By Elizabeth Herman┃Posted: May 21, 2019
Have you noticed how different foods affect your mind? Your thoughts after you’ve had a fresh salad and wholesome soup may have a different quality than your thoughts after a meal of french fries, pretzels, twinkies, and Twix candy.
A Hindi expression, ‘jaisa anna vaisa man,’ means ‘we become what we eat.’ I remember when I was a child, and teachers and parents would say, ‘you are what you eat,’ to convince me to eat more vegetables and fewer sweets. Pictures of whole bell peppers, zucchini, potatoes, apples and broccoli with circles around them would then be shown to me, next to pictures of soda, chips and burgers that were crossed out.
At the time, I knew they were right, but it took time before I was truly persuaded to change how I ate. I had to control my own kitchen and cook for myself before I could truly appreciate the value of this wise principle. The school lunches and what other kids around me ate didn’t seem to agree with the ideals being taught.
Both physical and mental health are impacted by the food we eat. How can we make food healthier for the good of individuals and society? How can we eat more consciously? The first step may be the age-old realization that we become what we eat, so looking more closely at our food and its effects on our health should prove helpful.
Food in its natural state
As I raised my own young children, I learned that the best way to eat was with food in as natural a state as possible. Processed foods in their least natural state have had their life force (prana) removed during preparation stages. Canned, frozen and dried food have lost much of the life they once had when they were first grown. A farmer friend would call green beans from a can ‘dead,’ because that’s exactly what they were.
On the other hand, the best, most life supporting food is still growing, still alive. I shared with my children that we could feel immediately better by eating the pea pods when they were still growing in the garden, and I would take my son outside and feed him directly from the plants. I called the peas “prana pills.” This name would fire my son’s imagination and he would eat in the garden, knowing that the produce was still full of life.
The most wholesome soups don’t come from mass-produced tin cans. They’re simmered slowly on your own home stove from a combination of fresh ingredients, vegetables and spices, and they’re made with love.
The impact of food on mental health
Recent research shows a direct link between the human mind and diet. A 2017 study showed that men were 23% more likely to develop mental illness after eating high amounts of sugar. One of the researchers on that project, Professor Eric Brunner, stated, “physical and mental health... deserves some protection from the commercial forces which exploit the human 'sweet tooth.’"
In contrast, healthy diets are frequently shown to protect human beings from the onset of mental illness. Similarly, the World Health Organization reports that rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular (heart) disease, cancer, osteoporosis and bone fractures, and dental disease reduce as a result of improved nutrition that includes high amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables.
With less physical and mental illness, human beings glow with life, much like the life-filled, plant-based diet that they consume. Fewer trips to the doctor translate into more opportunities for happiness and better attitudes towards professional and social challenges that may come up. Production and consumption of living, natural foods result in better-functioning connections between your gut and your brain, and stronger bodies and minds that can handle life experiences naturally and with ease.
Food and the planet
As humans become either healthy or not, based on what they eat, so does the earth. Since so much of our land is used for food production (33%), it makes sense that certain agricultural methods contribute to greenhouse gases and climate change on a widespread scale. Factory farms producing chemically and hormonally processed meat also send large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Not only do the meats coming from these farms make human bodies and minds unhealthy, they threaten the stability of our air, water and land, on which all life depends.
As our environment changes, so do we. What will future generations have left once the current food system, and other bad habits, have wreaked havoc on our bodies, minds and planet? Those of us who have chosen plant-based, healthy diets will produce healthier children, and will pick up the pieces by growing food naturally and organically for the good of animals, plants, and our society.
By living and eating in less violent ways, we sow the seeds of peace for future generations, and we become more natural and harmonious within the ecosystems that gave birth to us.
Happy eating and evolving in harmony with yourself and nature!
By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, lives in Boone, NC, and volunteers for a better world.
