# Emotional response to foods? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724 "2014-12-20T08:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/1 "2014-12-20T08:37:37Z")
I feel like it’s really strange, but I have certain emotional reactions it seems to certain foods in my diet. I don’t know if it’s quite like this for other people. Alcohol for example often exaggerates any negative feelings I have and makes me irritable, or very sad. I’m rarely happy after even a glass of wine. Pop…especially diet pop…gives me anxiety. My nervous ticks come out after a drink of diet coke. Does this happen in anyway to other people? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/2 "2014-12-20T09:19:04Z")
I get quite a lot of conscious emotional reactions to food and drink - some things are a treat no matter how many times I eat them. Steak and Kidney pie, for example, I feel an almost breathless sense of anticipation/appreciation, every time. But I think you’re talking about unconscious reactions. It’s all chemistry, when it comes down to it, so there’s no reason why this shouldn’t happen. I know a guy who turns into a whirling dervish at the merest sniff of caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Whitney\_Harper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@Whitney\_Harper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whitney_Harper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/3 "2014-12-20T09:19:49Z")
Alcohol is a depressant, and it is not advisable to drink during stressful times (break-up, death of family member, etc.). Alcohol can make a person profoundly depressed, (usually as it is wearing off). Hangovers are no picnic either. Switching gears, I believe sodas do cause mild depression. I used to drink them a lot (diet-coke, diet-pepsi), but the main reason I stopped was because I got tired of carrying them from the grocery store, (very heavy). I realized I had the option of getting them delivered, but I decided to mostly stop drinking them. I must confess I do have one about once a month. Think of all the money we could save if we didn’t spend it on unnecessary things such as alcohol and sodas. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/4 "2014-12-20T10:02:30Z")
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/5 "2014-12-20T14:20:46Z")
It’s not an emotional reaction per se, but I have certainly noticed that certain foods seem to exacerbate my tics. Pizza, ketchup, and Doritos are the ones I’ve been able to identify with some confidence. Since I really like my pizza and ketchup, I’ll eat them without hesitation. But not if know I’m going to be around other people. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/6 "2014-12-20T14:48:03Z")
Cheesecake with cherry topping makes me horny. There! I said it! /Hangs head in shame. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/7 "2014-12-20T14:48:24Z")
For some reason I read the thread title as “Emotional response to _fools_”. I’ll be glad when this holiday season is over. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/8 "2014-12-20T15:30:15Z")
I seem to recall you have a strong emotional response to yoga? Perhaps you’re just a very emotional person. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/9 "2014-12-20T17:43:25Z")
Not in the way you meant it, but I sometimes get sad when I eat certain foods that remind me of deceased people. For instance, my adopted great aunt (technically a family friend, but it’s kinda complicated) would always have an assortment of food from Trader Joe’s - frozen mangoes, chocolate cheesecake, and those cookie dunker things come to mind. It’s really amazing how many memories a taste can bring back. Smell works that way too - I think of her whenever I smell pot roast, canola potatoes, or schnitzel cooking. Soda actually does make me really edgy, but I don’t think that’s too much of a mystery if you look at how much sugar’s in it. And pastries put me to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/10 "2014-12-20T21:03:45Z")
No. What I have eaten results in no emotional residue or side effects. I eat everything, and afterwards, I forget what I’ve eaten. Food is food. I eat apple cores and banana peels and potato skins. I eat meat raw and drink sour milk. Nothing goes to waste, nothing has any after effect on me later on. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/11 "2014-12-20T21:16:59Z")
The Master speaks: [Does drinking gin make you mean?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2766/does-drinking-gin-make-you-mean) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/12 "2014-12-21T02:06:21Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/13 "2014-12-21T03:15:16Z")
Once, many years ago, a friend gave me a “salado.” A Mexican-style dried, salted plum. You don’t eat 'em, exactly, but you suck on 'em. Very strong salt flavor, with a subtle plum flavor below that. I laughed. No, literally. I laughed! I kept on laughing the whole time it was in my mouth. It tasted funny, and by that I really mean funny! Weirdest food experience ever! ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/14 "2014-12-21T03:17:34Z")
onions cause me to cry. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/15 "2014-12-21T04:28:37Z")
I don’t mean to sound snarky but the OP’s examples both contain drugs. Of course they affect your affect (or effect a change in…)! And Cecil’s column shows how expectations further play into it. With regard to regular vs. diet it could be “in your head,” but there are potentially other differences besides sugar vs. artificial sweetener. > [@Whitney\_Harper](#): > > Alcohol is a depressant, and it is not advisable to drink during stressful times (break-up, death of family member, etc.). “Homer: Moe, what do you recommend for severe depression? Moe: Booze, booze, and more booze. Lenny: Ha. Nothing like a depressant to chase the blues away.” Also: “Homer: (to Maggie) Now you learn your numbers from these billiard balls while daddy gets happier and happier and then sadder and sadder.” Quantity has a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotional-response-to-foods/707724/16 "2014-12-22T12:58:29Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Cheesecake with cherry topping makes me horny. > > There! I said it! > > /Hangs head in shame. Seafood, more of a physical than an emotional response though.