The Emotions of Eating

Functional medicine regards food as medicine.

Why?

We become what we eat

Every cell we consume is broken down.

Then built up into the cells and tissues of our body. Into our selves.

We become why we eat, and how we eat

We can eat for hunger or to satisfy a craving. Eat for comfort or for boredom.

We can eat mindfully or just keep swallowing.

We can eat at the table, at the counter or in the tv room.

Eat alone or with family and friends.

The way we eat makes our relationship with food.

Eating is one of the most frequent rituals of our lives. Whether it’s helping us or harming us, it’s playing on in an infinite loop.

It’s at the core of our lifestyle. Oozing into every other part.

It decides the emotions we associate with food. And the kind of meals we link them to.

If our happy memories with family are tied to munching sugary treats and stuffing ourselves full, that’s what we’ll associate with comfort and safety. And that’s what we’ll turn to every time we need them.

If we eat for distraction, we’ll keep using food to fight stress.

These little associations build our preferences. Creating our craves and fears.

Is Eating making us healthier or sicker

It depends on the answer to all these questions:

• What do we eat?
• Why do we eat?
• How do we eat?

The right food can harm if we eat it for the wrong reasons.

Nutrition is only half of the picture. Emotion is the rest.