Relax Angie.
I was just going to write "relax", but thought I might not be fully understood. So yes, relax, calm down and all this goodie type of emotions, especially when eating. Why?
Well it all begins before you put food in your mouth Angie. Are you worried or anxious about something? Are you in a rush and some sort of panic? You know how when you're hungry, your saliva gland begins to work overtime and you beging to "drool" over the thought of eating something nice etc? Well, the opposite is also true. Instead of looking forward to eating with "open arms", you instead may be worrying whether what you intend to eat is going to make you a little fatter or whatever negative thought may enter your mind at the time.
No good digestion takes place in your mouth due to not having enough saliva there or due to rushing and not chewing properly. The food goes down into your tummy but does not get digested properly since it has not been really broken down in your mouth by your saliva (and teeth). This in turn will cause problems with your digestion, which in turn causes irritation and inflammation in your stomach. This triggers your adrenal glands to produce cortisol (ouch! that's catabolic remember) it's the stress hormone responding to the above problem. This release of cortisol works as a powerful anti-inflammatory, needed to reduce the inflammation in your stomach. Can you see where I'm going with this Angie (and everyone else), it’s a chain reaction caused because you were simply not relaxed and in the right mood for food!
I'll stop here what'd you think?
Fadi.