Food and Drink Hobbies

AKA: Culinary Hobbies.

On our unique gut microbiome, mindful eating, and food hobbies.

People who love to eat are always the best people.
Julia Child, People Who Love to Eat Are Always the Best People: And Other Wisdom

We are what we eat. As Vasundhara Sawhney wrote for the Harvard Business Review, it is “weirdly true”.

As we are what we eat, our health is largely determined by what we eat. Probably ever since this idea was first proposed, we have tried to define a healthy diet. But the definition keeps changing. Research suggests there might be an underlying reason for this constant change: there may be no single, one-size-fits-all diet.

We are what we eat.

Our healthy diet

We are different from each other. Therefore, different diets may be healthy for us. Our gut microbiome is one of the factors in which we differ. Research reveals that our unique gut microbiome affects how the food we eat makes us feel, and how we feel in general. And, in turn, what we eat and how we feel affects our gut microbiome. We are what we eat not just physically, but mentally as well. This relationship has been named the gut–brain axis.

To find our healthy diet, we may need to listen to our gut feelings. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Mindful eating

The idea of a personalized diet is complemented by the idea of mindful eating. According to the Harvard School of Public Health: “Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make.”

Mindful eating encourages us to make choices that will be satisfying and nourishing to our bodies. It also discourages us from judging our eating behaviors as there are different types of eating experiences.

How can we become more mindful eaters? Harvard Health suggests appreciating our food and bringing all our senses to the meal. Food Insight recommends noticing the smells, tastes, and textures of our food. Mindful Magazine suggests cultivating a mindful kitchen.

Mindful eating can enhance our enjoyment of food.

Food hobbies can help us become healthier, more mindful

Both the ideas of a personalized diet and mindful eating encourage us to pay more attention to the food we eat. This can be promoted by making food into a hobby. Adopting a food-related hobby can naturally make us more mindful of what we eat and how we eat it. Mindful eating can be preceded and supported by mindful cooking. Food mindfulness can even start earlier – in the garden.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
Luciano Pavarotti

Beyond health and the joy of food

Besides health and the enjoyment of food, which is one of the most basic pleasures of life, food hobbies have more great benefits.

A food hobby can be an opportunity to set your creativity free, to learn about different cultures, traditions, and places, and to bring people together. Preparing and eating food are also great opportunities to relax.