Are You A Food Empath? 6 Ways To Overcome Food Addictions

Have you ever felt addicted to food, or drawn to bingeing carbohydrates and sugary foods whenever you feel emotionally overwhelmed? Then maybe chances are that you are a food empath.

Food is medicine. It can stabilize your sensitive system, but it can also throw it off.

I’ve observed in my psychiatric practice that overeating and food addictions are common among empaths. Food addiction is an uncontrollable craving for excess food for which many diets and weight loss programs often don’t succeed. Frequently, the specific addiction is to sugar or carbohydrates.

Excess weight can be a way of armoring yourself to stop absorbing other people’s stress or disturbing behavior. Putting on added pounds can make you feel more grounded, and it can act as a buffer against negativity. But reaching for sugar, carbohydrates, or junk foods for a quick fix, is a short-lived and unhealthy solution that gets addictively repeated.

Diets often fail for sensitive people because they are unaware that they are eating (and overeating) unhealthy foods to protect themselves from overwhelming or negative energy.

Related: What Is Your Level of Empathy?

When I point this out to my empath patients who are struggling with overeating, it’s a life-changing insight for them.

Take this quiz to determine if you’re a Food Empath (from The Empath’s Survival Guide).

Are You a Food Empath?

  • Do you overeat when you are emotionally overwhelmed?
  • Do you turn to sugar, carbs, and junk food to self-soothe discomfort?
  • Are you highly sensitive to the effect food has on your body?
  • Do you get mood swings, brain fog, or feel toxic from sugar, caffeine, sodas, or junk food?
  • Do you have food allergies and intolerances such as to gluten or soy (empath food sensitivity)?
  • Do you feel more protected from stress when you are heavy?
  • Do you feel energized by healthy, clean food?
  • Are you sensitive to preservatives or gluten in food?
  • Do you feel more vulnerable to stress when you are thin?

Here’s how to interpret this self-assessment:

  • Answering yes to 1-3 statements indicates that have some tendencies toward being a food empath.
  • Answering 4-6 yeses indicates you have moderate tendencies to be a food empath.
  • Answering more than 6 indicates you are definitely a food empath and use food to self-medicate stress and discomfort.

6 Guidelines for The Empathic Eater

If you are an empathic eater, you will need to pinpoint energetic stressors that trigger overeating such as a draining coworker, an argument with a friend, or feeling rejected. Train yourself to clear the stress as soon as possible to balance your system.

Here are six tips from The Empath’s Survival Guide to release negativity before you overeat.

1. Breathe stress out of your body.

When you feel stress, immediately focus on breathing slowly and deeply. This releases negative energy. Holding your breath out of fear traps toxicity in your body.

Related: 8 Techniques For Reducing Anxiety And Stress Right Now

2. Water purifies you.

Drink filtered or mountain spring bottled water when you’ve been exposed to negative energy and have the urge to overeat. Consume at least six glasses daily to keep flushing out toxins. Take a bath or shower. Water washes away impurities of all kinds.

3. Limit sugar intake.

Although you may crave carbs and sugar (as well as alcohol), they will destabilize you and trigger mood swings. This makes you more susceptible to absorbing unwanted energy.

4. Eat frequent protein meals.

Protein stabilizes empaths and gives them a sense of grounding. It’s optimal to have small protein meals four to seven times a day. This regimen will help you feel energetically stronger, safer, and more anchored in the world.  (If you are vegan, lots of protein is crucial.)

5. Don’t let your blood sugar drop.

Empaths are extremely sensitive to hypoglycemia. If you combine a busy life with low blood sugar, you’re bound to get overwhelmed. So don’t skip meals, especially if you are planning to be in a crowded place, when traveling, or in business meetings.

6. Consume lots of vegetables.

If you tend to overeat and gain weight, vegetables will fill you up and limit your cravings. Vegetables are grounding foods for empaths. You can also include some whole grains, but be careful of overdoing it and triggering a carb addiction.

Related: 8 Signs You’re A Highly Intuitive Empath Sensitive To Energy

Food can be a source of energy or depletion. You want to develop dietary habits that serve your sensitivities rather than aggravating them. Then you can maximize the energy you receive from food and minimize the protective defense mechanism of empathic over-eating. With tools to protect and ground yourself, you won’t have the same cravings that used to undermine your best intentions.

Adapted from “The Empath’s Survival Guide” by Judith Orloff MD


Written by Dr. Judith Orloff MD
What is a Food Empath
are you a food empath pin

Published On:

Last updated on:

Dr. Judith Orloff

Judith Orloff, MD is the New York Times best-selling author of The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People. Her new book Thriving as an Empath offers daily self-care tools for sensitive people along with its companion The Empath’s Empowerment Journal. Dr. Orloff is a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating highly sensitive, empathic people in her private practice. Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA and has a popular TEDX talk. Her other books are Thriving as an Empath: 365 Days of Self-Care for Sensitive People, The Empowered Empath’s Journal, Emotional Freedom and Guide to Intuitive Healing. Explore more information about her Empath Support Online course and speaking schedule on www.drjudithorloff.com.

Disclaimer: The informational content on The Minds Journal have been created and reviewed by qualified mental health professionals. They are intended solely for educational and self-awareness purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing emotional distress or have concerns about your mental health, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider.

Leave a Comment

Today's Horoscope

Accurate Daily Horoscope for 12 Zodiac Signs

Daily Horoscope 16 June 2025: Prediction For Each Zodiac Sign

🌟 Ready to unlock the secrets of 16 June, 2025? Discover your personalized horoscope and see what the stars have in store for you today! ✨🔮

Latest Quizzes

Who Is The Real Father? Only 1% Can Spot - Can You? Fun Quiz

Who Is The Real Father? Only 1% Can Spot The Baby’s Biological Dad In 10 Seconds — Are You One Of Them?

Can you really tell just by looking? Well, here’s your chance to find out.

Latest Quotes

Weekly Horoscope 16 June To 22 June part one

Weekly Horoscope 16 June To 22 June

Weekly Horoscope 16 June To 22 June Aries (March 21 – April 19)Focus sharpens as Mars enters Virgo. Your daily routines get a revamp. Midweek brings a push to act with purpose. By the weekend, mood swings may cloud decisions, rest and reset. Taurus (April 20 – May 20)Creative plans take form through practical effort…

Readers Blog

Caption This Image and Selected Wisepicks – 15 June 2025

Ready to unleash your inner wordsmith? ✨??☺️ Now’s your chance to show off your wit, charm, or sheer genius in just one line! Whether it’s laugh-out-loud funny or surprisingly deep, we want to hear it. Submit your funniest, wittiest, or most thought-provoking caption in the comments. We’ll pick 15+ winners to be featured on our…

Latest Articles

Have you ever felt addicted to food, or drawn to bingeing carbohydrates and sugary foods whenever you feel emotionally overwhelmed? Then maybe chances are that you are a food empath.

Food is medicine. It can stabilize your sensitive system, but it can also throw it off.

I’ve observed in my psychiatric practice that overeating and food addictions are common among empaths. Food addiction is an uncontrollable craving for excess food for which many diets and weight loss programs often don’t succeed. Frequently, the specific addiction is to sugar or carbohydrates.

Excess weight can be a way of armoring yourself to stop absorbing other people’s stress or disturbing behavior. Putting on added pounds can make you feel more grounded, and it can act as a buffer against negativity. But reaching for sugar, carbohydrates, or junk foods for a quick fix, is a short-lived and unhealthy solution that gets addictively repeated.

Diets often fail for sensitive people because they are unaware that they are eating (and overeating) unhealthy foods to protect themselves from overwhelming or negative energy.

Related: What Is Your Level of Empathy?

When I point this out to my empath patients who are struggling with overeating, it’s a life-changing insight for them.

Take this quiz to determine if you’re a Food Empath (from The Empath’s Survival Guide).

Are You a Food Empath?

  • Do you overeat when you are emotionally overwhelmed?
  • Do you turn to sugar, carbs, and junk food to self-soothe discomfort?
  • Are you highly sensitive to the effect food has on your body?
  • Do you get mood swings, brain fog, or feel toxic from sugar, caffeine, sodas, or junk food?
  • Do you have food allergies and intolerances such as to gluten or soy (empath food sensitivity)?
  • Do you feel more protected from stress when you are heavy?
  • Do you feel energized by healthy, clean food?
  • Are you sensitive to preservatives or gluten in food?
  • Do you feel more vulnerable to stress when you are thin?

Here’s how to interpret this self-assessment:

  • Answering yes to 1-3 statements indicates that have some tendencies toward being a food empath.
  • Answering 4-6 yeses indicates you have moderate tendencies to be a food empath.
  • Answering more than 6 indicates you are definitely a food empath and use food to self-medicate stress and discomfort.

6 Guidelines for The Empathic Eater

If you are an empathic eater, you will need to pinpoint energetic stressors that trigger overeating such as a draining coworker, an argument with a friend, or feeling rejected. Train yourself to clear the stress as soon as possible to balance your system.

Here are six tips from The Empath’s Survival Guide to release negativity before you overeat.

1. Breathe stress out of your body.

When you feel stress, immediately focus on breathing slowly and deeply. This releases negative energy. Holding your breath out of fear traps toxicity in your body.

Related: 8 Techniques For Reducing Anxiety And Stress Right Now

2. Water purifies you.

Drink filtered or mountain spring bottled water when you’ve been exposed to negative energy and have the urge to overeat. Consume at least six glasses daily to keep flushing out toxins. Take a bath or shower. Water washes away impurities of all kinds.

3. Limit sugar intake.

Although you may crave carbs and sugar (as well as alcohol), they will destabilize you and trigger mood swings. This makes you more susceptible to absorbing unwanted energy.

4. Eat frequent protein meals.

Protein stabilizes empaths and gives them a sense of grounding. It’s optimal to have small protein meals four to seven times a day. This regimen will help you feel energetically stronger, safer, and more anchored in the world.  (If you are vegan, lots of protein is crucial.)

5. Don’t let your blood sugar drop.

Empaths are extremely sensitive to hypoglycemia. If you combine a busy life with low blood sugar, you’re bound to get overwhelmed. So don’t skip meals, especially if you are planning to be in a crowded place, when traveling, or in business meetings.

6. Consume lots of vegetables.

If you tend to overeat and gain weight, vegetables will fill you up and limit your cravings. Vegetables are grounding foods for empaths. You can also include some whole grains, but be careful of overdoing it and triggering a carb addiction.

Related: 8 Signs You’re A Highly Intuitive Empath Sensitive To Energy

Food can be a source of energy or depletion. You want to develop dietary habits that serve your sensitivities rather than aggravating them. Then you can maximize the energy you receive from food and minimize the protective defense mechanism of empathic over-eating. With tools to protect and ground yourself, you won’t have the same cravings that used to undermine your best intentions.

Adapted from “The Empath’s Survival Guide” by Judith Orloff MD


Written by Dr. Judith Orloff MD
What is a Food Empath
are you a food empath pin

Published On:

Last updated on:

Dr. Judith Orloff

Judith Orloff, MD is the New York Times best-selling author of The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People. Her new book Thriving as an Empath offers daily self-care tools for sensitive people along with its companion The Empath’s Empowerment Journal. Dr. Orloff is a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating highly sensitive, empathic people in her private practice. Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA and has a popular TEDX talk. Her other books are Thriving as an Empath: 365 Days of Self-Care for Sensitive People, The Empowered Empath’s Journal, Emotional Freedom and Guide to Intuitive Healing. Explore more information about her Empath Support Online course and speaking schedule on www.drjudithorloff.com.

Leave a Comment

    Leave a Comment