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'we are' does not only refer to the size and health of a person. Sure, the food we eat plays a part in our health  but have you ever thought about how food could also reflect one's social position? Let's look at the difference between fine dining and casual dining. When you step into a fine dining restaurant, you could really feel the luxurious atmosphere, a waiter dressed in a tuxedo by your side, guiding you to your already made table. While you munch on your steaks and sip your a-grade wine, classical music plays in the background. Once you get the bill, it will be a shocking $600. But what about casual dining places like hawker centres or fast food restaurants? It is extremely busy with loud chatters all around. Your table might not even be clean, utensils here and there, soup splattered everywhere. Many food stalls require self service so you would have to get up to order and collect the food on your own. No waiter, no wine but instead , cheap and good food. People of higher social status might often find themselves eating at fine dining restaurants while "commoners" like myself enjoy hawker food and have never eaten steak before. Hence, I do not think 'we are' only refers to the health and size of the person

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Summary.

Food is fuel for our bodies. But it doesn’t just give us energy, it can also impact our moods. Knowing this, how can we make better food choices?

Our gut or gastrointestinal tract is home to billions of bacteria. The food we eat directly affects our gut health (or the balance of good and bad bacteria) and influences the production of neurotransmitters (our body’s chemical messengers that are constantly carrying messages from the gut to the brain).

Because different foods trigger different moods, we can strategically choose foods that evoke desirable mood-states. For keeping our moods even and balanced, especially in the work environment, we can consume foods that promote good bacteria in our guts.

We should also consider the physiological reactions various foods trigger. For example, it might make sense to serve and consume a mild or sweet fare during a get-together with friends and family, and, maybe consume spicy food ahead of a confrontational meeting in which we don’t want to be run over

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Food is fuel for our bodies. But it doesn't just give us energy, it can also impact our moods. Knowing this, how can we make better food choices?

Our gut or gastrointestinal tract is home to billions of bacteria. The food we eat directly affects our gut health (or the balance of good and bad bacteria) and influences the production of neurotransmitters (our body's chemical messengers that are constantly carrying messages from the gut to the brain).

Because different foods trigger different moods, we can strategically choose foods that evoke desirable mood-states. For keeping our moods even and balanced, especially in the work environment, we can consume foods that promote good bacteria in our guts.

We should also consider the physiological reactions various foods trigger. For example, it might make sense to serve and consume a mild or sweet fare during a get-together with friends and family, and, maybe consume spicy food ahead of a confrontational meeting in which we don't want to be run over.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here.

What do you turn to when you're feeling low?

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Food is fuel for our bodies. But it doesn't just give us energy, it can also impact our moods. Knowing this, how can we make better food choices? Our gut or gastrointestinal tract is home to billions of bacteria.

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1. Everybody in the group will paste a website/video link that is part of your research.

2. In a few sentences, explain the gist of the article/ video.

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1. In about 80 -100 words, come with a body paragraph that supports your thesis statements.
Remember to write in PEEL.

2. Find a picture that best explains your point too.

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https://brainworldmagazine.com/are-we-what-we-eat/

Our physical and mental well-being is directly linked to what we eat and drink.The nutritional content of what we eat determines the composition of our cell membranes. Our body which replaces billions of cells daily use the food that we eat as a source, if we eat unhealthily, we are indirectly affecting our body,cells and therefore our health.

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The world is full of different cuisines and thousands of different meals. Yet when we reduce them to their essence, there are just a handful of ingredients that our bodies absolutely need to survive. These basic molecules come in a series of groups we're all familiar with - carbohydrates, fat, protein - each class of molecule is very important for the way our bodies work. So, what to choose?

Our physical and mental well-being is directly linked to what we eat and drink. The nutritional content of what we eat determines the composition of our cell membranes, bone marrow, blood, hormones, tissue, organs, skin, and hair. Our bodies are replacing billions of cells every day - and using the foods we consume as the source.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the diets of organisms can even affect the composition of their genes. Since organisms construct their DNA using building blocks they get from food, Dr. Steven Kelly, of Oxford's Department of Plant Sciences, and his colleagues hypothesized that the composition of food could alter an organism's DNA. The results revealed a previously hidden relationship between cellular metabolism and evolution, and provided new insights into how DNA sequences can be influenced by adaptation to different diets. The team also found it is possible to predict the diets of related organisms by analyzing the DNA sequence of their genes.

A well-balanced diet not only results in better health and overall body composition, but because of the "brain-gut connection" - can also make us feel great. Eating well is part of the strategy that can reduce our risk of any chronic disease and even improve the condition of our very genes. There is not "one rule fits all" when it comes to eating well. Applying the commonly accepted recommendations such as low sugar, low salt, and a good variety of nutrients might be the most advisable for all of us.

Paying attention to how much we are eating is another very important aspect of healthy nutrition - that naturally concerns us all. What we eat and how much we eat is critical, but how we process it is perhaps even more important. Through thousands of little sensors, the gut has the immense task of managing all the information contained in the food we intake. Food alone will not promise a thriving gut.

If you are eating a nutritious and delicious meal with a friend, but all of a sudden you start to fight with each other - your stomach is going to shut off, and you'll probably experience indigestion, pain, or nausea. Even when eating by ourselves, most of us have an ongoing internal dialogue going on in our brains. We are filled with countless thoughts and emotions that distract all our attention from the food in front of us. We also eat while on the phone, with the TV on, and at our desk. There is reason to believe that eating while we're emotional, confused, or simply distracted may slow down or stop digestion.

When we feel an emotion intensely, such as stress or anxiety, our regular, mechanical, digestive process in the gut - which mostly works independently - will be influenced and altered. Stress hormones, such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol, will interact with the cells in our gut, making us alert and ready for fight or flight. By paying attention to our mental state when eating, we can improve our food processing. All of our body parts are connected to our emotions, but the gut sends the strongest signaling to our brain's emotional centers.

It can be as simple as becoming more aware of the act of eating itself - including seeing, smelling, chewing, and swallowing. We can also extend our attentiveness to the influence the food has on our bodies and mood. Going even further, we can be considerate of the earth, which provides us with this driving force we call food. In fact, researchers have found that teaching such "mindful eating" skills can change bad eating patterns. Trials using the mindful eating approach have shown that participants significantly reduced compulsive eating habits, improved self-control, diminished depressive symptoms, lost weight, and maintained their weight loss for long periods of time.

By paying attention to all the details and layers of information involved in our eating, we can also awaken our gut senses - in turn helping us make better choices of the things we eat, and the amounts we eat in the future.
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine's Winter 2018 issue.
More From Brain World

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The world is full of different cuisines and thousands of different meals. Yet when we reduce them to their essence, there are just a handful of ingredients that our bodies absolutely need to survive. These basic molecules come in a series of groups we're all familiar with - carbohydrates, fat, protein - each class of molecule is very important for the way our bodies work.

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There have been several fried chicken trends in Singapore since the first fast-food fried chicken chain, KFC, opened in 1977.
Recently brands may engage “mukbangers” — people who consume large amounts of food while interacting with online audiences — to eat platters of fried chicken. This is because eating fried chicken is a sensory experience . There is the smell that entices customers before they enter the outlets, as well as the sight and sound of others biting into the batter. “Before you even get to the taste … your mind’s been made up,” he said. Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

Therefore we are what we eat.

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Along the way, he found out why fried chicken is irresistible to Singaporeans, the health effects of bingeing on the dish, and ways to make it more palatable to consumers watching their cholesterol and waistlines.
INVADING THE SENSES
Eating fried chicken is a sensory experience, said chef Sameer Chablani, who was a cashier and one of the kitchen staff members at KFC when he was only 14 years old.

There is the smell that entices customers before they enter the outlets, as well as the sight and sound of others biting into the batter. "Before you even get to the taste ... your mind's been made up," he said.

Effective marketing, such as the launch of limited edition flavours, also keeps customers coming back. According to Chiara Ang, a senior writer and host at food site EatBook, audio marketing is an "up-and-coming" tactic.

Brands may engage "mukbangers" - people who consume large amounts of food while interacting with online audiences - to eat platters of fried chicken.

Their videos are not complete without that crunch of teeth sinking into the chicken as the vloggers move closer to the microphone.

For his part, Chia initially felt himself getting hooked on fried chicken. But the passion wore off by the latter half of his experiment.

The grease made him feel tired, and his physician, Philip Koh of Healthway Medical (Tampines), found that his cholesterol levels had gone up 5 to 6 per cent by the end of the fortnight.
WATCH: Fried chicken mukbang taste test by Steven & kids + Tips to make it more crispy (7:29)

Bad cholesterol can clog up the arteries and increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. If Chia should continue on this diet for months or longer, he would be a contender for premature heart attack.

Eating fried chicken daily is "definitely too much", said Koh, who added that one must also eat fruits and vegetables and exercise. He had given the green light for the two-week challenge only because of Chia's low cardiovascular risk.
HEALTHIER BUT LESS AFFORDABLE
So what is in the fried chicken from the food chains? With the help of a laboratory, Talking Point tested various brands of American-, Korean- and Taiwanese-style fried chicken for monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium and fat.

It found American-style chicken to be lower in all three components, while Taiwanese-style chicken came top in MSG and sodium content.
WATCH: The first episode in full - Our love for fried chicken: What makes it so irresistible? (23:48)

Paired with fries, mashed potatoes and ketchup, a fried chicken meal could "easily" exceed half of one's recommended maximum sodium intake of 2,000 milligrammes a day, said National University of Singapore senior lecturer in food science and technology Leong Lai Peng.

Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

If people are unable to give up fried chicken entirely, there are ways to make it less unhealthy. They could use oil that contains more monounsaturated fat, such as extra light olive oil and canola oil, said Raffles Medical Group principal dietitian Bibi Chia.

The frying temperature should typically range between 160 and 190 degrees Celsius, as the meat absorbs more oil at lower temperatures. Consumers should ensure also that their chicken's internal temperature is 80 degrees Celsius, so that the meat is cooked properly.

A thinner batter would absorb less oil, the dietitian added.

With chef Chablani's help, Chia came up with a recipe that had less salt, more herbs and spices and significantly less oil using an air fryer.

But such a method would jack up the cost of a two-piece chicken meal to about S$15, double the price at a fast-food chain.

This is due to economies of scale - the air fryer can produce only "three to four pieces" every 15 to 20 minutes, and it is impossible to cook "too far in advance", Chablani said.

At a tasting event that marked the finale to Chia's fried chicken odyssey, 16 guests tried the healthier recipe, but only five said they would be willing to pay S$15 for his dish.
WATCH: The second episode in full - For the love of fried chicken: Can it be healthier? (22:13)

"I guess it's hard to give up the inexpensive, accessible and tasty fried chicken as we know it," he concluded.

"But in the long run, it would actually be better for our health. So if more of us do show an interest ... we just might see more healthier and affordable options available."
Watch these two episodes of Talking Point here and here. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.

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This is what happens if you eat too much fried chicken

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Along the way, he found out why fried chicken is irresistible to Singaporeans, the health effects of bingeing on the dish, and ways to make it more palatable to consumers watching their cholesterol and waistlines.

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https://www.idsmed.com/news/is-it-true-you-are-what-you-eat/461.html#:~:text=eat%20good%20food.-,In%20a%20literal%20sense%2C%20we%20all%20can%20agree%20that%20it's,bones%2C%20digestive%20and%20immune%20systems.
2. The article discusses 'We are what we eat' scientifically by telling us how the food we eat provide the foundation of the structure, function, and wholeness of every little cell in our body, from the skin and hair to the muscles, bones, digestive and immune systems. What we eat represents our physical body. Therefore, it agrees to the topic as we are what we eat in scientific terms.

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Have you ever heard the phrase 'You are what you eat'? This phrase is the notion that to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food. In a literal sense, we all can agree that it's true that 'you are what you eat'. Nutrients from the foods we eat provide the foundation of the structure, function, and wholeness of every little cell in our body, from the skin and hair to the muscles, bones, digestive and immune systems. We may not feel it, but we're constantly repairing, healing and rebuilding our body.

Every cell in our body has a "shelf life" - a stomach cell lives about a day or two, a skin cell about a month, and a red blood cell about four months. So, every day, our body is busy making new cells to replace those that have "expired." And how healthy those new cells are is directly determined by how well we've been eating. A diet filled with highly processed food that's low on nutrients doesn't give our body much to work with. But a clean, nutrient rich, whole foods eating plan can help us build cells that work better and are less susceptible to premature aging and disease.

Clean foods are minimally processed and as direct from nature as possible. They're whole and free of additives, colorings, flavorings, sweeteners, and hormones. For examples, foods with one-word ingredients, such as spinach, blueberries, almonds, salmon, and lentils. There's also strong evidence that, as a rule, the closer to nature you eat, the fewer calories it will take for you to feel satisfied. The reason? Processed foods often have low amounts of fiber and water: a high ratio of calories to nutrients and a mix of tastes from added sugar, salt, and flavoring that overly stimulates the appetite center in the hypothalamus. Clean foods are the opposite: lots of fiber and fluid, a high ratio of nutrients to calories, and free of added flavors - all of which send signals of satisfaction to our brain before we consume too many calories. As an example, think of how many raw almonds we eat before stopping, then compare that to honey roasted almonds - that sugary coating spurs we like to eat more. By eating clean, we can control our weight permanently without feeling deprived or hungry or having constant cravings.

Here are the foods you should be eating more of:

And if you're a carnivore, eat lean sources of protein like fish, chicken, and turkey.

The key is to start small: try eating one or two more servings of vegetables than you normally do this week. Eat a handful of nuts as a snack instead of potato chips. Cook yourself a healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner instead of going out to eat. Remember, you are what you eat. So, fuel your body with the right foods, and it will reward you for making healthy choices. Healthy food leads to a healthy body, which, in turn, increases your odds of a longer, happier life.

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Have you ever heard the phrase 'You are what you eat'? This phrase is the notion that to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food. In a literal sense, we all can agree that it's true that 'you are what you eat'.

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https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/how-food-affects-your-moods

The article tells me about how certain foods affect our emotions.Research has shown that, in some ways, diets may influence mood. For example, eating junk food like chocolate or ice cream helps to ease an individuals feelings when they are sad.This happens because our food choices can bring about changes in our brain structure, which can lead to altered behaviour. Hence, from a scientific standpoint we are what we eat.

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https://www.webstaurantstore.com/article/2/casual-dining-vs-fine-dining.html

The article compares fine dining to casual dining from the food, the price and even the atmosphere

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There are two major factors that customers consider when choosing a restaurant: ambiance and price. Those factors are also the key difference between fine dining and casual dining experiences. Knowing what your customer base is looking for can play an important part in your establishment's success.

If you're thinking about starting a restaurant, selecting the right path is crucial. We're here to compare the differences, key details, and history of both casual and fine dining to help you determine the identity of your future restaurant!

You may use the following links to navigate to a particular portion of the article that you're interested in:

What Is the Difference Between Fine Dining and Casual Dining?

The difference between fine dining and casual dining has to do with their ambiance and prices. Fine dining or formal dining restaurants offer an upscale setting and service while featuring unique and often more expensive menu options, with checks averaging over $50. A casual dining establishment provides a more laid-back atmosphere with more moderately-priced meal selections. It's important to define what style of establishment you will be opening before you get started.

Starting a Fine Dining Restaurant

There's something special about eating at a fine restaurant. The elegant waiting staff with impeccable manners, fancy cutlery, aroma of expensive wine, and delicious meals give customers a sense of importance. Of course, experiencing the wonderful feelings and savory cuisine that accompany fine dining requires shedding some cash, perhaps more than most people are willing. There are plenty of customers who are willing to pay top dollar for the optimal experience.

Although most of the population will not flock to a fine dining establishment for a quick meal on a weekday, fine dining options are sought out during holidays and times of celebration. A wealthy clientele often gives fine dining restaurants a higher ceiling for success.

Consider the following tips for fine dining start-ups:

Select a level of how fancy/pricey your restaurant will be. If the two don't match, customers might be turned off. Research your competitors and other successful businesses to help you formulate a menu and prices.

Pick a suitable location and make your presence known. The ideal location for a fine dining restaurant is near middle-upper class residential areas, yet far enough from potential competitors.

Stock up on necessary equipment. Every part of your restaurant should match in elegance. Purchase the necessary exquisite porcelain dinnerware and flatware, as well as ornate cloth table covers. Additionally, high-end finishes like elegant furniture and charger plates to accompany your dinnerware can enhance the look and feel of your dining space.

Purchase first-rate restaurant equipment. At high-end restaurants, customers expect only the best-quality food.

Create a wine list that matches your establishment's menu and style.

Establish a good reputation. Remember, customers choose to eat at fine dining establishments not only because of the higher quality of food, but also because of the elevated ambiance and service these establishments offer.

Starting a Casual Dining Restaurant

Since 1950, the number of casual dining restaurants has exploded around the globe. In fact, according to a survey conducted by CHD Expert, fine dining restaurants only account for about .55% of total U.S. restaurants as of December 2017.

Casual restaurants, from which most of the American restaurant industry's profits come, appear in a myriad of forms. With establishments like Panera Bread, Chipotle, and Noodles & Company, casual or fast-casual restaurants dot the American landscape. With so many competitors, how can a new entrepreneur hope to succeed?

Here are some tips to follow:

Offer and advertise high-quality food made quickly for a great price.

Consider ways to include made-to-order items on your menu. Patrons will be more likely to pay a higher price when customization is an option.

Specialize in a certain food category to ensure a higher-quality product than a standard fast-food joint.

Offer many healthy options; customers will pay more for healthier food.

Maintain a well-run, clean facility. You want your restaurant to distinguish itself from fast-food establishments, so maintaining a clean facility is imperative to your success.

Back to Top
Starting a Fast-Food Restaurant

If managed correctly, starting a fast-casual restaurant gives you a fantastic opportunity to succeed. However, since some customers will always want quick, cheap food, fast-food joints and family restaurants are far from obsolete.

Although fast-food restaurants provide a different level of service than a fine dining or casual dining experience, there are a few key factors that you can maintain as you set up your fast-food establishment:

Menu variety, though specialization to a small extent is good

Some healthy options

A clean facility

Quick service

Restaurant Dining History

From day one, the industry has been constantly changing to best fit its customers; thus, successful restaurant owners are exceptionally attuned to their customers' needs. Understanding how the industry, demands, and trends have transformed throughout the years is essential to starting a successful restaurant, be it casual or refined.

C. 300 B.C.E. - 500 A.D. Food vendors and public eateries sell food on the streets of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Chinese cities.

1782 First restaurant is established in Paris.

1790-1820 After the French Revolution, members of the elite class took advantage of their aristocratic background by opening the first fine dining restaurants in France, where they offered the nobility's dining experience for an affordable cost. The budding middle class now had money to spend and fine dining in Paris flourished, and quickly spread across the Atlantic.

1900-1960 Ideas like Henry Ford's assembly line gain popularity and entrepreneurs realize the benefit of producing a high quantity of food at a low price. This led to franchising and the first restaurant chains, like McDonalds, White Castle, and KFC.

1950-1970 Casual restaurants with themes emerged, like Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, to better cater to customers through specialization.

1970-1990 The expanding American work force and the prevalence of two working parent households leads to the beginning of the casual family restaurant including Applebee's, T.G. I. Friday's, and Olive Garden.

2005-Present Fast casual restaurants like Qdoba, Panera Bread, and Five Guys gain popularity.

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Both casual and fine dining have rich and interesting histories defined by ambitious entrepreneurs with revolutionary ideas for their time. Knowing the history and differences of restaurants allows business owners to make projections for the restaurant industry's future and stay ahead of the curve. Ultimately, the success of your restaurant, no matter the type, hinges on knowing and satisfying your customers' wants and needs.

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There are two major factors that customers consider when choosing a restaurant: ambiance and price. Those factors are also the key difference between fine dining and casual dining experiences. Knowing what your customer base is looking for can play an important part in your establishment's success.

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https://www.wathi.org/food-identity-of-culture-and-religion-researchgate/

Yes, ''We are what we eat''

Food reflects on friendships
Even when eating alone, food choice is influenced by social factors because attitudes and habits develop through the interaction with others. Research has shown that we eat more with our friends and family than when we eat alone and the quantity of food increases as the number of fellow diners grows.Food not only connects us all, but it brings truly brings out the best in us. Through cooking, community ties, friendships, and discipline are strengthened, and individualism is diminished. Food crosses all borders, allowing people from all around the globe to interact, grow, and of course, eat together.

Culture is influenced by food through various ways such as tradition, religion and family. These aspects are what makes us different from others and created a whole new society, as food can influence the way people eat and their religious practices.

It embraces all the aspects of human life and their way of communicating and interacting with other human beings. In this case, food is one of the main important roles in people’s lives and influences the impacts on their culture. Many cultures have different varieties of food and ingredients and this is a “fusion of foods and culture” (Gean Vecchio, 2009). “You are what you eat,” (taboo, 2002) it doesn’t matter how they eat it or how they cook it as long as it represents them and their culture. There is a strong link between culture and food, this includes their religion, tradition (festival) and in an effective manner.In festivals, food is extensively used to celebrate upcoming events. In different cultures, there are numerous ways of celebrating their special occasions,Take strengthening ties over 'makan' where food diplomacy , the concept of using food to strengthen relationships between two countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.When malaysian prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob sat down lunch with prime  minister Lee Hsien Loong who hosted the meal, which includes favourites enjoyed by both countries such as  chilli crab, rojak and ondeh ondeh.The menu ''reflects how similar peoples,cultures and foods in our two countries, closely we are intertwined together,''

Food becomes who we are,and influences our physical, mental and even emotional well-being.For example,Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness.

Eating well,which means having a balanced diet full of vegetables and nutrients – can improve your sense of well-being and your mood.Eating well helps to reduce the risk of physical health problems like heart disease and diabetes. It also helps with sleeping patterns, energy levels, and your general health.

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The article addresses how what we eat affects our health, body and mood. If we eat bad food we would generally be in a bad mood and would make us look bad. (e.g. heaty food like fried chicken makes our skin condition bad) However if we eat good healthy food, we would feel better as it makes us feel like we can make changes to our diet to live more healthily. The article mentions how our body generates cells everyday to replace dead cells, stating that if we eat nutritionless food, our bodies would not be able to generate enough cells to work efficiently. All in all, we cannot rely on anyone else to ensure that we are eating well and healthily. We should improve our diets as we are what we eat and food we consume directly impacts our health.

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How True Is the Saying “You Are What You Eat?” Body | Mindvalley Blog

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“You are what you eat” means that the food you put in your body today impacts your health tomorrow. Read about the groundbreaking human diet.

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A well-balanced diet not only results in better health and overall body composition, but because of the “brain-gut connection” — can also make us feel great. Eating well is part of the strategy that can reduce our risk of any chronic disease and even improve the condition of our very genes. There is not “one rule fits all” when it comes to eating well. Applying the commonly accepted recommendations such as low sugar, low salt, and a good variety of nutrients might be the most advisable for all of us.

Paying attention to how much we are eating is another very important aspect of healthy nutrition — that naturally concerns us all. What we eat and how much we eat is critical, but how we process it is perhaps even more important. Through thousands of little sensors, the gut has the immense task of managing all the information contained in the food we intake. Food alone will not promise a thriving gut.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The world is full of different cuisines and thousands of different meals. Yet when we reduce them to their essence, there are just a handful of ingredients that our bodies absolutely need to survive. These basic molecules come in a series of groups we're all familiar with - carbohydrates, fat, protein - each class of molecule is very important for the way our bodies work. So, what to choose?

Our physical and mental well-being is directly linked to what we eat and drink. The nutritional content of what we eat determines the composition of our cell membranes, bone marrow, blood, hormones, tissue, organs, skin, and hair. Our bodies are replacing billions of cells every day - and using the foods we consume as the source.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the diets of organisms can even affect the composition of their genes. Since organisms construct their DNA using building blocks they get from food, Dr. Steven Kelly, of Oxford's Department of Plant Sciences, and his colleagues hypothesized that the composition of food could alter an organism's DNA. The results revealed a previously hidden relationship between cellular metabolism and evolution, and provided new insights into how DNA sequences can be influenced by adaptation to different diets. The team also found it is possible to predict the diets of related organisms by analyzing the DNA sequence of their genes.

A well-balanced diet not only results in better health and overall body composition, but because of the "brain-gut connection" - can also make us feel great. Eating well is part of the strategy that can reduce our risk of any chronic disease and even improve the condition of our very genes. There is not "one rule fits all" when it comes to eating well. Applying the commonly accepted recommendations such as low sugar, low salt, and a good variety of nutrients might be the most advisable for all of us.

Paying attention to how much we are eating is another very important aspect of healthy nutrition - that naturally concerns us all. What we eat and how much we eat is critical, but how we process it is perhaps even more important. Through thousands of little sensors, the gut has the immense task of managing all the information contained in the food we intake. Food alone will not promise a thriving gut.

If you are eating a nutritious and delicious meal with a friend, but all of a sudden you start to fight with each other - your stomach is going to shut off, and you'll probably experience indigestion, pain, or nausea. Even when eating by ourselves, most of us have an ongoing internal dialogue going on in our brains. We are filled with countless thoughts and emotions that distract all our attention from the food in front of us. We also eat while on the phone, with the TV on, and at our desk. There is reason to believe that eating while we're emotional, confused, or simply distracted may slow down or stop digestion.

When we feel an emotion intensely, such as stress or anxiety, our regular, mechanical, digestive process in the gut - which mostly works independently - will be influenced and altered. Stress hormones, such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol, will interact with the cells in our gut, making us alert and ready for fight or flight. By paying attention to our mental state when eating, we can improve our food processing. All of our body parts are connected to our emotions, but the gut sends the strongest signaling to our brain's emotional centers.

It can be as simple as becoming more aware of the act of eating itself - including seeing, smelling, chewing, and swallowing. We can also extend our attentiveness to the influence the food has on our bodies and mood. Going even further, we can be considerate of the earth, which provides us with this driving force we call food. In fact, researchers have found that teaching such "mindful eating" skills can change bad eating patterns. Trials using the mindful eating approach have shown that participants significantly reduced compulsive eating habits, improved self-control, diminished depressive symptoms, lost weight, and maintained their weight loss for long periods of time.

By paying attention to all the details and layers of information involved in our eating, we can also awaken our gut senses - in turn helping us make better choices of the things we eat, and the amounts we eat in the future.
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine's Winter 2018 issue.
More From Brain World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The world is full of different cuisines and thousands of different meals. Yet when we reduce them to their essence, there are just a handful of ingredients that our bodies absolutely need to survive. These basic molecules come in a series of groups we're all familiar with - carbohydrates, fat, protein - each class of molecule is very important for the way our bodies work.

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A well-balanced diet is linked to our mental and physical well-being. This is because of the nutritional content. Having high nutritional content can make us feel healthy. What we eat determines the composition of our cells and our genes and it is recommended that we eat less salt and sugar and it is very important that we pay attention to what we eat. When we eat too much, our body will have an excess of sodium which would lead to high blood pressure. People who eat a lot of fried food like fried chicken is because of the sensory experience, there is a smell that entices the customers into the outlet, as well as the sound and sight of biting into the chicken. Lastly, we would like to conclude that what we eat can trigger different feelings in our body.

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We are what we eat.A person who is aggressive,hyperactive and hot tempered can suggest that the person have eaten a lot of spicy food.Eating spicy food can also increase discomfort and sometimes even pain. Whereas eating high calories food can trigger positive moods and consumes protein that can improve motivation and concentration.Some food have some chemical or ingredient that make us have different reactions.These are examples of we are what we eat.
There are some science behind it.The genes in the body are construct by our diets.When we feel emotional, stress hormone will be released and will interact with our cells.
Ninety percent of serotonin receptors — our mood regulators that influence our biological and neurological processes such as aggression, anxiety, cognition, mood, and sleep — are located in the gut. So, for example, when we eat something sweet or sugary, it produces dopamine (the feel-good hormone) and serotonin (the happiness hormone). The neurotransmitters carry those chemicals to the brain, and we feel happy.