Are you eating food or is your food eating you?

Food is an integral part of our existence. From the moment of birth till death, two things that we always indulge in are- food and breathing. While we eat food to let the body function smoothly, have you ever thought about “Is your food eating you?” Well, if you haven’t, recently nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar threw some light on the subject, and here is what all you need to know about food. (Image: istock)

“Interestingly, the first thing that every human does is, he/she starts eating. Without mother's milk, we would be nothing. This practice defines the importance of food in our lives and we should always remember that”, states Rujuta in the opening slide of her video. According to her, eating food is a social act, a cultural act and it gives us a sense of belongingness. She condemns the practice of falling prey to the weight loss industry, immunity industry and recovery industry. In her opinion, by doing so, we are allowing food to eat us. (Image: istock)

In her 2.57 mins IGTV video, Rujuta wrote, “The Upanishads define food, Anna, as something which you consume and which can consume you in return.” (Image: istock)

According to Rujuta, it is important that to avoid being consumed by food, rather we should start practicing the habit of eating food that is local, seasonal and traditional and consider it a blessing, and not divide it into carbs, protein, fat, and calories and fall prey to the fears. (Image: istock)

In the name of weight loss, a lot of calorie-based products are being introduced in the market and social media pressurizes us to calculate and measure every meal. Rujuta stresses to trash such practices and eat to feel good, celebrate the produce and help build the local economy. (Image: istock)

According to Rujuta, it is about being aware of what is eating you when you eat. Stressing on women she says, "Mindful eating is important for women, because women are brought up with a thought that if we are not thin, we are not good enough and somehow people are going to rate our efficiency based on how thin we look." She clarifies, "It is a myth and in real life it is all about how good we are at what we do.” She adds, “Don’t let food eat you.” (Image: istock)

Food helps you be in good shape, it also helps you support the local economy, keeps global ecology in place, she mentions. (Image: istock)

From physical and mental health to climate change, our food choices affect our living in many ways. She concludes, “Whether you eat a kiwi, seasonal mango, or imported blueberry it all will decide what climate change we usher our children and our gut bacteria will change”. So, it’s important that we understand how much food we are eating and how far food is eating us and our future. (Image: istock)

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