Consider the following: We have managed to uncover aspects of food culture, food politics, food nutrition, and the food economics, but we have yet to explore the psychological dimensions of food. Not only is food immensely pleasurable, it can also be psychologically oppressive. For the weekend, please read the following articles and watch the video link below. Please make a commentary on the following question related to what you read and see:
Why is it the food has such a psychological hold on us? Of course we need it for survival, but, beyond that, why does food effect us on such a deep level?
Orthexia--What is it?
Healthy Food Eating Disorder?
Can Healthy Eating be a Disorder?
An Obsessive MInd Game--Video
3 comments:
I think food has such a profound psychological effect on us because it influences the way we feel on a daily basis. Many people notice a difference in how they feel in terms of energy and sharpness of their minds when they change eating habits. Therefore, some people take it as far as to being so extremely picky with their food that health problems arise. These problems start, from what I gathered from the articles and video, from the simple avoidance of a certain foods, and then can continually grow from there. The reason for the large impact of food on humans is its ability to play with and influence the mind.
Of course food is essential to our life, but it's much more complex than that. Today people are now becoming more aware of what the foods they consume affect their bodies. This can at times be too much on us psychologically. We want to look great physically, feel energized, and avoid diseases such as cancer. Eating the right food can hep with this all, but from these desires obsessions can occur. This obsession with eating healthy can lead to finickiness to where your food is placed, and what is in your food. This becomes way to strict of a resort and can lead to serious near death situations. I guess it is not eating healthy that is wrong but it is having too strict of an obsession of eating healthy which can be unhealthy so sometimes I guess we need to put our worries aside and eat!
Why is it the food has such a psychological hold on us? Of course we need it for survival, but, beyond that, why does food effect us on such a deep level?
With the advent of technology and availability of information, people are more concerned with the food they are eating than ever. The concept of orthorexia, an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, has proliferated among modern people who think that they should eat healthily for longevity and physical health. As an open-minded, young person, however, I could never understand those people who care about the calorie, nutrition and origins of the food they ingest. We all know Big Mac is bad, and salad is good. Our common sense tells us to avoid which food and eat more of which food. It is totally unnecessary to fill our dishes with one type of food and exclude everything else. Finding a balance is more important than being obsessed with one kind. I surmise that the main reason why people become obsessed with healthy food is that they are surrounded by warnings from public health ads from media such as the Internet and TV. Moreover, food is a common topic for conversation for many cultures these days. Well-being movements and the notion of healthy food have been talked about by virtually everyone because humans always follow the trend. The food has been more than a way to stay alive: the type of food and nutrition became the determinants of our health in people mind.
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