AYURVEDA PERSPECTIVE ON EMOTIONAL EATING

When you eat, are you truly hungry for food? While the main function of eating is to provide fuel and sustenance for survival, eating is also an inherently emotional act. Nourishment is one the earliest experiences of receiving love and affection in a person's life. Food continues to be a focal point throughout our most cherished celebrations in life, including birthdays, weddings, holidays, and anniversaries. Food energizes the body by boosting blood sugar levels, while also providing you with a sense of comfort and ease as your nutritional needs are met. It's normal to eat emotionally a few times a year, as a form of celebration or an expression of joy. However, emotional eating becomes problematic when you become dependent on food as a frequent source of comfort. Emotional eating is always a sign of low digestive fire (agni) in Ayurveda.

Step 1: Be Curious

If you find yourself seeking food whenever you feel distressed or uneasy, gently bring awareness to your habits. Begin by noticing the difference between true belly hunger and emotional hunger. Investigate how you are feeling each time you reach for a snack. Is your stomach growling? Does it feel empty indicating true hunger? Or are you simply looking for a way to ease your current state of distress?

If you do not feel truly hungry, think about some other ways you can meet your emotional needs and regain your sense of calm, without turning to food. A stroll around your local park, calling a friend, or a short self-massage (abhyanga) will help redirect your focus away from emotional food choices. Also, be curious about the source of your emotional upset. Is it a looming work deadline making you feel under pressure? Did you have an argument with a family member last week that's still bothering you? Taking the time to reflect on and deal with emotional concerns can greatly reduce your desire to eat emotionally as you are getting to the root of the issue.

Step 2: Find the Type of Foods You are Craving

Examining your cravings, specifically the kinds of food you crave, can give an indication into what's going on internally. It can also serve as a good guide to help you uncover the roots of your emotional eating pattern. Think about the qualities of the foods you tend to indulge in when emotionally eating: is eating sugar an attempt to feel sweeter or more energized? Are you drawn to crunchy or spicy foods to give you a pick-me-up when you're feeling down or depressed? Do you reach for chocolate when you want more passion, or nuts when you need grounding?

Step 3: Redirect

When you are feeling guilt ridden or ashamed because of emotional eating, it's important to remember that emotional eating is an adaptive strategy. In most cases, your body may be trying to calm itself down through the soothing medicine of food. Your body is doing the best it can to help you, which at the core is a very good, nurturing impulse. Instead of getting angry with yourself for eating emotionally, search for healthier ways to express yourself and your feelings. Exercising, journaling, or talking to a friend are all good strategies that actually help you address your emotions instead of masking them with food.

Food is supposed to energize you. Refined wheat and sugar, some of the most common foods people turn to when eating emotionally, do just the opposite. Given the dramatic side effects these foods have on the blood, they are often the cause of the very same emotions you are trying to medicate with food. If you are tired due to stress and adrenal fatigue, a sugar rush will alleviate your symptoms briefly, only to make you crash 15 minutes later. While comfort food may provide you with some relief in the short term, these ingredients keep you stuck in a cycle of emotional eating.

Images of Emotional eating

Large