Hello and welcome to the nutrition Davis quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

I'm your host, Monica Reinagel, and we have a special guest with us today, Dr. Ellen Hendrixen, who is the host a which you can find on iTunes or at quick and dirty tips.

And today is the first of a series of conversations

that Ellen and I are going to be having over the next couple of weeks

about the complex relationship between food and mood.

Over the next two nutrition diva episodes, we're going to be talking about how what we eat affects how we feel.

And then, starting this Friday, I'll be Ellen's guest on the savvy

psychologist show and we're going to talk about how our feelings and mood affect what

we eat. It's going to be a fascinating series and I know you're going to enjoy it.

And now I'd like to introduce and welcome my new friend and colleague Dr. Ellen, thank you

so much for joining us to talk about this fascinating topic.

Absolutely, thank you so much for having me on the show.

Well, let's dive right in.

We all know that hunger isn't the only reason we eat.

Sometimes we eat out of boredom or habit,

or maybe because someone offers us something really yummy.

But sometimes people talk about self-medicating with food.

And I'm curious, what does that mean to you as a psychologist?

Well, like most answers, it depends.

One of my tenants is that most human behaviors exist on a spectrum.

In moderation, it's not a problem, but when taken to extremes, it might be.

So using food to soothe yourself or as a pick me up is no exception.

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