Editorial September 5, 2016 Issue

Dominion over food

David C. Kennedy

I was enjoying a late lunch some years ago with good friends, a family from another country. At some point, the conversation moved to the subject of dessert, and I learned that my friends believed that a certain kind of dessert—common in their country and mine—was not good for you, when eaten right after consuming the type of food we’d just had for lunch. They spoke about this very seriously and earnestly.

I was surprised. In my own country, such concerns don’t exist. I’ve often eaten this type of dessert freely, in combination with any kind of meal, without concern—as have many people. It was a clear example to me of how human beliefs influence the effects food has on us.

Theories about food and health have repeatedly changed over the years, and they continue to change from time to time. As the theories change, so does the outward bodily evidence that seems to corroborate them. The reason for this is that matter doesn’t actually govern itself but evidences what is held in the material beliefs about life that we accept consciously or unconsciously. The common conviction that matter governs our health leads to the fear that food can harm us in some way, and so we suffer, not from food itself, but from our fear about food.

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