The consumption of the food is based on the physiological and psychological needs of a person concerned. These two factors combine with one another which is clear by the example of tea and coffee which are taken as a part of the life for an addict person who can not think of a day staying without them (tea and coffee). The idea of keeping them as a refreshment is one thing but marketing them as the main source of providing energy is another. On the basis of the physiological factors nutrients like fat, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, minerals, water and fibre are needed in various combinations on the basis of region, climate, season, age, profession and maturity of the person concerned. When the emotions start dictating the terms in the case of consumption of food various disorders comes on the surface. A person either starts taking any particular item as a medium of relieving from stress, anxiety, depression, anger or do not pay attention towards the actual needs of the body and for the time being relaxation may be felt but it develops addiction towards that particular item which is not a symbol of healthy lifestyle. The same rule applies during happiness when consumption is done for the celebration and in both the cases of sorrow and happy ‘gormandized’ situation is noticed where hunger, addiction and craving are united. On the other hand the idea of three square meals has nothing to do with the metabolism but the mind takes this as a rule and start following it without analysing the situation. Therefore a person is sandwiched between emotional eating and the teaching of three square meals for all. The physiological needs are either overlooked or not properly followed due to the lack of education and emotional eating plays the dominant role in such an ugly way that a psychological need is taken as the real need. And the market goes on injecting the idea of ‘lacking’ in which a person starts thinking that he /she lacks this or that thing.
The concept of food is normally taken as the thing consumed by the mouth but the Indian thought process expands that vision because the external world is felt in the form of sound by the ears, touch by the skin, seeing by the eyes, taste by the mouth and smell by the nose. They are taken as the food of their respective sense organs combining in various ways to give physical, mental and intellectual well being. Any type of abnormality in their combination results in health issues. This broad vision helps to understand the pattern of consumption and impact of food on the body. When one says that a body reflects the quality of the food taken, it is related with all the five categories of food mentioned above. In the case of other creatures the number of sense organs may be less but the all of them taken together shows the health of the particular creature. In the case of unicellular organism also everything is not dependent on the consumption by the mouth and other factors also have a role to play which automatically proves the vibration of other sense organs. Though their might not be any fixed shape or place of other organs but their vibration can felt by various work done by an organism.
This presentation is focussed on the relation of the types of food with human being. If we see the global situation the food related issue can be broadly divided into two categories where on the one side there is over consumption, wastage, craving and on the other side one can see under consumption or malnutrition. The history of the human civilization has seen the era where pollution was not a great issue and there was no need of green revolution or organic farming or hybrid crops, etc. Whereas due to the industrial and other types of revolutions immense pressure on food production, preservation and types of pollution as an unwanted ‘gift’ is felt. When one sees the position of drinking water throughout the globe the situation isn't healthy. The level of ground water is going down at an alarming rate. Though one talks about organic farming but the polluted air and water is used for that in many places. On the other hand wastage of prepared food during festivals and unplanned distribution of crops in under privileged areas is increasing the number of hungry people. More or less everyone is familiar with this stuff then what's new in this paper so that it may be useful for all. Now comes the importance of the view mentioned earlier.
There is no item which can be termed as totally bad or good for the human consumption as seen in the case of milk which is prohibited during stomach disorders. Modern medical science also confirms the impact of emotion on the food consumed which arises due the input received by other sense organs and the fruit of action done by the organs of action. And like this both the group of organs behave as a medium to serve the mind which is the ultimate enjoyer of the fruits of action involving sense organs and organs of action. Therefore the psychological needs are governed by the mind. The physiological needs are governed by the stomach or in the other words when a person really feels hungry and is not bothered about the taste or the decoration of the prepared food which do not negate their value but avoid the tendency of highlighting them as done by the restaurants and advertising agencies while dealing with the junk food. In this regard one remembers Dopamine which is a happy hormone and when the brain is unable to tolerate the level it starts behaving in an odd way. The confectionaries and bakeries are busy in using those chemicals which are helping in increasing the level of Dopamine or those neuro hormones or neuro transmitters which results in the increase in the sales and harmful impact is noticed in the increased level of craving for confectionary and bakery items due to the false signals given by the brain. It helps in increasing obesity and other health problems.
Various types of diet plan fails due to the lack of tuning with the actual needs of a particular body which changes due to the emotional status and the environment of the concerned person. In fact the concept of balanced diet is more or less imaginary which do not match with the ground reality. Most of the diet plans do not deal with the control on emotions so they are unable to meet the needs of a particular person in the long run. The short term benefit is marketed to attract more customers but sooner or later health issues repeats itself and the society runs after a new diet plan.
The success of any diet plan depends on all the categories of food consumed by any normal human body, upbringing style and the psychological needs of a particular body. The over consumption or craving for any particular food item taken as a remedy to solve the problem of stress or irritation or anger or depression donot have a positive impact on the health of the particular person who falls in this trap.
The educational system must focus on the issue of craving, wastage and over eating. The student life is a construction period where proper guidance in this respect will help them in future. The areas which can be useful in this regard are breathing exercises or pranayam, yoga, way of eating and drinking, training about the combination of the types of the food and their items, regional and seasonal needs. When a particular person is trained in anyone or more areas mentioned, the life becomes happier than before. For example the way of eating must be monitored regularly. Due to the complex lifestyle food is eaten quickly without chewing it properly. And the water is also swallowed as fast as possible. There's an old saying which asks to drink the food and chew the water. The food must be chewed so that it mixes with the saliva present in the mouth nicely and comfortably reaches the stomach. On the other hand the water must be taken sip by sip and swallowed slowly. It is better to keep the water in the mouth for a second or two before swallowing. When chewing and drinking done properly the consumption and wastage is controlled which in return increases the savings of the person following this rule.
When we talk about impact of climate change on the problem of food we must include the issues mentioned above.
While dealing food shortage we talk more about funds or donations or diverting funds for handling this issue but it often goes in the domain of part time business where major portion of the money is misused. Collection for feeding human and other creatures is also a part time business in many places.
Wastage of food can be controlled if one understands this the actual and assumed need which is controlled by market. Unemployed, idle mind, higher level of stress or happy hormone also adds to the problem in many cases. And the problem of hunger can be handled properly. For feeding one must know the inner system of the body. Only full stomach policy can't be useful always. Actuall need of food may be less. Proper education is also required in this case. Just by distributing food packets everywhere, everytime will increase the problem.
