Comfort Foods Help Alleviate Loneliness

WASHINGTONNew research from the University of Buffalo reveals eating comfort foods like mashed potatoes, meatloaf and macaroni and cheese may affect a persons mood and possibly alleviate loneliness.

The findings will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science and are based on a series of experiments that evaluated the effect of food in keeping loneliness at bay. In one experiment, participants were asked to write for six minutes about a fight with someone close to them; others were given an emotionally neutral writing assignment. Next, some participants were asked to write about the experience of eating a comfort food while others were asked to write about eating a new food. The participants completed a questionnaire about their levels of loneliness.

The study revealed when people wrote about a fight with somebody close, it made them feel lonely; however, writing about comfort foods uplifted their spirits and made them feel good.

We have found that comfort foods are foods which are consistently associated with those close to us," the researchers said. Thinking about or consuming these foods later then serves as a reminder of those close others."