Today, December 5th, is National Comfort Food Day.

Comfort food is a term used to describe food that is nostalgic or sentimental - such as food that invokes memories of other times - or is easy to digest and rich in calories and/or nutrients.

The two types of comfort food are used in different situations. The first type is often eaten when the person in question is feeling down and needs a pick-me-up, whilst the second tends to be eaten when a person is ill, such as chicken soup.

Given that comfort food can be food that invokes nostalgia, literally anything can be considered to be comfort food for someone. Crisps, chocolates and ice cream are all common comfort foods.

Image: Morguefile