Washington: The next time you reach out for macaroni, cheese or meatloaf when you feel low, give it a second thought. Because researchers say while comfort food may boost our mood, they are bad news for the arteries.
Some of these comfort foods are rich in saturated fat, which is blamed for forming plaque (clogging arteries), responsible for a host of potentially threatening ailments like cancer, stroke and heart diseases.
But do comfort foods actually work? Researchers say they do.
"For me personally, food has always played a big role in my family," says Jordan Troisi, graduate student at the University of Buffalo, US, who led the study.
The study came out of the research programme of his co-author Shira Gabriel, which has looked at social surrogates that make people feel like they belong, reports the journal Psychological Science.
In one experiment, in an attempt to make participants feel lonely, researchers had them write for six minutes about a fight with someone close to them. Others were given an emotionally neutral writing assignment.
Finally, researchers had participants complete questions about their levels of loneliness. Writing about a fight with a close person made people feel lonely.
But people who were generally secure in their relationships - something that was assessed before the experiment - were able to rescue themselves from loneliness by writing about a comfort food.
"We have found that comfort foods are foods which are consistently associated with those close to us," says Troisi. "Thinking about or consuming these foods later then serves as a reminder of those close others."
In another experiment, eating chicken soup in the lab made people think more about relationships, but only if they considered chicken soup to be a comfort food.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.