Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

admin | 3:42 pm | December 2, 2009 | Uncategorized

Being a dietician, people often assume that I “Eat to Live”, rather than “Live to Eat”. I am not fanatical and believe that the true test is to find a balance between the two! There are 2 major reason why we eat food. The first, and most important reason, is nourishment and sustainance or the “eat to live” side of things. Then there is the secondary reason, which is pure enjoyment or the “live to eat” component.

The Live to Eat Attitude.

The Good Side. Food is the fuel that gives us what we all crave- energy! Live to Eater’s see food as fuel and lifeforce and choose foods that give them the maximum vooma. In addition, Live to eaters are more aware of the nutritional content of foods and see vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fats and phytonutrients on their plates.

The Bad Side. Fanatical Live to eaters can become obsessed with healthy foods, an actual psycological disorder called orthorexia. These people may start restricting otherwise healthy foods, like red meat, wheat and dairy for fear of any negative consequences associated with these foods. They may also start to avoid social situations that involve eating, like weddings, dinner parties and work lunches.

The Eat to Live Attitude.

The Good Side. If we were not meant to enjoy our food, we would not have been blessed with taste buds. Eat to liver’s are passionate about good tasting food and are not afraid to try new things. Eat to liver’s therefore often have good variety in their diets and enjoy a variety of different foods. Eat to liver’s enjoy a good social life and feel happy and joyous around food.

The Bad Side. Eat to Liver’s can become obsessed with food, which can lead to binge eating disorders and associated problems. They pay less attention to the health aspects of food and are more prone to chronic diseases and obesity.

The best way to eat is to find a balance! If you really are passionate about keeping healthy, you will learn to love the taste of healthy food too, and in effect you kill two birds with one stone! I believe the more sensible way to eat is eat to live 80% of the time and leave 20% for pure indulgence!