The ability to distinguish between edible and inedible is one of the key functions that ensure survival. Our body uses several sensory systems at once for this, which work harmoniously, like a complex mechanism, protecting us from potentially dangerous food.
How do we recognize edibility?
🔹 Vision allows us to notice from afar what may be edible, and helps to detect signs of spoilage - darkening, mold, unnatural shine or change in structure
🔹 Smell is our ancient protector. It reacts sensitively to decomposition products, mold and poisons, signaling potential danger. But not only - among the many edible products, it is the smell that helps us choose the freshest, ripest and most nutritious
🔹 Taste is the final test, the last check before food gets into the body. If a product tastes bad, instinctive rejection saves us from possible harm
Why do fruits easily pass the test?
Ripe, fresh fruits easily satisfy all three criteria:
✔ Their color attracts attention from afar
✔ Their aroma is captivating and makes you want to try
✔ Their taste is delicate, sweet, refreshing, causing natural pleasure
Fruits are literally meant to be eaten - nature created them so that they attract us, helping plants to spread seeds.
Why do traditional foods not make us hungry?
But what about the products from which all traditional food is prepared?
🌾 Ears and seeds
🥕 Roots and leaves
🥚 Eggs
🥛 Dairy
🥩 Pieces of animal flesh
Does their appearance or smell make you salivate? Do you want to eat them raw, without processing? Hardly.
We are not programmed by nature to consume these products in their original form. That is why humans have found a way to bypass their own verification systems. Fire and salt helped them do this - two main tools that allow us to make the inedible edible.
How do fire and salt change food?
🔥 Heat treatment is a complex chemical process that changes the structure of food:
✔ Enhances aroma and makes the taste more attractive
✔ Destroys some toxins, making some products safe to eat
✔ Softens tough fibers, making food easier to digest
🧂 Salt:
✔ Stimulates taste buds, making us perceive food as tastier than it is
✔ Masks bitterness, enhances sweet and sour notes
✔ Causes addiction, creating a false need for its constant use
But is it worth deceiving yourself? Should food only become suitable after chemical transformation?
The downside of food processing
Fire and salt do not improve food, but make it even more dangerous:
⚠ Heat treatment destroys the living structure of food, depriving it of enzymes and natural energy
⚠ Many substances are converted into an inorganic, difficult to digest form, which makes it difficult to remove them from the body
⚠ High temperatures lead to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) - toxic compounds that accumulate in tissues, accelerate aging and provoke inflammation
⚠ Fire and salt dehydrate food, and then the body, causing blood pressure surges and the development of chronic diseases
Return to natural nutrition
Food that does not require processing is a gift of nature that is already perfect. The less manipulation of food, the more energy, lightness and health we receive.
Try to listen to your body, because it knows exactly what it needs. Choose live food, not its artificially improved analogues.
And let your nutrition bring you real benefits, and not a temporary illusion of pleasure!
Author: Misha Khusid
How do we recognize edibility?
🔹 Vision allows us to notice from afar what may be edible, and helps to detect signs of spoilage - darkening, mold, unnatural shine or change in structure
🔹 Smell is our ancient protector. It reacts sensitively to decomposition products, mold and poisons, signaling potential danger. But not only - among the many edible products, it is the smell that helps us choose the freshest, ripest and most nutritious
🔹 Taste is the final test, the last check before food gets into the body. If a product tastes bad, instinctive rejection saves us from possible harm
Why do fruits easily pass the test?
Ripe, fresh fruits easily satisfy all three criteria:
✔ Their color attracts attention from afar
✔ Their aroma is captivating and makes you want to try
✔ Their taste is delicate, sweet, refreshing, causing natural pleasure
Fruits are literally meant to be eaten - nature created them so that they attract us, helping plants to spread seeds.
Why do traditional foods not make us hungry?
But what about the products from which all traditional food is prepared?
🌾 Ears and seeds
🥕 Roots and leaves
🥚 Eggs
🥛 Dairy
🥩 Pieces of animal flesh
Does their appearance or smell make you salivate? Do you want to eat them raw, without processing? Hardly.
We are not programmed by nature to consume these products in their original form. That is why humans have found a way to bypass their own verification systems. Fire and salt helped them do this - two main tools that allow us to make the inedible edible.
How do fire and salt change food?
🔥 Heat treatment is a complex chemical process that changes the structure of food:
✔ Enhances aroma and makes the taste more attractive
✔ Destroys some toxins, making some products safe to eat
✔ Softens tough fibers, making food easier to digest
🧂 Salt:
✔ Stimulates taste buds, making us perceive food as tastier than it is
✔ Masks bitterness, enhances sweet and sour notes
✔ Causes addiction, creating a false need for its constant use
But is it worth deceiving yourself? Should food only become suitable after chemical transformation?
The downside of food processing
Fire and salt do not improve food, but make it even more dangerous:
⚠ Heat treatment destroys the living structure of food, depriving it of enzymes and natural energy
⚠ Many substances are converted into an inorganic, difficult to digest form, which makes it difficult to remove them from the body
⚠ High temperatures lead to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) - toxic compounds that accumulate in tissues, accelerate aging and provoke inflammation
⚠ Fire and salt dehydrate food, and then the body, causing blood pressure surges and the development of chronic diseases
Return to natural nutrition
Food that does not require processing is a gift of nature that is already perfect. The less manipulation of food, the more energy, lightness and health we receive.
Try to listen to your body, because it knows exactly what it needs. Choose live food, not its artificially improved analogues.
And let your nutrition bring you real benefits, and not a temporary illusion of pleasure!
Author: Misha Khusid