Research tells us that people who eat a well balanced diet and who engage in physical activity tend to be healthier with stronger immune systems and have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases." - Wini Gallagher
SUPPORT FOR EMOTIONAL EATING
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Oliver McCabe is director of Hubble Health independent health food consultancy working alongside Independent Irish Health Foods & True Natural Goodness to promote and increase awareness of the extensive range of brands such as Pukka, Clearspring, Wild Nutrition and Sonnentor to name a few, within the independent health food and independent food retailer sector in Ireland through whole food cookery, marketing, nutrition and events. Previously, Oliver was instrumental in transforming his family’s business, Select Stores in Dalkey. As a result, he’s passionate about the role the independent health food store can play in educating and inspiring customers to make healthy lifestyle choices. In addition, as a whole food chef, food writer and nutritional therapist, he is keenly aware of the importance of having high quality food products of good provenance widely available through ethical supply chains and is eager to bring this knowledge to bear in his role as Ambassador of Health Stores Ireland.
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As a recognized emotional eater myself for many years I must live a daily routine to control filling the void being mindful rather than mindless with food including exercise, meditation and eating 3 small meals and 2 snacks a day, breakfast being the most important to set my day up. Here’s some more advice and tips:
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating is the tendency of its sufferers to respond to stress by eating, even when not hungry, often high-calorie or high-carbohydrate foods that have minimal nutritional value. The foods that emotional eaters crave are often referred to as comfort foods, like ice cream, cookies, chocolate, chips, French fries, and pizza. About 40% of people tend to eat more when stressed, while about 40% eat less and 20% experience no change in the amount of food they eat when exposed to stress.
What is the treatment for emotional eating?
Overcoming emotional eating tends to involve teaching the sufferer healthier ways to view food and develop better eating habits, recognize their triggers for engaging in this behavior, and develop appropriate ways to prevent and alleviate stress.
An important step in managing stress is exercise, since regular physical activity tends to dampen the production of stress chemicals, even leading to a decrease in depression, anxiety, and insomnia in addition to decreasing the tendency to engage in emotional eating.
Engaging in meditation and other relaxation techniques is also a powerful way to manage stress and therefore decrease emotional eating. Therefore, engaging in one or two meditation sessions a day can have lasting beneficial effects on health, even decreasing high blood pressure and heart rate.
Refraining from drug use and consuming no more than moderate amounts of alcohol are other important ways to successfully manage stress since many of these substances heighten the body's response to stress. Also, indulging in use of those substances often prevents the person from facing their problems directly so they are not able to develop effective ways to cope with or eliminate the stress.
Other lifestyle changes that can decrease stress include taking breaks at home and at work. Refrain from over-scheduling yourself. Learn to recognize and respond to your stress triggers. Take regular days off at intervals that are right for you. Structure your life to achieve a comfortable way to respond to the unexpected.
For those who may need help dealing with stress, stress-management counseling in the form of individual or group therapy can be very useful. Stress counseling and group therapy have proven to reduce stress symptoms and improve overall health.
I personally start my day with a glass of warm water with apple cyder vinegar and squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This would kick start my digestion gradually waking it up.
You’ve heard it a thousand times before but it’s true; breakfast is the most important meal of the day and needs to be wholesome and filling. Breakfast sets you up for the entire day, and can really affect your mood and productivity, so be sure put some time into preparing and eating it in a relaxed way, rather than rushing out the door with an unhealthy cereal bar in your mouth. You will enjoy the experience more this way and breakfast will become a regular meal. It’s vital for mental and physical health not just in times of stress but always.
A nutritious breakfast must be rich in nutrients and devoid of any refined or sugary foods. Refined sugar and caffeine may make you feel better temporarily, but your body soon ‘crashes’ from the high, leaving you exhausted or irritable. They can also deplete vital nutrients from your system. Skipping breakfast or just having a coffee or sugary pastry can lead to weight problems and irritability. When serotonin (the happy hormone) levels are low in the brain, cravings for carbohydrates such as cakes, sweets, chocolate and alcohol can result, as the body uses insulin to trigger serotonin release. Eliminate these sugary substances from your diet if you can over time or you may be faced with brain exhaustion, which will be a complete ‘crash down’. The sudden raised levels of blood sugar you get from eating refined carbohydrates also leads to sudden slumps, which may then lead to fatigue and poor concentration.
Here are some of my favourite easy healthy breakfast recipes from my cookbook The FuelFood Cookbook
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating is the tendency of its sufferers to respond to stress by eating, even when not hungry, often high-calorie or high-carbohydrate foods that have minimal nutritional value. The foods that emotional eaters crave are often referred to as comfort foods, like ice cream, cookies, chocolate, chips, French fries, and pizza. About 40% of people tend to eat more when stressed, while about 40% eat less and 20% experience no change in the amount of food they eat when exposed to stress.
What is the treatment for emotional eating?
Overcoming emotional eating tends to involve teaching the sufferer healthier ways to view food and develop better eating habits, recognize their triggers for engaging in this behavior, and develop appropriate ways to prevent and alleviate stress.
An important step in managing stress is exercise, since regular physical activity tends to dampen the production of stress chemicals, even leading to a decrease in depression, anxiety, and insomnia in addition to decreasing the tendency to engage in emotional eating.
Engaging in meditation and other relaxation techniques is also a powerful way to manage stress and therefore decrease emotional eating. Therefore, engaging in one or two meditation sessions a day can have lasting beneficial effects on health, even decreasing high blood pressure and heart rate.
Refraining from drug use and consuming no more than moderate amounts of alcohol are other important ways to successfully manage stress since many of these substances heighten the body's response to stress. Also, indulging in use of those substances often prevents the person from facing their problems directly so they are not able to develop effective ways to cope with or eliminate the stress.
Other lifestyle changes that can decrease stress include taking breaks at home and at work. Refrain from over-scheduling yourself. Learn to recognize and respond to your stress triggers. Take regular days off at intervals that are right for you. Structure your life to achieve a comfortable way to respond to the unexpected.
For those who may need help dealing with stress, stress-management counseling in the form of individual or group therapy can be very useful. Stress counseling and group therapy have proven to reduce stress symptoms and improve overall health.
I personally start my day with a glass of warm water with apple cyder vinegar and squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This would kick start my digestion gradually waking it up.
You’ve heard it a thousand times before but it’s true; breakfast is the most important meal of the day and needs to be wholesome and filling. Breakfast sets you up for the entire day, and can really affect your mood and productivity, so be sure put some time into preparing and eating it in a relaxed way, rather than rushing out the door with an unhealthy cereal bar in your mouth. You will enjoy the experience more this way and breakfast will become a regular meal. It’s vital for mental and physical health not just in times of stress but always.
A nutritious breakfast must be rich in nutrients and devoid of any refined or sugary foods. Refined sugar and caffeine may make you feel better temporarily, but your body soon ‘crashes’ from the high, leaving you exhausted or irritable. They can also deplete vital nutrients from your system. Skipping breakfast or just having a coffee or sugary pastry can lead to weight problems and irritability. When serotonin (the happy hormone) levels are low in the brain, cravings for carbohydrates such as cakes, sweets, chocolate and alcohol can result, as the body uses insulin to trigger serotonin release. Eliminate these sugary substances from your diet if you can over time or you may be faced with brain exhaustion, which will be a complete ‘crash down’. The sudden raised levels of blood sugar you get from eating refined carbohydrates also leads to sudden slumps, which may then lead to fatigue and poor concentration.
Here are some of my favourite easy healthy breakfast recipes from my cookbook The FuelFood Cookbook
Top Tips for your immune system
from wini gallagher
Tasty wholesome winter recipes
From Maggie Lynch of IINH
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