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Evidence-informed writing on nutrition, eating behavior,
psychological health, and wellbeing.
When we notice something really harmful, threatening, or challenging is happening, we experience a series of emotional states that prepare us to deal with that event. We may experience fear or anxiety, but we can also experience rage. If the developments threaten someone we love, our mind will remind us of that love and the need to act to protect that person. In such situations, our bodies will experience stress. The reactions will not be solely psychological, but a series of strong physiological changes will also occur.
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The body needs a wide variety of nutrients to stay healthy. Some are needed in large quantities, and they are called macronutrients, while others are needed in smaller quantities (micronutrients). Still, all of these nutrients are needed for our body to remain healthy. To obtain all the nutrients found in different food items, people establish patterns of eating and drinking we refer to as “diets” (or, in nutritional psychology, “dietary intake patterns”).
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Living beings need to eat to stay alive. Multiple times daily, processes in our body tell our brain that we need to eat. We feel hunger, prompting us to look for food and eat it. After we have eaten, we feel satiated. This cycle continues as long as we live. But how does this function on the neural and biochemical level?
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Scientists have long been reporting that individuals consuming high amounts of certain foods or taking certain substances tend to often suffer from specific diseases or disorders (Huang et al., 2023; Samuthpongtorn et al., 2023; Tilg, 2015; Wang et al., 2023). However, these findings often fall short of establishing a cause-and-effect link between the consumption of specific food and health outcomes. This happens because the effects of foods become visible only after prolonged periods of consumption. Experimental studies that identify cause-and-effect relationships can often not be conducted for long periods. Additionally, since many of these adverse health effects are very serious, it would not be ethical to conduct an experiment that is expected to inflict such conditions on study participants.
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When we suddenly find ourselves in a dangerous situation, our body activates a series of changes that prepare us to fight the source of the danger or flee from it. It will release stress hormones into our bloodstream; the heart will start beating faster, breathing will quicken, and sweating will increase. We will forget about being hungry, sleepy, or tired. This is called the acute stress response. However, the acute stress response is only temporary. As soon as the danger is over, the source of stress no longer threatens us; all the processes will return to normal. But what happens if the danger does not end if the cause of stress continues to threaten our well-being?
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Humans are social creatures. Because of this, relationships with other people play a central role in every individual’s life. They provide a sense of belonging, meaning, intimate connections, and emotional support we all need. Babies and children need interactions with other humans to survive. Without contact with others and its benefits, many basic cognitive capacities will not develop at all. Even in newborns, deprivation of human contact is a strong source of distress. Because of all this, social relationships are crucial to everyone’s mental and physical health and well-being (Christensson et al., 1995; Singer, 2018).
We all know that our attractiveness can change depending on the circumstances. For example, when we’re tired or after sleepless nights, we might not appear as attractive as when fresh and well-rested. This difference will primarily reflect on our face, one of the most important parts of the human body for evaluating attractiveness.
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We are all aware that people of advanced age can often be forgetful, and their memory is no longer what it used to be. Tasks requiring speed and quick reactions are more difficult. Is there a way to prevent this?
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When lacking sleep, some drink coffee, some try to increase their physical activity to stay awake, and some visit the fridge. Most people have experienced this situation when they couldn’t get enough sleep, accompanied by a desire to eat more food than usual. But does lack of sleep really increase our appetite?
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Scientists have studied mental health problems for centuries. However, for most of this time, their focus has solely been on psychological symptoms because the scientific know-how needed to understand the complex biochemical mechanisms underpinning psychology was simply not there until now. Recent advances in biomedical technology allowed modern researchers to start mapping the biochemical mechanisms behind these disorders. One major topic of this type of research is stress-related disorders, such as major depressive disorder.
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