I Think, Therefore I Don't Eat

The 17th century French philosopher Rene Descartes concluded that his existence was irrefutable based on the presence of his own thoughts. Simply put, if I am thinking, then I exist. This led to his infamous formulation: "I think therefore I am."

But thoughts determine more than our existence. They shape our everyday feelings and behaviors. In essence, what we think about something influences how we feel about it. It doesn't matter whether our thinking is right or wrong. What matters is what we believe.

Individuals' receptivity to any food is highly dependent on their beliefs about it. If one concludes that a particular food is disgusting, unhealthy, immoral, or weird, it will be avoided. Examples abound.

The 16th century Europeans shunned tomatoes and potatoes, believing them to be poisonous. The Reverend Sylvester Graham, creator of Graham crackers, believed that consuming ketchup and mustard led to insanity. He also believed that eating meat led to sinful sexual excess. Not surprisingly, he didn't eat meat.

Even modern man is not immune to bizarre beliefs about food. I know a homo-phobic individual who believes that sushi is a sissy food and indicative of homosexuality. Naturally, he has never tried sushi, nor is he inclined to.

And I guarantee you, no matter how compatible the biochemistry of his palate is with sushi, if he did try it, his thinking would prevent him from liking it.

Granted, these are examples of extreme ignorance or lunacy. While the average person's irrational beliefs about food do not reach psychotic proportions, milder but nevertheless askew perspectives still run rampant in the general population.

They too are fueled by limited food knowledge and personality variables that render the person suggestible to such concepts.

A compelling example is the series of fad diets that have swept the nation over the past decades. The three main nutrients in all foods are carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Our society has run the gamut with diets that have vilified or revered each element with recommendations for curtailing or increasing its consumption. Thus, there are low-carb, low-protein, low-fat, high-carb, high-protein and yes, believe it or not, high-fat diets out there.

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