How Do We Eat Food?

August 17, 2009 at 9:28 pm · Filed under Food, Health, Uncategorized and tagged: comfort food, junk food, nutrition, supersize me

It has been hectic at work these past few weeks and have had almost no time to post regular blogs. I did make a feast last weekend and promise to upload the highlights very soon.

But for now I pose this question: Why do we eat food? And, perhaps more importantly, how do we eat food?

I find myself thinking about this almost everyday. The factual answer to the first question is that we eat so that we can fuel our body with all the nutrients and energy it needs to perform everyday.

If we don’t eat a balanced and healthy diet then our body will not function as properly as it should. But somewhere along the way we have forgotten that this is the reason we eat. We should eat for necessity and not pleasure. But I do believe it is essential to have pleasure in what you eat. A balance of both.

Now, how de we eat? I’ve noticed that there are many people in the world who eat dishes which they like, regardless of its nutritional content or benefit to their health.

For example, there is an abundance of junk food being consumed in the world, and it does worry me. If you haven’t seen the film Supersize Me yet, I recommend you do.  I’m not saying it’s a brilliant documentary, but it will definitely open your eyes to how much fast food can affect your health. OK, the guy ate a specific brand of fast food 3 times a day for a month, which is what 90 visits to the fast food restaurant? I wonder if visiting 90 times in ones life will have an affect too?

I have to say that I used to eat a lot of junk food myself. I went through a stage of eating 5-6 packets of crisps (US: chips) a day, and basically having a no bars off eating habit. If it tasted good, I ate it. Consequently I piled on the weight…

I feel that we spend too much time eating the kind of food that makes us happy, gives us a good feeling, or even for nostalgic reasons. For example, last month I went back to London for a week and was together with my brothers who also have been away from the UK. The entire week it felt like we were constantly eating! Eating food that we missed like fish and chips, kebab rolls, meat pies, cheese and onion pasties and donner kebabs. And most of the time these were eaten in-between meals… Not very healthy, but we did it, and I watched myself and my brothers as we indulged.

It is a very real thing to eat for pleasure, nostalgia and so forth, but it is not a very healthy thing, and should be acknowledged. Next time you reach for a belly fix take a moment to ask yourself why you are eating it. Try to understand why and how you eat, you never know you may just realize something!

Disclaimer:

I am not a scientist or a dietist, so do not quote me on this. These are just my personal thoughts and musings.

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