Almost everyone has an answer to the question “What is your favorite food;». It’s easy to see why: humans are designed to derive pleasure from food. In fact, for many, food is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and that’s not a bad thing! Enjoying food supports good digestion, it can help improve your relationship with food, it can help you overcome eating disorders and most of all it contributes to “proper nutrition”.

  • What is Vitamin P (pleasure)?

The vitamin of joy. The art of eating your food, being present and enjoying it. The elimination of regrets and negative emotions when you consume your favorite dish or when you enjoy a dessert. In some cases, getting enough “vitamin P” (or maybe vitamin “mmm”) is just as important as what’s on your plate.

  • The psychology behind eating for pleasure

For years, researchers have studied the food-emotion connection. Their findings are interesting and largely encouraging. Naturally, the pleasure that humans derive from food occurs both in our mouths and in our brains. Pleasure of any kind, including pleasure from food, leads to the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is often referred to as the “hormone of satisfaction” because it activates reward pathways in the brain, which helps promote happiness, calmness, motivation and focus. In fact, studies show that people with obesity may have disrupted dopamine sensitivity, leading them to overeat to achieve sufficient pleasure from eating. However, when the brain chemistry is working properly, enjoying food can lead to physical benefits. When we enjoy the food we eat and stimulate dopamine, we digest and “use” the food more efficiently. When we are relaxed in response to having a pleasant eating experience, our nervous system goes into a state of rest and digestion, which allows us to fully break down and utilize the nutrients from the food we just ate.

  • So why is it important to enjoy your food?!

  1. The sense of pleasure through your food is important. There is no good and good diet, but there is a belief that “healthy” food must be bland, dry, maybe not taste good, but this is not true. When we eat food we like, satisfaction increases, which can improve diet quality and reduce the likelihood of overeating.
  2. Enjoyment of food increases social life. What’s a party or a family gathering without something to nibble on? As people enjoy meals with others, they often feel an increased sense of happiness.
  3. Enjoying food provides physical and emotional comfort When you feel sick, a warm soup, a pasta that reminds you of your grandmother or the favorite dessert that always seems to be a tonic for you. Foods like these have a way of lifting our spirits and calming our bodies.
  4. Enjoying food breaks the control of food culture Food culture has many definitions, but one characteristic of it is that you have to say no to the foods you love, especially if they are high in calories or fat. But this is definitely not something that will make you happy.
  5. Choosing to mindfully enjoy what you eat helps break the mindset of food restriction. When all foods are allowed without rules, including the tastiest, the body learns to trust that it will get what it needs. Eating these foods that have been labeled as ‘bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ is an important step in the healing process and can help one feel more ‘peace’, confidence and freedom around food.

  • You’ve probably heard that emotional eating isn’t ideal

Turning to food to cope with difficult emotions such as stress, anger or sadness often leads to mindless eating and creates a disturbed relationship with food. For this reason the pleasure around food has been demonized. Fortunately, emotional eating and pleasure-promoting eating differ both in their intent and in their results. Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to cope with both positive and negative emotions. Eating for pleasure is choosing a food to enjoy the taste, texture and experience, like when you go out for an ice cream cone in the summer or eat a fruit straight off the tree. Another important distinction between these two behaviors is the relationship you develop with food. Often, though not always, there is a lack of connection with food when people eat emotionally. When you eat for pleasure, there is usually a real connection and enjoyment you get from your food. Of course, there is no perfect line between emotional food and eating for pleasure – and sometimes the two can overlap. One way to tell the difference is to ask yourself “how do you feel afterwards?” Enjoying your food mindfully will not leave you with feelings of guilt or regret. And this is the greatest satisfaction you will receive from your food!