With Britain in the midst of an Arctic blast, many of us will be trying to keep warm with a week of comfort foods.
While pies, lasagnas, or Sunday roasts might be your first point of call, scientists say that another classic tops the list.
According to research by Walnut Unlimited, a bowl of soup is the ultimate comfort food.
Based on people’s brainwaves, soup is as comforting as a hug from a loved one or snuggling under a cosy blanket – and even more soothing than a warm bath or curling up with a good book.
Many people turn to a bowl of steaming soup when it is chilly outside or they are battling a cold, but scientists wanted to actually measure how it makes us feel.
They showed 49 people a short video to make them feel like they had had a bad day, featuring things like train cancellations, traffic jams, poor weather and a phone running out of battery.
Then researchers then fed the volunteers soup, while measuring their brain activity using 14 electrodes attached to their scalp.
The comfort seen in the brain after people ate Heinz cream of tomato soup was as good as a hug, the results showed.
Based on people’s brainwaves, soup is as comforting as a hug from a loved one or snuggling under a cosy blanket – and even more soothing than a warm bath or curling up with a good book
While pies, lasagnas, or Sunday roasts might be your first point of call, scientists say that another classic tops the list
This was worked out by getting a friend or family member to hug each volunteer for six seconds, and monitoring the same electrical brain activity.
Showing people a video of soup meanwhile produced a similar comforting effect to videos which helped them imagine snuggling up under a blanket, lying in bed under the covers, putting on a pair of slippers, sitting by a fire or going for a tranquil walk in nature.
The research, commissioned by Heinz, found watching a video showing soup was even more soothing than visualising cuddling a pet, taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, watching a favourite television show or sipping from a mug of tea.
Scientists judged this based on activity in the prefrontal cortex which shows if 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, which conducted the research, said: ‘From a neurological standpoint, comfort is a powerful response.
‘It’s a state of calmness and ease, the brain’s natural antidote to stress and low mood.
‘Comfort foods like soup elicit this reaction, creating a sense of safety and restfulness.’
Handily, for days when heating up soup on the hob seems much more appealing than making a meal from scratch, soup was found to be as much of a comfort food as a Sunday roast or shepherd’s pie.
For days when heating up soup on the hob seems much more appealing than making a meal from scratch, soup was found to be as much of a comfort food as a Sunday roast or shepherd’s pie
Alongside the video of Heinz cream of tomato soup, people were shown eight videos of other comforting foods.
Their brain responses suggest soup is as soothing as sausage and mash or a cheese toastie.
It is even better than porridge, fish and chips or a warm pudding.
The research found it was only Heinz tomato soup, and not another brand, which produced a similar brain reaction to a hug.
As well as using an EEG, researchers also measured the sweatiness of people’s hands, also known as electrodermal activity, which shows the intensity of emotions, in the study.
This is because comfort is a mild, relaxing emotion.
In a recent survey of 2,000 people in the UK, 71 per cent said they believe people need comforting more these days, with almost half saying they craved comfort more than in the the past.
Two-thirds saw food as an important source of comfort, the survey undertaken by Opinium found, with 42 per cent naming their soup as a comfort food.
