Was Feuerbach right: are we what we eat?

Abstract

Food and stress are powerful modulators of the body-mind connection, which is imbalanced in obese individuals. Why do we choose chocolate over an apple when overworked and stressed, and why does comfort food make us feel better? Two independent studies in the JCI, one in this issue, home in on the role of stress on gut hormones and food choices and, conversely, on the effect of the intestinal system on modulation of brain activity by sadness. These studies broaden our understanding of the ties between food and mood and underscore promising targets for obesity treatments.

Figure 1. The body-mind connection: how emotions modulate food intake, and how food modulates emotions.

Left: Van Oudenhove et al. show in humans that gastric infusion of a fatty acid solution decreases experimentally induced sadness, as indicated by visual analog scores and neuroimaging (2). The underlying mechanisms may in part depend on CCK, as shown by a previous study (5). Right: Chuang et al. report that psychosocial stress in mice increases levels of ghrelin and corticosterone, while stimulating high-fat food–seeking behavior (3). Taken together, the results of these two studies underline the importance of bidirectional interactions between the gastrointestinal system and the brain.