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As human beings, we consist of two levels: the animal level and the human or speaking level.
At the animal level, we need food in order to survive. The fulfillment of this base survival need is the primary concern in the animal world. Animals constantly preoccupy themselves with where they will find food, and arrange their lives accordingly.
Food has also been humanity’s primary concern for most of history. However, technological development brought about new possibilities in food supply, and human society changed to adapt to such developments. The more we were freed from concern over this basic need, the more we developed higher pursuits such as culture, art, and knowledge.
A major influence in the field of food was the invention of refrigerators, which made it possible to store food. In parallel, the human desire to enjoy grew and became more refined, leading to the development of countless types of dishes. Thus, the matter of food, once simple and basic, began to occupy a larger place. Today, we live in the age of cooking shows, culinary tourism, and grandma’s kitchen becoming the center of the living room.
In this process, we have greatly exaggerated food preparation and consumption, significantly deviating from the body’s survival essentials. Accordingly, the immense growth of the egoistic desire to enjoy harms the animal level in us. Artificial flavors and distorted eating habits have made it hard to locate the body’s natural demand for food. We thus find ourselves dealing with more and more cases of obesity, eating disorders, and other diseases that are directly and indirectly related to this twisted form that we have applied to food.
Balance with nature requires a major perceptual revolution. Maimonides, for instance, emphasizes balance in quantities. Eating something healthy in very large amounts might endanger health more than eating a little of something less healthy.
As problems multiplied, an entire industry of diets and diverse nutritional methods arose. Massive amounts of money flow through this market, while from nature’s side the definition is quite simple: the body needs basic food, in reasonable amounts, and movement is also crucial. When we sit all day in front of the computer, in the car, and on the couch, it is no wonder that the body is in distress. After all, we are animals with regard to the body’s sustenance.
How can we know what is good and bad to eat? Here it is best to listen mainly to our bodies, to pay attention to what causes unpleasant feelings, what weighs us down, tires us, makes us sleepy, and on the other hand, what adds energy, lightness, and positive feelings. Sensitivity will not develop in a single day, of course, but it is worthwhile. We should keep away from what people say or try to sell us, and learn to listen to our bodies.
In general, we should lose excess weight, reduce harmful substances in our diet, and maintain a reasonable amount of food and regular physical activity. These are the basic conditions for good health. We should apply these parameters of good health to our lives in a way that suits each of us personally and according to our life’s conditions. For instance, we cannot say that a 20-year-old athlete in one part of the world will have the same nutritional needs as a 50-year-old software engineer in another part of the world.
As for the word “nutrition,” it is a broad concept that includes not only the type, quality, and quantity of food that we eat, but the entire environment and atmosphere in which we live.
There was a time when people held meals together, relaxing and enjoying their time together with soft music in the background, the fragrance of spices, study, singing, and other elements harmoniously combined. Today, we can find ourselves heating something in the microwave for two minutes and eating it without lifting our eyes from our phones.
There is a major difference between a family dinner prepared together, sitting to connect, asking how each one’s day went, perhaps offering help to someone, and between everyone raiding the fridge whenever hunger strikes.
Healthy nutrition is not limited to calorie charts and weight measurements. True health comes when we nourish one another with attention and support. Moreover, with all due respect to gourmet restaurants, nothing compares to mom’s cooking. From her, we receive not only a delicious dish on the plate but also a mother’s love. This is the fullest form of nourishment, like the milk we once nursed from her.
Here, we touch on the idea that the human being consists of two levels: the the animal level and the human (speaking) level. Just as our animal body requires essential nutrients for its survival, our human part within us requires a positive and warm connection with others.
Therefore, we would be wise to add to our every advice about how to eat well the idea that we need to harmoniously connect with others. Here is one exercise that we could do in this regard: Suppose you sit down to dinner with your family prepared for you by your partner. According to the situation, try saying something like: “Thank you, my dear. You must have been tired after your workday, yet you still made the effort to prepare this dish that we love so much. How did you feel that today of all days this is exactly what we wanted? How caring, sensitive, and loving of you! There’s no one like you in the world. Thank you so much.”
In the end, the level of positive mutual connection that forms among people determines how tasty, healthy, and nourishing our food will be. When there is more love in the air, balance will return to our relationships, to our bodies, and to nature as a whole.
Based on “New Life 94 – Health And Nutrition” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman, Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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