STRESS
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What is stress and why do we experience it? The main question is, how does stress affect our eating habits? Stress is a way our body responds to any kind of demand. We might experience eustress (positive stress) or distress (negative stress). Stress, whether it is positive or negative, has a tremendous affect on our ways of eating. The hormones that stress releases and the effects of “comfort foods” push people toward overeating. Researchers inked weight gain to stress, and that weight gain can come from stressful binge eating. In the short term, stress can shut down appetite. The structure in the brain called the hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone, which suppresses appetite. The brain also sends out a message to the adrenal glands on top of the kidney to pump out the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline). This hormone helps trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, which puts eating on hold. However, if the the stress lingers on, it is an entire different story. This does the exact opposite of shuts down appetite, it increases appetite through the roof. The adrenal glands now release cortisol, a hormone that expands motivation in general, including the motivation to eat.