When too much food is just too much

We know we’re going to feel sick, and probably guilty, after that third helping of dessert. But we do it anyway, because food is so delicious. Our brains release dopamine when we eat something we enjoy. This is a chemical that governs our brain’s reward and pleasure centres; it makes us happy.

Our brains can be fickle, too. Often the reward from a particular taste can get old, and that food stops triggering the same level of pleasure in the brain. We feel the need for a new sensation—a need that’s usually pretty easily fulfilled at Christmas dinner. We may move from the seafood entrée to the baked ham, then on to the potato salad, then to the chicken, and finally—a whole new ball game—the dessert. End result: our stomachs are really full.

In some cases the kind of food we’re eating can make us want more of it. Some food types stimulate a stronger salivary response—as we eat, our salivary glands produce saliva, which helps to spread the flavour of the food throughout our mouth and over our tastebuds. Certain foods, emulsified ones like butter, chocolate and mayonnaise, as well as sauces and glazes, encourage this response, which makes our brain happy—and makes us want to eat more of it.

Another factor which can contribute to the Christmas dinner feeling is the social aspect of the event. Studies have shown that people eating in groups are often influenced by the eating behaviours of their companions. Apparently, when eating with an expressive and exuberant person, some people are more likely to match that person’s food intake—be it a small or large serving.

It’s important to remember eating a lot (and even to excess) on special occasions, like Christmas, is very different to constant overeating on a daily basis. Continued overindulgence is definitely not good for you.

So, how best to avoid that uncomfortable oh-no-I’ve-done-it-again-when-will-I-ever-learn feeling of having eaten too much? Go slowly, and listen to your body. And if you have over-eaten, don’t just sit around wallowing in a ‘food coma’. A walk around the block will help your digestive system process all that food. And a tip: that nice chemical dopamine, the one that makes our brain happy? It’s also released by exercise, making that walk a doubly good option!