Eating as we’ve already explored isn’t just about taste. It is true that your tongue is a highly sensitive organ that can detect nutrition especially when finely tuned (i.e. not attuned only to sugar and processed food gunk). However, as we know that processed food is big business, they’ve also studied how to manipulate our eating habits using chemicals that connect to the pleasure centers in our brains. Or, by NOT closing a feedback loop such as with fake sugars that leave the body chemicalized, confused, and hungry, they perpetuate an addiction because the body/brain communication is out of whack. So when we say “trust your gut” what we really mean is monitor how you FEEL after you consume a certain food or drink.
Listening to the body and cultivating an ability to monitor how it responds to a particular input is a vital practice as it allows YOUR BODY to let you know what IT needs regardless of dietary dogma. Sometimes you might crave meat, but you are a vegetarian – well, listen to your body! You don’t have to eat it every day, but if your body is demanding those nutrients, it’s probably for a good reason. Or perhaps you crave salt, maybe the body has a mineral deficiency. Back to our candida example, the candida albicans yeast crave sugar and sugar admittedly tastes good. But after eating a cookie, your body might break out in hives or experience negative effects from consuming what your tongue, or even the gut if out of balance, thinks “tastes delicious.”
The quality of our food choices is also important. It might cost more for the grass fed or organic option, but knowing you are not putting chemicals and pesticides into your body that can have future adverse cumulative effects provides peace of mind and allows you to INVEST in your health rather than be a victim to it later on in life. But like all things in life, choices are on a continuum, so sometimes fast food is exactly the right choice as long as it’s a conscious decision and not a regular habit.
This is a vital practice to cultivate because it is also how we deal with our ferments. If it’s too cold, some may not work or if we forget about it or let it go too long, the flavor might be too sour or bitter. Close the feedback loop by tasting frequently and tweaking to get the conditions right for the organisms and you will have brewing success! This is art and science comingled, so there will be a myriad of potential outcomes but the closer attention we pay, the better our results will be. Also, “a watched pot never boils” so sometimes we have to give them time and space to do their work. Balance in all things!
