在黑暗寒冷的冬季，我们喜欢吃一些让人开心的食物。比如，甜食、热乎、温性的饭菜，因为它们会让我们有饱腹感，从而御寒。但我们为什么在一年中其它时间，也喜欢享用含碳水化合物多、高糖的食品？本文讨论人们喜欢安慰食物的原因。

 

Warning! This article could be bad for your health! As many of us endure the long, cold winter, we are tempted¹ to tuck into some filling and fattening² foods. This is sometimes because it helps us to keep warm and to give us energy, but often it's because we need something to cheer us up. And, for a short while at least, it makes us feel better – which is why we call it 'comfort food'.

 

The type of food that makes us feel good varies from person to person – it depends on your palate and the association you have with particular tastes, textures³ and smells. But probably the most universally popular edible⁴ comforter is the biscuit. It's thought this go-to snack often brings back happy memories of childhood and family, as well as giving us that all-important sugary pick-me-up.

 

Moving on from the sweet and sugary snacks, famous chef and food writer Mary Berry knows about the kind of meals that warm us up and give us comfort in the winter. She told BBC Food magazine: "I think it becomes natural to think about comfort food as soon as the weather chills and the nights become darker." She suggests soup and warming foods as feel-good winter treats.

 

The other thing about comforting dishes like mac and cheese, noodles or pizza is they don't require culinary skills in the kitchen; they are easy to make so you can get your fix of feel-good food quickly. However, we often feel so good that we eat too much, and even though we know the ingredients are high in carbohydrates⁵, sugar or salt, we continue to pig out. Psychologist Shira Gabriel told the BBC: "We feel guilty because we don't realise that what's happening is our minds [are] finding a way to trigger a really positive emotion and they're making us eat that food to do so."

 

Maybe we should take comfort from the fact that eating certain food just makes us feel happy. But, for some people, eating any kind of food brings joy, warmth, happiness and comfort.

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