Home Travel Revealed: The ultimate winter comfort food – and scientists say it’s even more satisfying than a Sunday roast

Revealed: The ultimate winter comfort food – and scientists say it’s even more satisfying than a Sunday roast

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According to people's brain waves, soup is as comforting as a hug from a loved one or snuggling under a cozy blanket, and even more comforting than a hot bath or reading a good book.

With Britain in the middle of an Arctic blast, many of us will be trying to keep warm with a week of comfort foods.

While pies, lasagna or Sunday roasts may be your first point of reference, scientists say another classic tops the list.

According to research from Walnut Unlimited, a bowl of soup is the ultimate comfort food.

According to people’s brain waves, soup is as comforting as a hug from a loved one or snuggling under a cozy blanket, and even more comforting than a hot bath or reading a good book.

Many people reach for a steaming bowl of soup when it’s cold outside or they’re fighting a cold, but scientists wanted to measure how it makes us feel.

They showed 49 people a short video to make them feel like they’d had a bad day, showing things like train cancellations, traffic jams, bad weather and a phone that was running out of battery.

The researchers then fed the volunteers soup, while measuring their brain activity using 14 electrodes placed on their scalp.

The results showed that the comfort seen in the brain after people ate Heinz tomato cream was as good as a hug.

According to people’s brain waves, soup is as comforting as a hug from a loved one or snuggling under a cozy blanket, and even more comforting than a hot bath or reading a good book.

While pies, lasagna or Sunday roasts may be your first point of reference, scientists say another classic tops the list.

While pies, lasagna or Sunday roasts may be your first point of reference, scientists say another classic tops the list.

This was solved by having a friend or family member hug each volunteer for six seconds and monitoring the same brain electrical activity.

Meanwhile, showing people a video of soup had a similar comforting effect as videos that helped them imagine snuggling under a blanket, lying in bed under the covers, putting on a pair of slippers, sitting by the fire, or drinking food. a quiet walk through nature. .

The research, commissioned by Heinz, found that watching a video showing soup was even more relaxing than visualizing cuddling a pet, taking a hot bath or shower, reading a book, watching your favorite TV show or taking a sip of a cup of tea.

The scientists judged this based on activity in the prefrontal cortex, which shows whether someone is motivated to do an activity, such as eating soup, hugging someone or lying under a blanket, rather than wanting to avoid it.

Dr Andy Myers, a neuroscientist at research agency Walnut Unlimited, who conducted the research, said: “From a neurological point of view, comfort is a powerful response.

‘It is a state of calm and tranquility, the brain’s natural antidote to stress and bad mood.

“Comfort foods like soup trigger this reaction, creating a feeling of security and rest.”

Fortunately, for the days when heating up soup on the stove seems much more appealing than preparing a meal from scratch, soup was found to be as comforting a food as a Sunday roast or shepherd’s pie.

For days when heating up soup on the stove seems much more appealing than preparing a meal from scratch, soup was found to be as comforting a food as a Sunday roast or shepherd's pie.

For days when heating up soup on the stove seems much more appealing than preparing a meal from scratch, soup was found to be as comforting a food as a Sunday roast or shepherd’s pie.

In addition to the Heinz tomato soup video, people were shown eight videos of other comfort foods.

Their brain responses suggest that soup is as relaxing as bangers and mash or cheese toast.

It’s even better than porridge, fish and chips or hot pudding.

The research found that it was only Heinz tomato soup, and not another brand, that produced a brain reaction similar to a hug.

In addition to using an EEG, the researchers also measured people’s hand sweating, also known as electrodermal activity, which shows the intensity of emotions.

This is because comfort is a soft and relaxing emotion.

In a recent survey of 2,000 people in the United Kingdom, 71 percent said they believed people need comfort more these days, and almost half said they craved comfort more than in the past.

Two-thirds saw food as a major source of comfort, according to the survey by Opinium, and 42 percent cited their soup as a comfort food.

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