Breaking up is hard to do. But now a new study suggests a broken heart is even tough on your tummy.
A reporter in the Netherlands sought out the reason why lost Lotharios don’t have the same hunger pangs as they once did while in love, according to VICE.
Related: She May Have Literally Died of a Broken Heart
Gert Ter Horst, a professor of neurobiology and director of the Neuroimaging Center at the University Hospital in the city of Groningen, said heartbreak causes “quite a bit of stress.” And the body responds to stress in the same way, by raising cortisol and adrenaline levels, whether it’s a traumatic life event or you changed your Facebook status to single.
“Similar to being in a stressful situation, the level of adrenaline and heart rate both go up during excessive activity,” Ter Horst told VICE. “Because of that, it’s almost impossible to get food down your throat.”
In other words, a person’s body goes into a fight-or-flight response post-breakup, which includes stomach muscles tightening up and hindering appetite plus digestion.
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Then, there’s the emotional impact of heartache.
“The areas of the brain in charge of emotions and emotional pain also [regulate] how we eat, our need for food, and what we taste,” Ter Horst told VICE.
Related: Your Marriage Does Not Have to Ruin Your Health
“The areas that take care of these functions are close together and can influence one another.”
This article originally appeared in Fox News and is used by permission.
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