Stress and Sugar

We need to eat for living. Yet more often than not we eat for the wrong reasons. There are a number of psychological problems which cause overeating. However, you do not have to be a patient of eating disorders if you start craving for the wrong kind of foodstuffs when you are upset. This has a simple explanation. Stress. We are often worried and anxious, not knowing how to deal with life, when we are stressed out. Food provides comfort during times like this. That is why most emotionally overwrought people tend to overeat.

Sugar and Stress- However, the problem lies in eating the wrong kind of food. Absolutely nobody nibbles on a stick of carrot or has a green salad when they experience stress. Most of us turn to high sugar foods when facing a stressful situation. This helps us by releasing endorphins and serotonin into our blood stream. It elevates our mood instantly and helps us to overcome our feeling of depression. This habit of eating sweets becomes addictive after a period of time as the sugar is metabolized into alcohol within our blood stream. This is precisely why we experience a hangover like symptom after overindulging in sweets. Also, Serotonin acts like a drug by giving us an instant high.

Health Problems- Linking sweets as an effective stress buster helps us to feel better for the time being but it has serious implications on our health if we continue to eat sugar rich food without giving it a thought. Obesity and diabetes are severe health related problems and the root cause of such ailments can be traced directly to sweets. Cardio vascular maladies may pose severe health risks and are aggravated by eating sugared foods too. It is therefore, better to handle stress by other more methodical means instead of resorting to the quick fix remedy of eating sugar.