Why Do We Crave Junk Food When We Have a Broken Heart?
Posted: Tuesday, March 15, 2011
by Mark Hester
It's a classic image in popular media. The broken hearted girl sitting on the couch eating an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's or bon bons.
Or the broken hearted guy ordering a large pizza with extra cheese and jalapenos.
Oh. Maybe that was just me. Who need's what's-her-name, anyway?
Nonetheless, male or female or martian, ice cream or pizza or whatever, we have all been there. Eating fatty foods, a lot of fatty foods, makes us feel better after a broken heart.
But why is this so?
Well, it's not all in your head. Some but not all. The taste and mouth-feel of fatty foods is familiar to us. So it is comforting in an emotionally trying time. But that is not the only reason. There actually is a scientific, physical reason we crave junk food when we break up with someone -- even if they don't deserve us. Who need's ol' what's-her-name, anyway?
Fat gets absorbed much more slowly into the bloodstream than proteins (i before e? Sorry, it is spelled correctly.) or carbs, so we feel fuller longer. When the body feels full it releases happy hormones. This is why we feel content and sleepy after a large meal. And naturally why we want fatty foods after a split.
Incidentally, nicotine causes the body to release similar hormones, which is why smoking is often said to be an appetite suppressant.
I am not endorsing cigarettes. (Incidentally, completely off-topic but interesting nonetheless - Sir Francis Bacon, noted playwright (although he did not write the Shakespeare plays - that was Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford) and scientist, noted that it was "kind of hard to quit smoking" in 1610 (yes, he really said "kind of" in 1610. I wonder if he said it like we do: "kinda".) Then a mere 384 years later, in 1994, seven tobacco executive swear under oath before the US Congress that nicotine is not addictive. Right.)
Nor am I actually endorsing fatty foods for that matter.
But if you can't get ahold of any good antidepressants, a triple cheese burger, Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby or a bucket of extra crispy, hot and spicy chicken wings may be just what you need. Just be sure to make it a temporary thing, just until you feel better, or you may end up sitting at home with a large bucket of original recipe when you should be out finding the next person that will eventually break your heart.
Like what's-her-name. But I'm not bitter. Really.
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