Foods are consumed with the intention of gratifying the mind and fortifying the body. The sensual pleasure that is derived from eating cannot be overstated. The senses are stimulated due to the anticipation of the expected satiation. Food, also, serves a functional role. The nutrients, minerals and vitamins that sustain the body are acquired through the foods that are consumed. The issues becomes one of balancing gratification with fortification. How each individual chooses to do so will be a major contributor to their quality of life.
Food serves the dual purpose of satisfaction and survival in the life of human beings. On the basic level , all beings must eat to live. However, humans have this ability to discriminate and to appease the taste buds. The mind becomes attached to those gustatory sensations that are pleasing but one must keep in mind the health aspects of consuming foodstuffs. Eating healthfully is what sustains the body. Enjoying the flavors and textures of food is what appeases the mind. Both of these dynamics can be addressed with a healthy diet.
Satisfying the senses makes the food experience more enjoyable. The senses are instrumental in the processing of various stimuli from the outer world. Stimuli are either unfavorable or favorable. The discriminating capacity naturally leans towards the favorable. Mom’s homemade (fill in the blank), Uncle Joe’s Bar-B-Que’d (fill in the blank), the dish that one prepared to snag that special someone – these examples not only stimulate pleasant memories of the persons involved; they also stimulate memories of tastes, textures, and smells. The mind not only can transport us to those past events, it can also initiate (the) desire to relive those sensual food experiences.
The mind is influenced by favorable sensory stimulation in regards to food that is consumed. The marketing companies that provide various foods to the masses have discovered that the senses can be manipulated. Many pre-prepared and convenience foods are provided on the basis of taste or craveability factor. The human craves fats, salts and sugar. There are ‘healthier’, per se, option that one can choose. However, the vast majority of what is available is provided on the basis of stimulating some degree of craving. This can make the discriminating faculties less effective at monitoring how much of something, that is sensually pleasing, is being consumed.
All beings on earth must derive energy from external sources for survival. The physiology of all beings requires that energy be derived through consumption of external sources. Every being must consume something that was / is alive. Life consumes life to support life. Most convenience foods are not alive, so to speak. So they would not be adequate to sustain a living being. Humans must be able to acquire those quality foodstuffs that provide adequate nutrient density for being productive on a daily basis. In the dearth of nutrient dense foods, sickness, disease and sundry maladies will become rife.
Supplementation cannot be a total replacement for a complete and healthy diet. It is just that, a supplement. Consumption of food is not so much a black and white, cut and dry act of getting A, B, C and / or D nutrients. Each of these nutrients have co-nutrients that can either support the ability of the body to incorporate them or to create other body substances that will aid in digestion of other nutrients. Supplementation can only provide pieces of the puzzle. One’s diet must be complete to the point that it provides the (vast) majority of nutrients that are needed on a functional level.
A discriminating capacity can lend to more judicious consumption of foodstuffs. Eating is survival. Unless one is an airitarian / breatharian, eating is a necessity. What is key is that the foods that one chooses need to provide those nutrients that are key to survival. Individuals are drawn to the more sensually pleasing aspects of consumption. Notwithstanding, it is through the discriminative faculties that one distinguishes between those things that are pleasing and those thing that are beneficial. One can enjoy the occasional (small) bag of chips without making them a daily meal
The individual holds the key to creating a healthier lifestyle for themselves. The saying ‘You are what you eat’ is indicative of one’s wisely choosing what to consume. Consuming things that provide what the body requires will, in most cases, make one healthy and more functional. The consumption of convenience foods tend to lead toward less wellness, more disease and sickness. There are exceptions to both extremes. Nevertheless, the general tendency is that the more healthful the diet that one eats, the better off that they will be, healthwise. Choices are cumulative, a 1000 mile journey begins with the first step. If one wishes to change (i.e. – improve), then they must head in the direction that will facilitate that desire.
The body is sustained and the mind is satisfied from the consumption of food. People love to eat, period. Food can be produced so as to stimulate desire for smell, texture and taste. The more practical aspect of eating is that it sustains life. A diet of properly chosen foods supplies the individual with the necessary components that are needed by the body. It is possible to address both taste and health through the food choices that one makes. The quality of one’s food choices will dictate their degree of health.
Ab-Sutra Wellness and Fitness 