Why Pumpkin Spice Feels Like Comfort: The Science Behind Our Fall Cravings

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is celebrating its 20th year and has become synonymous with the fall season just like apple pie.

The famous Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is beloved by everyone and mostly because of its pumpkin-flavor which is strategically available during the fall season. According to experts this pumpkin spice latte and other pumpkin flavored treats are more in demand because of the way our brains are wired rather than actually because of the pumpkin flavor.

It is thought that the love for the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is more to do with your brain than the tastebuds.

According to experts, Starbucks has cleverly made a concoction of comfort, exclusivity, repetition, which tells our brains that sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte is more of annual tradition of the fall season.

However, the thing to bear in mind is that Pumpkin Spice Latte and other pumpkin-flavored treats are good in taste and evoke that nostalgia but they are high in sugar and fat. There are some simple things which one can do to make your Pumpkin Spice Latte a bit healthier.

Anything flavored pumpkin triggers feelings of wholesomeness and coziness. The actual reason why people love pumpkin spice is more to do with the association of this flavor with it than its actual taste.

Clever marketing is behind the reason why pumpkin spice latte is associated with the fall season. They have made good use of human emotions and neuroscience to advertise the Pumpkin Spice Latte as an annual autumn ritual.

Another thing which has led to it being so famous is its exclusivity. This drink is served only once a year during the fall and therefore it is but natural to develop a close relation with pumpkin spice latte and the fall season. It has become a tradition over the past 20 years that it is not really a fall season until you have sipped on the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

All this has wired people’s brain into thinking about this drink whenever one thinks of the fall season. As one sips on Pumpkin Spice Latte, it evokes nice, cozy wholesome, warm and mushy feel-good memories. People are drawn to pumpkin-flavored food and nostalgic products as they remind them of moments in their lives, which have made them happy.

The real reason why people are drawn to pumpkin flavors and why it reminds them of fall season is because of neuroscience. The explanation lies among hippocampus and amygdala in the brain. The hippocampus is critical for memory and learning and is a part of the limbic system. The hippocampus is important in forming of declarative and long-term memories, which can be recalled consciously and also contributes to how the world is seen by people. The hippocampus is also strongly linked with these areas of the brain, which regulate emotion and this is the primary function of the amygdala.

This is why emotional memories are so clear and why simply eating things which remind us of a happy event in life triggers a sense of recall before consciously remembering it. The hippocampus also contains hormone receptors, which are responsible for regulating digestion, appetite and eating pattern.

Consumption of certain foods activates the reward centers in the brain where the neurotransmitter dopamine has an important role, as the dopamine pathways are used by the hippocampus to convert short-term memories into long-term ones. This reward mechanism of the brain encourages certain behaviors; however, it is only effective when it is supported by memories.

A study from 2019 showed that eating foods that one likes and enjoys, trigger the release of dopamine and enhance the desire to get more. ⁽¹⁾ As the Pumpkin Spice Latte and various other pumpkin treats are associated with special seasons and occasions, the experience of eating them is wholesome and rich not only flavor wise, but also when it comes to emotions and memories. The emotion and novelty make these events more memorable and when these are linked with food, then it strengthens the memories too.

The need for comfort food has been studied by the scientist over the years, even though there isn’t much research with regards to comfort provided by the pumpkin flavor. A review from 2014 pointed to research suggesting that we learn to associate food with comfort when we are babies. ⁽²⁾ It also indicated that food could help reduce negative feelings, such as stress and loss of control and increase happiness.

One older study from 2006 showed that consumption of sweet foods can temporarily cause feelings of happiness. ⁽³⁾ This is the reason why sipping on a warm beverage with a good dose of nostalgia is what people need, more so at times of stress. It is human nature to want predictability, consistency and to have a feeling of control and this can be easily achieved by comfort foods.

Emotional eating can give only temporary pleasure and in fact has lot of negative outcomes. A study from 2019 revealed that emotional eating was a risk factor for obesity. ⁽⁴⁾ If you are a perpetual emotional eater, then it is better to seek help and consult nutritionist and therapist.

However, if you are feeling guilty for drinking multiple Pumpkin Spice Lattes, then we have some ways for you to balance the love of pumpkin with health goals.

While Pumpkin-flavored foods are rich in fat and sugar, pumpkin in itself has the following health benefits:

• Pumpkin is a natural source of vitamin A and helps in fighting infections. ⁽⁵⁾
• Pumpkin is a natural source of beta-carotene, which is beneficial for vision. ⁽⁶⁾
• Pumpkin is low in calories where one cup of raw pumpkin contains around 40 calories.
• Pumpkins are high in fiber making them a good filling and satiating food item.

Pumpkin in itself has nutritional value, however, the treats made from it are high in sugar and fat. A grande (16 oz.) Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2% milk from Starbucks has about 390 calories, 50 g of sugar and 14 g of fat.

According to the American Heart Association, women are recommended to limit their daily sugar intake to 25 g and for men it is 36 g. The spices in this drink are healthy; however, the other ingredients, such as the whipped cream, the sugar and the kind of milk is what determines how healthy this pumpkin spice latte is.

A good way to cut down on the calories and fat in a Pumpkin Spice Latte is to choose plant-based milk, such as soy or almond or skim milk instead of whole or low-fat milk or cream. The whipped cream should also be avoided.

This same rule can be used for baking where you can switch the whole milk for a skim or plant-based milk.

A cup of whole milk has 8 g of fat; and almond milk has about 2.34 g of fat. ^{(7, 8)}

When baking a pumpkin pie, one can cut down on the calories by using a graham cracker crust instead of traditional crust which is rich in butter. Using Applesauce instead of oil is another great way to maintain the sweetness in the pumpkin pie, but reduce its fat content and number of calories.

Cutting down on the fat and sugar helps a lot in improving many health conditions; however, not eating them and denying yourself any type of treat can backfire.

Research from 2020 shows that people with controlled eating habits were more susceptible to consume more food when going through negative emotions or any type of emotional upheaval. ⁽⁹⁾ It is also better to eat the real thing which will give you a feeling of satisfaction and enjoy it more instead of going for food items, which has the flavor you like but is labeled as low calorie, as it can play games with your mind and we tend to eat a lot of that as it is marked as low calories and end up consuming more than we were to eat the original item.

So, just go ahead and indulge yourself in the pumpkin flavors whenever you feel like it and enjoy the pleasure of the fall season.

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