I come from a family with long history of hypotension. My father and I always fought for the salt shaker on the dinner table until my mother solved the problem by buying one for each. We didn’t really know why we loved or needed that much salt, until my brother got into medical school and bought a sphygmometer (blood pressure meter). He started practicing his medical skills on us. We discovered then that we had a surprisingly low blood pressure. Our taste buds were actually our medical adviser; they craved salt because our body needed it. They weren’t yet masked, over stimulated, or confused by the overwhelming amount of chemical flavors and synthetic tastes that infested our modern-day food chains.
Years ago, scientists tried to deprive a group of rats from their taste sensation. The deprived group and a control one (a group of normal rats) were supplied with the same diet. A short while afterwards, the taste-deprived rats all died. Surprisingly, autopsy revealed only one cause of death: Malnutrition. And, only one conclusion could be drawn out of their experiment: The sense of taste plays a more crucial role in physiological health than we actually know. To be fully nourished by food, we need to chew it properly, enjoy it properly, and fully experience it through our taste buds.
Years ago, scientists tried to deprive a group of rats from their taste sensation. The deprived group and a control one (a group of normal rats) were supplied with the same diet. A short while afterwards, the taste-deprived rats all died. Surprisingly, autopsy revealed only one cause of death: Malnutrition. And, only one conclusion could be drawn out of their experiment: The sense of taste plays a more crucial role in physiological health than we actually know. To be fully nourished by food, we need to chew it properly, enjoy it properly, and fully experience it through our taste buds.
Tastes and flavors have always been integral part of medical diagnosis, from the 6 tastes of Auyerveda and the 5 tastes of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to the body temperament system of Greek, Unani and Arab folk medicine. Even conventional medicine is starting to acknowledge food cravings as part of its diagnostic toolbox. Cravings for tastes and foods actually mean a lot.
When we long for sweet, salty, bitter, sour, or spicy tastes, this longing has a meaning that our body understands as our taste buds translate it into comprehensive useful information. But, does the bitter still carry the liver stimulating properties, the sour brings along digestive aids, or the salty harbor the valuable missing minerals?
When we ask for freshly baked bread, pickles, or butter, our body is desperately trying to convey a message that we, in our modern era, fail to understand. Our fresh bakery lost its B vitamins by refining; our pickles lost their natural bacterial flora and their digestive enzyme through canning and pasteurization; and the essential fatty acids and E vitamin in our butter are depleted and oxidized through over processing.
We all desperately need to listen to our body, but first, we need to reconnect this body to nature, we need to re-root it into its natural habitat.
Here are few suggestions:
- Carefully read your label
- Enjoy more raw fruits and vegetables
- Add natural herbs and spices to your cooking
- Explore new herbal teas
- Chew your food well and give your taste buds time to savor the taste and acknowledge the texture and aroma.
Have a great week!
When we long for sweet, salty, bitter, sour, or spicy tastes, this longing has a meaning that our body understands as our taste buds translate it into comprehensive useful information. But, does the bitter still carry the liver stimulating properties, the sour brings along digestive aids, or the salty harbor the valuable missing minerals?
When we ask for freshly baked bread, pickles, or butter, our body is desperately trying to convey a message that we, in our modern era, fail to understand. Our fresh bakery lost its B vitamins by refining; our pickles lost their natural bacterial flora and their digestive enzyme through canning and pasteurization; and the essential fatty acids and E vitamin in our butter are depleted and oxidized through over processing.
We all desperately need to listen to our body, but first, we need to reconnect this body to nature, we need to re-root it into its natural habitat.
Here are few suggestions:
- Carefully read your label
- Enjoy more raw fruits and vegetables
- Add natural herbs and spices to your cooking
- Explore new herbal teas
- Chew your food well and give your taste buds time to savor the taste and acknowledge the texture and aroma.
Have a great week!
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