entire cake will probably make you sick but a slice or individual cupcake can really raise your spirits and complement a great meal.

In general then, when done correctly and when portioned well all foods have their time and their place to excite and make you happy. Right? Or should we all eat healthy all the time and feel better? What is healthy? What's healthy to some might be gross to another. There's different levels of healthy too: moderation is key. We also have to ask ourselves questions about what we're eating to see why we're eating it. But those questions are different to everyone, what are they to you and how often do you actually ask yourself about what you're eating?

Dutch comfort food: vla

 Vla explained by Ena Scheerstra:

Vla is... one of those typical Dutch products. It is a dessert made with milk, cornstarch (or other thickeners), eggs (not always used nowadays), sugar and flavourings, that is served cold or at room temperature. It has the consistency and viscosity of yoghurt and is sold in square cartons. There are many different flavours available: vanilla, chocolate, caramel, raspberry, etc. There is even the flavour ‘blank’, which has a neutral colour and taste. Often producers experiment with unusual flavours and variations. Some vla flavours are only available certain times of the year, for example orange with Queen’s day and big football matches, or winter vla with spices and stewed pears. A more luxurious vla is made with cream and is usually only available in the two classic flavours vanilla and chocolate. Vanilla and chocolate vla are also available together in one carton: if you don’t shake the carton too much they will stay separate when you pour them out, so one half of your bowl is filled with vanilla vla and the other with chocolate vla; this is called dubbelvla (double vla) and is sometimes available in other flavours too. There are also vla flavours with add-ins, for example vanilla with bits or balls of chocolate. Vanilla vla is often served together with plain yoghurt and fruit syrup (something red like strawberry, raspberry or grenadine) to make a vlaflip, while chocolate vla is often served with a dollop of whipped cream. Vla is considered quite a simple and everyday dessert, some people really eat it every day after dinner, others only at the weekends or not at all, but it is not considered to be a special dessert to serve with special occasions.
The vla you buy in the shop usually doesn’t contain any eggs and uses thickeners instead of the traditional corn starch to get the right viscosity, but I prefer the mouth feel and taste of a vla made with egg yolks, corn starch and no artificial flavourings, so I usually make my own. Luckily, this is very easy!

http://honestcooking.com/vla-dutch-custard/

Comfort Foods: A Social Construct or a Scientific Fact?

As it has been discussed in the reports done by Christensen and Brooks, Hendy, and Triosi and Gabriel, comfort foods are a widely known idea, which most people are able to identify with. It is easy to think of comfort foods as a scientific concept because when someone is in a depressed or otherwise negative mood, they will eat some type of comfort food and their mood will improve for a period of time. For example, when college students are feeling homesick, they will turn to foods like macaroni and cheese to make them feel better about being away from home. Personally, when I am having a bad day and need a pick-me-up, I will turn to Chinese takeout or chocolate ice cream. There is something behind eating certain foods that makes individuals feel better when they are down. However, this could be a completely learned behavior.

In their report, Christensen and Brooks indicate that women consume an increased amount of carbohydrate and fat-rich foods as a coping mechanism. They also suggest that women take part in consuming more comfort food than do men. Each of the three studies identify comfort food as carbohydrate-rich foods, consumed in times of emotional distress. Triosi and Gabriel’s report points to the idea that “the ‘comfort’ in comfort food has real, significant, and consequential psychological roots.” This is a true possibility, but it is also debatable.

For many years, people have been emotionally eating, believing that food will provide the comfort they need to feel better. This response to negative emotions has been passed down through generations. The participation in this behavior may be studied through scientific methods, however I am skeptical about the true scientific nature of comfort foods. I think we all feel better after eating certain foods because we believe that we should; it is completely mental. Unless there are certain compounds in comfort foods that release hormones in our bodies to make us happier, they do not physically alter our moods. If there is no physical component behind comfort foods, altering the chemicals in our blood, they must be a purely social construct.

Do Our Traditions Affect Comfort Foods?

How much power do parents have over the current and future eating habits of their children? In their article, Triosi and Gabriel provide evidence that, in times of isolation and loneliness, individuals may turn to comfort foods for support. These comfort foods, they say, are determined based on the foods' associations with significant relationships. Then, when the food is consumed or even thought about, those relational connections are rekindled and provide emotional comfort and relief. Could parents, then, create memories and traditions around certain foods in order to influence the types of food their children turn to in life? I think that Triosi and Gabriel would say yes. 

Why then, do we have such a cultural consensus about which foods constitute comfort foods? Do a Google Image search for “comfort food” and you will find the same images again and again: macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, cakes, and pies. Despite the fact that Triosi and Gabriel’s study suggests no nutritional differences between foods people identified as comfort foods and new foods, there is a definite cultural perception that comfort food is carbohydrate-rich, fatty, and salty. What lies behinds this image of comfort food? 

One possibility is that our collective perception of comfort food differs from people’s personal experiences. Perhaps, even though we associate high-sodium, high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods with comfort, in individuals’ lives, they tend to turn toward a variety of foods, whichever ones they have positive relational associations with. Alternatively, the comforting effect could be linked directly to the types of nutrients in the food, but, as noted in the Christensen and Brooks article, there is no good theory for how, biologically, carbohydrate-rich foods would improve moods. It is also possible, however, that we, as a culture, tend to build food traditions around these types of fatty and carbohydrate-heavy foods and thus create food-relationship associations for these specific types of foods. For example, at Thanksgiving Americans usually eat mashed potatoes, gravy, pie, and turkey. At my family’s celebration of Passover, we eat brisket, matzoh ball soup, and rich desserts. When I make food with family or friends, we often bake, and the resulting food-relationship associations that I have created involve raspberry scones, pancakes, and a Jewish dessert called Mendel bread. If these are the types of food traditions that my family and other families create, it makes sense that we would gravitate toward foods high in fat, carbohydrates, and sodium in times of loneliness, assuming that the conclusions of Triosi and Gabriel’s study are correct. 

This situation of creating food traditions around sodium-, fat-, and carbohydrate-packed foods seems troublesome in light of both the physical and emotional health impacts. Most of us already know that these might not be the best foods to overload on for our physical health, but Hendi’s article also suggests that foods rich in these nutrients may be correlated with a negative mood two days later. Though Hendi’s study did not address causation, it is important to note that the foods that many of us may turn to for emotional comfort are correlated with negative mood states.  Could this potentially create a cycle of bad eating and emotional distress? 

Frequent spicy food consumption linked with longer life

August 4, 2015 – People who eat spicy foods nearly every day have a 14% chance of living longer than those who consume spicy foods less than once a week, according to a new study. Regular spicy food eaters also are less likely to die from cancer and heart and respiratory diseases than those who eat spicy foods infrequently...

You can read the whole article at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/frequent-spicy-food-consumption-linked-with-lower-death-risk/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nutrition%20Source%20-%20August%202015%20%281%29&utm_content=

 

First blog assignment: food-related story

Please complete this assignment no later than midnight on Tuesday 9/1 so that all the posts are available to be read on Wednesday morning before class.  (It's a good idea to test out the blog before that in case you encounter a problem, as I hope to be asleep at midnight on 9/1.)

Read Kniazeva & Venkatesh, then reflect on a food or meal that has meaning for you – a story (or stories) with emotional significance and perhaps a link to some aspect of your identity.  On the blog, briefly outline the story and explain how it relates to what we have read and discussed so far.  Pictures are welcome, though not required.  Come prepared to share your story in class.

Welcome to the Food & Hunger Blogspot

You will be asked to blog at least once a week.  Feel free to post at other times if you have other ideas or observations to share!