All You Can Eat

The direct relationship between cost and quality of food has become more apparent to me over the last few months, specifically through my interest in food politics and obesity, but as I have attempted to live by my own advice over the last 48 hours it has become crystal clear.



Since I was a child I have heard the importance of eating a good breakfast, mostly from my dad who loved the analogy "the body is like a car, it needs fuel." My protein shake with a water base wasn't thick enough for my satisfaction and separated easily so I ventured out to the health food market for some almond milk. Go figure, all the foods I knew I should be eating were right there in that small store-almond butter, hummus, tuna fish, etc. At the start of a lifestyle change I think it is a good idea to check out one of these health food markets and stock the house with "good" snack food. One of my observations at this store was that the price of these items were much more expensive compared to your average grocery store. It is no wonder that there is a direct correlation between socioeconomic status and obesity. It is difficult to obtain fruits and vegetables in poorer neighborhoods and for the same $1 a family can buy 800 or so calories of junk food versus 200-300 calories of vegetables. Processing makes food cheaper because cheap corn results in cheap high fructose corn syrup. Thankfully, many obesity experts are aware of this and there has been a movement to bring farmers markets with healthier options into poorer neighborhoods that even take food stamps.



During these tough economic times we all want to get our moneys worth. We ventured out to an all you can eat and drink sushi restaurant last night with some friends. Even as I write "all you can eat" my immediate association is stuffing my face at a rapid rate. Our previous experiences with food have conditioned us to respond consistently to a given environmental stimulus. A buffet would be another example of a setting whereby we pile and pile food onto multiple plates to get all the value we can for our money. My natural inclination at this restaurant where you have 2 hours to eat as much as you can was to eat quickly. However, I tried to slow myself down to really enjoy the food (which actually tasted a little soapy for some reason) and so I could experience the fullness. One way to trick the body into eating more is too eat quickly because it takes time for the hormones to kick in to tell you that you are full. That is why I will be focusing on eating slowly and chewing every bite to entirety prior to taking another one during this "live by my own advice" process.



Food is much more than nutrition. We all have a relationship with food and sometimes relationships can be destructive. I will continue to evaluate this dynamic as I go through this process.



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