Paper Palate

I have always been a believer that the more a person enjoys her food, the more likely she is to derive more nutrients from it. I agree that such a philosophy sounds simplistic and way too sensible to be widely accepted by most Americans, but I cannot help but feel as if our collective emotional issues surrounding food have done as much to cause health problems as every extra calorie consumed, and every extra mile driven instead of biked, jogged or walked by the average person in the US.

It appears that I am not alone in these thoughts, nor is there a dearth of scientific research to support my belief.

In a New York Times OpEd piece published on February 20, Harriet Brown, a frequent writer on issues of health and science, exhorted readers to enjoy their food, because it may help prevent diet-related illnesses such as heart disease. In support of her thesis, Brown not cited the recent and surprising results of a long-term study of women’s health and low-fat diets, but also presents interesting research which suggests that the more appealing a food is to the diner, the more useable nutrients are then absorbed from it in the gut.

This study, which took place in the 1970’s, found that when two groups of women were fed the same food–in this case, a very spicy Thai dinner, the women to whom it was comforting and appealing–all of them Thai, derived 50 percent more iron from it than the Swedish women, who apparently were not as fond of it. The very same food, when pureed into a very unappealing mush, when fed to the Thai women, however, yielded 70 percent less iron.

This is the same food, fed to the same women, in two different forms: one which was visually and texturally appealing, and one which was an unidentifiable glop. In the one case, it yielded significantly more iron for the women who found it appealing, and less to the ones who did not like it, and in the second case, it produced significantly less iron to the women who had previously enjoyed it.

Brown states that this points to the strong influence of the “second brain,” in the gut, and how Americans, instead of worrying over our food, gulping it down dutifully, or absent-mindedly or guiltily, should instead, linger over it and enjoy as do the French, who even as they eat more rich foods than we do, manage to still have lower instances of heart disease and other diet-related illnesses.

I cannot really argue with her position, as I think that it isn’t just the power of the “second brain” that is at work here, but the “first brain.” Our minds, our emotions and our wills have been shown, in study after study, to have a strong effect upon our physical health. For example, oncologists have long stated that patients with cancer who have a positive emotional affect are more likely to be successful in fighting the disease and living to go into remission.

Why should eating be any less affected by our mental state than healing?

As I stated above, Americans have issues with our food. The statistics on eating disorders and body image among young girls and women point to the complex relationships Americans have with food and our bodies. Some people eat too little, while others gorge themselves: both of these extreme reactions to food are rooted in emotional and psychological problems, and both of these behaviors take a very great physical toll on the body. While anorexia may have a genetic component which rules it out as a purely psychological illness, there are many purely psychological factors that feed into American’s collectively unhealthy love-hate relationship with our food.

Whether those pyschological factors evolved from our Puritan forebears’ disapproval of pleasure, which then mutated into a primarily Christian-based obsession against the “evils” of drink, and then flowed into the fad diet quackery of the nineteenth century which continues to this day, many Americans do not derive as much gustatory pleasure from food as they could, or perhaps they should. Instead of sitting down and taking our time to eat among friends and family, a practice which has psychological benefits for both adults and children, many of us eat alone, at our desks, while reading or working, we grab fast food on our way to or from work, which we gobble down in traffic without tasting, or we binge on ice cream in secret during the late show. The anxiety, guilt, boredom or extreme irritation that these food behaviors illicit, could, if the research Brown cites is accurate, contribute to American’s declining health in the face of constant availability of plentiful and varied foods.

So, I am with Brown. Be like the French, and eat, drink and be merry. Or be like the Chinese, and sit down to a meal that is balanced not only for its health-enhancing properties, but also aesthetically, with colors, textures and flavors varied from dish to dish. Or like the Indians, who season even the plainest of foodstuffs such as lentils and rice with a gorgeous, sensual array of spices, fruits and nuts. Or like the Italians, whose chief joy is the table.

Relax, slow down, and take pleasure in what is on your plate, and who knows? Honor your hedonistic tendencies, which may well be hardwired as valuable evolutionary strategies–you never know, they might lead you down the path to greater health.

If not, well, at least you enjoyed yourself.