Tag: serotonin

Bereavement eating: does grief cause carb cravings?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

(originally published here shortly after my mother’s death four years ago today on February 21, 2012)

I’ve heard it said that some people experience a loss of appetite during stressful times like a death in the family.  These people are not my relatives. Indeed, in our Ukrainian family tradition, we eat when we’re happy, we eat when we’re upset, and we eat during all possible emotions in between.

Every family gathering surrounding my mother’s death was no exception.

For example, the delicious lunch following her funeral service was a true labour of love prepared by the women of my mother’s church, just as the women of churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and neighbourhoods around the world have been doing for mourners since time began. Continue reading “Bereavement eating: does grief cause carb cravings?” →

Bereavement Eating: does grief cause carb cravings?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  (originally published here shortly after my mother’s death this week in 2012)

I’ve heard it said that some people experience a loss of appetite during stressful times like a death in the family.  These people are not my relatives. Indeed, in our Ukrainian family tradition, we eat when we’re happy, we eat when we’re upset, and we eat during all possible emotions in between.

Every family gathering surrounding my mother’s death was no exception.

For example, the delicious lunch following her funeral service was a true labour of love, prepared by the women of my mother’s church, just as the women of churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and neighbourhoods around the world have been doing for mourners since time began. Continue reading “Bereavement Eating: does grief cause carb cravings?” →

Bereavement eating: does grief cause carb cravings?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 12 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

I’ve heard it said that some people experience a loss of appetite during stressful times like a death in the family.  These people are not my relatives. Indeed, in our Ukrainian family tradition, we eat when we’re happy, we eat when we’re upset, and we eat during all possible emotions in between.

Every family gathering surrounding my mother’s recent death was no exception.

For example, the delicious lunch following her funeral service was a true labour of love, prepared by the women of my mother’s church, just as the women of churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and neighbourhoods around the world have been doing for mourners since time began.  Continue reading “Bereavement eating: does grief cause carb cravings?” →

Why we don’t crave broccoli

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

broccoli brown

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

When you have a particular craving for a specific food, do you tend to go for something salty like nuts?  Or sweet and creamy like my daughter Larissa’s favourite mint chocolate chip ice cream?

Or crunchy and raw like broccoli?

Well, it’s too bad none of you raised your hand for broccoli, dear Heart Sisters, because researchers at Imperial College London in the U.K. tell us that a chemical in broccoli called sulforaphane can actually boost the body’s natural defense mechanism that protects our coronary arteries from clogging. Please tell me why gooey Tim Hortons maple dips can’t contain sulforaphane, too.  Continue reading “Why we don’t crave broccoli” →