What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating is when people eat for reasons other than hunger. It is driven by the brain’s reward system. People with certain genetic variants are more likely to be emotional eaters. Emotional eating often occurs when you are lonely, bored, or unhappy. About 40% of all people have experienced emotional eating and generally women are more susceptible than men.
In addition to mood swings, deficiency of any key nutrient in your diet can trigger emotional eating. When you lack a key nutrient, your brain sends the body a signal to eat and fulfill this nutritional need. However, most people do not understand what their bodies are trying to tell them. They simply eat foods they are used to, which don’t necessarily fulfill the nutrient deficit. With the wrong food choices, they continue to eat and still don’t feel satisfied. This happens more to people who eat a lot of sugary and fatty foods, such as cakes, nuts, dried fruits, and pastries, resulting in a continuous cycle of malnutrition, mood swings, emotional eating and weight gain.
How can you control emotional eating?
- Use GB online tools to check if you are lacking any key nutrients in your diet.
- Manage your emotional eating episodes with smart food choices and portion control.
Watch this video clip of Dr. Lee and Christina discussing emotional eating and how to manage it.