We often hear the expression “You are what you eat”, but what does it mean exactly? In 1825 a French lawyer and Politician named Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin published a book titled Physiologie du Gout or The Physiology of Taste. In this book he notes: “Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.” when translated into English means “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are”. Now if I ate burgers, fries, a few beers and a few chocolate doughnuts to wash it down with on a daily basis, what would that mean about me? How would that define who I am?
The expression You are what you eat is basically letting us know that eating well in general supports health and well-being. We commonly use this phrase when we think about our physical health, but how often do we think of this expression when we are discussing our mental health… how we feel, what we think, our moods and what we do? Indeed, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was thinking of physical health when he made this statement. He was a strong proponent of the low Carbohydrate and protein rich diet and believed that consuming a lot of sugar and white flour led to obesity.
Good physical health, leads to greater well-being. Eating well and ensuring that we have a balanced diet with all the relevant nutrients will not only shape what we look like, but will also shape our moods, levels of energy, what we think, say, feel and ultimately do. If we are running low on essential nutrients, it is likely that our moods will affected, we won’t have the necessary energy we need and we may not be all that nice to be around… It’s certainly food for thought.