Short Introduction and Summary of Benefits of Comfort foods [CFs]
The benefits of comfort foods include the elementary benefit of comfort, from a sociological or anthropological perspective they provide a sense of cultural identity, and from a personal or individual oriented perspective they provide mental health and mood benefits in addition to and comfort derived from nostalgia related elements.
Personal Benefits from a Group Perspective
Comfort foods provide a positive effect on us by giving us a sense of social or cultural identity. This is seen in the frequent partaking of comfort foods specific to a culture or geographic region, whether at a family barbeque or in consumption of ethnic foods and snacks. Consuming CFs give us a sense of belonging in a society reflective of our consumer based behaviors and actions.
Comfort food’s tie to personal identity on a group basis is reflected in times of national crisis where sales of comfort foods increase to ameliorate effects of a crisis on the populace’s mood. In the instances discussed, CFs can be seen to evoke positive emotion and physiologically combat stress, including stresses involved in crisis involving large groups or populations.
Personal Benefits from a More Individualistic Perspective
Comfort foods benefit us is the area of mental health and in our mood. During activities of consumption, CFs temporarily boosts mood. So when feeling depressed or sad, tired, or bored, consuming comfort foods can lift these negative emotions. For example, during studying or working, feelings of stress, tiredness, and boredom may arise, and this may lead to the consumption of comfort food to reduce these feelings. Because many people either work or study in school, the prevalence of CF consumption should not be too surprising. Though the word consumption has been used throughout this section, it should be noted that as little as thinking of comfort foods provides benefits such as reducing loneliness and/or other potential mood benefits through physiological means.
Nostalgia Related Benefits
Comfort foods can stir up nostalgic feelings, reminding us of times that we carry warm feelings for. Feelings of happiness from nostalgia incurred by CFs, in the form of romantic, idealized yearning and happiness induced by memories of the past, can be considered as emotional benefits to an individual. Comfort foods can remind of events such as special gatherings, birthdays, and times spent with loved ones, impacting us with positive mood benefits in combination with the consumption of the CF and the simple pleasure of physiological satisfaction of consuming tasty food.
Nostalgia Related Benefits: “Curing” Homesickness
Nostalgia is linked to homesickness as remembering the home you may have left can make you long for a time when you were still there. Comfort foods can remind of us home, where these favorite foods might have been prevalent and where the people who prepared the food for you may have lived. Because of their ability to remind us of home, CFs can ameliorate effects of homesickness experienced by those who are far away from home, such as by students who are living away from home as they leave to pursue higher education in colleges and universities. Nostalgia can be loosely defined as a yearning for the past that can trigger emotion ranging from elated happiness to sorrow. For the purposes of the highlighted topic at hand, we will focus on the comfort and happiness brought on by warm past memories when discussing nostalgia and comfort foods.
Nostalgia Related Benefits: Remembering Relationships
Comfort foods can remind us of close past relationships, bringing about feelings of sentimental happiness. This includes past relationships where your family or friends were present during the consumption of a comfort food, or foods or during the preparation of those foods, or relationships where you shared a particular food with a significant other thus giving it special meaning. Though these refer primarily to warm feelings brought on by human relationships, relationships with pets are not out of the question, as they are present in family gatherings and sometimes partake in the sharing of food. Having human relationships can be argued with little opposition to be an integral part of attaining happiness, and thus, the potential of comfort foods to strengthen these relationships and their memory by reminding us of them can be considered quite an important benefit.
Regarding Temporary Effects
It should be noted that though positive effects are temporary, that does not make them negligible. Physical pain relief in the form of various drugs is prevalent in hospitals and in self-medication. Though this relief is temporary, that does not mean to say that their benefits should not be considered. Analogously, reduction in immaterial pains can be regarded in a similar light, as a slight benefit, though not without its noteworthy downsides.
Introduction and Summary of Detriments of Comfort Foods
Detrimental effects or harmful qualities of comfort foods include regular consumption leading to formational excess of abdominal fat, contribution to the problem of obesity, provision of only temporary effects with the potential for unhealthy tradeoff, and the provision of potential of an unhealthy mental crutch with physical consequences.
Abdominal fat and Obesity
The carbohydrates and sugars along with the higher fat content found in both snack type and more hearty comfort foods can affect a person’s physical health and abdominal fat levels. Ranging from cookies and ice cream to pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes, these comfort foods may contribute to unhealthy weight gain.
Eating CFs while experiencing negative emotions such as boredom or depression, or for the emotional purpose of comfort, often or regularly, can be characterized as unhealthy both physically and mentally. It is unhealthy physically because of uneven caloric intake weighed against calories metabolized resulting in the previously mentioned abdominal fat due to more calories being taken in as opposed to burned or used up. This general assertion is made because during such CF consumption for mood purposes, partaking is associated with sedentary behavioral patterns or general lack of activity. Example scenarios would include the classic couch potato scenario, eating for prolonged periods in bed, and other stay at home situations where there is a lack of exercise due to negative moods and emotions such as sadness, or due to feelings such as longing, or fullness after consuming a large amount of CFs.
Obviously, CF consumption can be seen as adding to the overarching problem of obesity. This additionally increases susceptibility cancers, as being overweight is linked to increased probability of developing certain cancers.
Obesity: Related Detriments
All that potential extra weight that can come from the regularly paced consumption of CFs and sedentary behavior can detract from personal mobility along the previously mentioned health effects, as it is harder to carry extra weight. As it becomes harder to move and tiredness sets in more easily, this may act as a catalyst for further sedentary behavior and lack of exercise and maybe even more CF consumption.
Only Temporary Effects and Emotional Aspects
Though the physiological and psychological induction of positive emotions after, during, or before the process of consuming CFs can and should be considered a benefit, it should be noted that the effects are temporary and that the longevity or lack of can be considered a slight detriment. This drawback, logically, then supposes that in order to maintain effects, a generally fast rate of consumption is needed to maintain effects if seeking a semblance of a prolonged aggregate effect. Such regular consumption can be unhealthy as mentioned earlier. The tradeoff of temporary effects for unhealthy weight game in the form of fat deposits or the more extreme tradeoff of prolonged effects with even greater effects can be considered a qualitative net loss, and thus a detriment.
Detriments Correlated with Focus on Emotional Aspects
People can use the food-derived feelings they get from eating comfort foods as an emotional crutch. Such reliance should not be considered as the sturdiest foundation for personal, emotional stability, as it is analogous to a harmful addiction with imbalanced tradeoffs. The use of CFs as a crutch is closely related to eating disorders like binge eating or compulsive eating, which are rather dangerous incarnations of CF consumption.
(JM) preliminary resources: unformatted
Benefits and Detriments
Paper: COMFORT FOODS: AN EXPLORATORY JOURNEY INTO
THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD
Paper: Chicken Soup Really Is Good for the Soul : ''Comfort Food'' Fulfills the Need to Belong
Electronic Article:
http://scienceblog.com/43841/chicken-soup-for-the-soul-comfort-food-fights-loneliness/
Electronic Article:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/people-places-and-things/201105/benefits-barbeques
Paper: ROBERT D. LEVITAN AND CAROLINE DAVI S
Emotions and Eating Behaviour:
Implications for the Current Obesity
Epidemic
Electronic Article:
http://www.enotes.com/food-encyclopedia/comfort-food
Book: The Future of Nostalgia by Svetlana Boym
