Happy & Hungry! Why We Eat When We’re Feeling Good …

Aberdeen Football Club won the Scottish League Cup last week – and boy has Scotland heard all about it! For many, this triumph brought exceptional happiness, but inevitably, for those out there that are Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans, the victory might be a seen as a bitter defeat – alas, not everyone can be a winner. 

A parade down the Granite City’s Union Street on Sunday saw over 70,000 Aberdeen football fans flood the entire vicinity. But gosh…. aren’t we a hungry lot? As a result, the happy Dons fans needed to refuel following all that cheering, with shops and restaurants all round the city seeing a huge boom in sales - some even sold out of food completely!

This reminded me of something I heard a while back about people eating more when they are happy, or in a happy environment. You would be forgiven to associate eating, and particularly binge-eating, with times of upset. So what is the general consensus on this point? Do we fill our faces when we’re feeling gleeful, and what exactly persuades us to reach for the grub when all is well?

As the head of a meat manufacturing company, who better to ask than my 25 food expert employees! After much deliberation over some Speyside Specialities black pudding, trialling out delicious recipes and nibbling on our newest creations, we finally came to a conclusion - deciding there are much more reasons to enjoy food when we are feeing happy.  

At the end of the day, eating is for enjoyment as well as providing energy, nutrients and substance to survive. Food should be there to provide delight, to share and often to toast a sense of occasion.

We discussed some of the reasons over a spot of lunch:

• The Sun – The Scottish weather is rarely kind to us, but when it is, everybody pulls out the BBQ! Delicious sausages and burgers go down a treat!
• Loved up and loving food! It’s no secret that a lot of us put on a bit of weight when we settle down in a relationship. In fact, research conducted by UKMedix has suggested it’s all down to the happier; ‘frame of mind’ a relationship puts us in.
• Movie nights with the BFF and/or beau. Being with someone you really like makes us happy, and of course having a good munch and gossip is always going to go down well!
• Eating Out … a lot! An active social life makes for an actively happy person! Restaurants, drinks and coffee catch-ups are all part of the package.
• Birthdays – Who doesn’t love to sing happy birthday to a friend or family member? Singing puts us in a good mood as it releases endorphins into our system. Of course, after the singing comes the cake - and who can resist cake?
• The buffet! Almost all of us are guilty of over indulging at a birthday or wedding buffet. Piling goodies on your plate is just a delight!
• Celebrations – Christmas, Easter, Halloween – all of these holidays are linked to delicious food! Not to mention Aberdeen’s cup win again, but that limited edition ‘Sheep are on Fire’ Pie … WOW? 

Whatever your reason for having a treat, we think it’s certainly a good thing if you keep it in moderation. Do you have a happy trigger that encourages you to treat yourself?  Why not tell us all about it! We’d love to hear your recipes too!