Most people can answer the question, ‘What’s your favourite food?’
Food is a source of pleasure for humans. Eating is a great pleasure for many people.
Enjoying food has many health benefits, including making meals more enjoyable. Savoring your food can improve digestion, help you develop a better relationship with food and overcome disordered food consumption.
It is important to get enough “vitamin mmmm” or vitamin P in some cases. Enjoy the delicious delights and learn why food pleasure is important.
What drives us to eat for pleasure?
Researchers have been studying the science of eating for pleasure for years. Their findings are fascinating and generally encouraging.
The pleasure we derive from eating is a result of both our mouths as well as our brains.
Aleta Storch is a therapist, dietitian and Certified Body Trust provider.
Wise Heart Nutrition and Wellness. According to the study, people who are obese may suffer from a disruption in dopamine receptor sensitivity. This can lead them to eat more to get enough pleasure.
However, when brain chemistry is functioning properly, we can enjoy food and reap physical benefits.
Storch says that when we enjoy eating food and stimulate dopamine we digest and metabolize the food more efficiently. When we relax in response to a pleasant eating experience, our nervous systems goes into a rest and digestion mode. This allows us to fully digest and utilize the nutrients we eat.
Eating for enjoyment could also promote healthier eating.
Trusted Source
The researchers examined 119 research studies to determine the relationship between eating pleasure and a healthy lifestyle. In 57 percent of the research, positive associations were found between eating enjoyment and healthy dietary outcomes.
The importance of enjoying healthy foods is emphasized to encourage a balanced, nourishing diet.
Sarah Gold Anzlovar MS, RDN LDN says that there is a misconception that healthy food must be bland and tasteless. This is simply not true. When we eat foods that we like, we are more satisfied, which improves diet quality. It can also reduce binge eating and overeating.
Eating food can be emotionally nourishing
If food were just fuel, mealtimes would be a bit boring. Eating has a broad impact on the human experience. It can bring us together with our loved ones or connect us to our culture.
Food is not only physical but also emotional nourishment. Here are a few ways that food can nourish your spirit.
Enjoying food together increases social interaction
What is a family reunion or party without some snacks?
A 2015 study found that sharing meals with friends and family can increase happiness.
Enjoying food can provide physical and emotional comfort
When you are sick, warm chicken soup, pasta that brings back memories of your grandmother or a favorite dessert can lift our spirits and soothe our bodies.
Anzlovar says that food can be comforting at the end a difficult day. Many people mistake this for emotional eating. “But there are numerous benefits when we connect with food and enjoy eating it.”
Diet culture is no longer a barrier to enjoying food
Diet culture is defined in many ways, but it’s a societal message that says you can’t eat the foods you like, especially when they are high in fat or calories.
This harmful mentality can be broken by choosing to eat mindfully.
Storch says that when all foods, even the most delicious, are allowed, the body will learn to trust it. “Creating permission for foods that were previously labeled ‘bad,’ or a ‘no-go’, is an important part of the healing process and can help people feel more confidence and freedom with food.”
Our cultural heritage is reflected in the food we eat
Trusted Source has shown that belonging is essential to mental health. What better place to feel a sense of belonging than in your family and cultural heritage?
This is where the enjoyment of food could be a key factor.
Storch says that culture and tradition are a way to connect with ourselves and others. “Restricting foods that encourage connection can lead disengagement and loneliness. We are not just saying that cultural foods are ‘bad,’ but also that the identity that is associated with them is a ‘bad thing.’
These foods can help you feel more free and connected, which will improve your mental health.
Eating for enjoyment vs. emotional versus eating
Emotional eating can be unhealthy. Turning to food as a way to cope with difficult emotions such as stress, anger or sadness leads to mindless consumption, and a fraught relationship between food and the person. It’s not surprising that you are hesitant to eat for pleasure.
Eating for pleasure and emotional eating are different in their intention and outcomes.
Anzlovar says that emotional eating occurs when people use food to cope with positive and negative emotions. “Eating with pleasure” is when a person chooses a particular food for its taste, texture and experience. For example, choosing an ice-cream cone during the summer, or eating an apple directly from the orchard tree.
The connection you have with your food is another major difference between the two.
Anzlovar says that emotional eating can lead to a disassociation or lack of connection with food. When you eat for pleasure, the food is usually something that brings you joy and connection. There’s no perfect line to draw between eating for pleasure and emotional eating. Sometimes, the two overlap.
What do you feel like after you practice?
You won’t feel guilty or ashamed if you eat mindfully.
You should seek out help as soon as you can if you or someone close to your heart is suffering from an eating disorder. Start by visiting the National Eating Disorders Association Help and Support Page, which includes a screening tool and hotline as well as a provider database.
A perfect combination of pleasure and nourishment
There are few things that can compare to the joy we get from eating. Food nourishes us, soothes our spirit, and pleases the taste buds.
Start small to bring more enjoyment to your dinner table.
Storch recommends that you try to find ways to make your meal or snack even more enjoyable. Storch says that adding more milk, adding goat cheese to a salad or heating up a chocolate brownie can transform a meal from “meh” to “yeah”.