During the new crown lockdown, many people said that they would stay at home and want to eat. The relationship between people and food is complex. Eating is a must, but if you eat too much, you will regret it. Sometimes, we often struggle with what to eat and what is best not to touch. Food not only provides us with nutrition and energy, but also comforts our brains and emotions. When we are happy, we can have a big meal. When we are depressed and sad, we also hope to get a little comfort from food.

 What is comfort food?

Different cultures may have different interpretations. In Chinese, it can be interpreted as comfort food, comfort food, or in other words, comfort food, "healing" food, etc.

The Niu Jian Dictionary defines comfort foods as sweet foods that make you feel better and rich in sugar, foods that you want to eat when you are sad and worried, foods that you used as a child and foods related to your home.



For everyone, the comfort food they like or crave varies from person to person. For example, some people like to eat chocolate, cake, ice cream, etc. For others, it may be a bowl of hot noodle soup, rice or French fries.

The reason why people crave comfort food, first of all, is because of its deliciousness. However, food comforts not only the stomach, but also human emotions and spirits. There is a certain scientific truth in it.

Jenny Linford is a food writer who lived in Singapore when she was a child. Her comfort food is a bowl of fragrant Hainanese chicken rice.

This bowl of chicken rice can remind her of childhood memories, and remind her of family gatherings with many delicious foods.

Sugar, fat, carbohydrate and human evolution

Although people's favorite comfort foods vary widely, those foods that can bring people satisfaction and happiness have a common feature, that is, high in sugar, high in fat, and rich in carbohydrates.

This is why? Lukas Van Oudenhove (Lukas Van Oudenhove) is a psychiatrist at the University of Leuven in Belgium. He specializes in studying the relationship between the human brain and the intestines, which he believes is related to the evolution of humans.

Lucas explained that in the past, humans were undernourished, especially foods rich in fats and sugars. Therefore, in the process of human evolution, it is particularly eager to eat this kind of food, because it can activate the reward mechanism of the human brain.


In addition, the research team led by Lucas also found that fat can reduce people's sadness. This may partly explain why people are more likely to eat high-fat foods when they are depressed.

Recent scientific studies have also shown that when people feel tired, they are more likely to be tempted by high-calorie, high-sugar and high-fat foods.

Lucas explained that their experiments showed that when fat was injected into the experimenter's stomach and small intestine through a test tube, it directly stimulated the cells in these areas.

The main function of these cells is to produce different hormones to regulate whether we feel hungry or full. The hypothalamus (the hypothalamus) corresponds to and is responsible for this area.

Food provides us with energy and nourishment. Because of this, our brain secretes some chemicals that can produce positive emotions when we eat. It is an evolutionary mechanism that drives people to find food and continue to eat. The same applies to people's preference for carbohydrate-rich and high-sugar diets.