In a world where food is not just a necessity but an experience, the flavours we savour have a profound impact on our minds. Whether it is the comforting warmth of your favourite dish or the addictive nature of sweets, tasty food does more than just satisfy our hunger – it shapes our emotions, influences our decisions, and even alters our perceptions.

This article explores the fascinating connection between the food we love and the intricate ways it affects our minds, revealing how every bite can evoke memories, trigger emotions, and influence our overall well-being. Dive in as we uncover the powerful psychological effects of the flavours that tantalise your taste buds and discover why what we eat can truly change how we think and feel.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food is a basic physiological need of human beings. First, we need to know what tasty food is. The food which has a very strong and pleasant flavour is considered as tasty.

How do we know the food has a very strong and pleasant flavour?, here our sensory systems come to the role, six sensory systems in our body connected to the brain majorly through – Olfactory (nose), gustatory (tongue), and visuals (eye) involved with foods we eat although other sensory systems also have a role but not in an essential manner. 

When there is food, we use our sensory systems to see, smell, and taste it. Our sensory organs send the information about the food to the brain through various nerves. By previously stored information and experience our brain comes up with the idea of whether the food is tasty or not.

The connection between food having a positive effect on our mind

Food can alter our emotions, for example, can we stop a crying child? I have seen our ancestors keep jaggery on a child’s tongue to stop crying. Yes, sweet foods have a calming effect. There are judgemental phrases about cultural groups based on the food they eat which causes them to express certain types of emotions frequently. In Indigenous psychology, there are three types of food: Sattvic, Tamasic & Rajasic foods, the person who eats each type of food will have a certain type of personality and emotions.

1. Sattvic foods

This type of food is light and has nutritious value. They are less salty, sweet, and spicy.

It calms the mind and cleanses the body. Both the body and the mind are rejuvenated. Consuming sattvic meals makes us feel better mentally and physically, raising our consciousness. 

It helps to restore the balance and harmony of our bodies and minds. Regularly following a sattvic diet can help with the growth and repair of healthy internal structures.

2. Tamasic food

The tamasic diet includes all meals that are hot, salty, sweet, or oily. Overeating is one of the tamasic characteristics. 

These types of foods can cause confusion, lethargy, disorientation, and mental drowsiness.

3. Rajasic food

These foods provide both physical and mental energy. It includes all whole pulses and dals (not sprouted), veggies such as onion and garlic, and non-vegetarian items like meat, fish, eggs, and poultry. 

Excessive consumption of these foods can lead to hyperactivity, restlessness, rage, irritability, and insomnia.

How looking at tasty food can lead to us craving it?

Cravings might occur even when we are not hungry. They are specific; they are only fulfilled by a certain dish, usually something delicious and rich in fat, salt, or sugar. The mind and emotions differ from person to person, depending on their lifestyle and the person’s upbringing. These are difficult to define. 

Although choices influenced by emotions, self-confidence, and attitudes may fluctuate daily, certain psychological factors like beliefs, habits, values, and past experiences with food have a lasting impact, often leading to cravings. 

Whenever we have a pleasant experience our brain secretes certain hormones which cause pleasure. This system is known as ‘rewarding’. Certain parts of our brain like the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are associated with our memory and storing our experiences.

Whenever we eat tasty food we feel some pleasure because the brain releases happy hormones. This chain is stored in our brain and whenever we see tasty food our brain associates it with our previous experiences and makes us crave food.

Craving can be caused due to:

• Outside indicators, these are the kinds of things like watching your go-to TV show while bingeing on some ice cream.
  
  
• Individuals may also have food cravings in response to internal stimuli, such as depression.
  
  

• Lack of anything. You can find yourself “craving lots of food by the end of the day” if you are dieting or restricting your intake.
  
  

• Restless night, “Studies show that lack of sleep can increase appetite and increase cravings.”
  
  

• Social settings, consider your coworker’s vending machine or your partner’s ongoing goodie baking. “They are seeing it all the time; they want it all the time.”
  
  

Mindful eating and how it can benefit us

Mindfulness is something that we are aware of or more than that or being in the present moment. During our eating time, we are focused on what we eat and how we eat, and most of the time we do not multitask. If we multitask during eating our brain may not be aware of how much and what we ate which may lead to excessive or less intake of food which causes various health issues.

Benefits of mindful eating

1. Satisfaction with food

This practice fosters a positive relationship with food, free from guilt or anxiety. It encourages you to listen to your body’s needs and eat in a way that supports overall well-being.

2. Can avoid overeating or binge eating

By promoting a healthier and more balanced approach to food, mindful eating can help reduce the risk of developing eating disorders or disordered eating patterns.

3. Improved digestion

Mindful eating can help with digestion by eating slowly and properly chewing your food. This lessens gastrointestinal problems and improves the body’s absorption of nutrients.

4. Weight management

By being aware of hunger and fullness cues, mindful eating can help prevent overeating and support weight management. It stimulates eating when hungry and ceases when full.

5. Improved awareness of hunger and fullness

Brings attention to eating habits, such as mindless snacking or eating out of boredom. This awareness can lead to healthier habits and better self-control.

6. Enhance overall well-being

It helps to strengthen the connection between mind and body, making you more attuned to your body’s signals and promoting overall well-being.


Appu Dhillipan
Psychologist & Simpeace Self-Healing Coach, Simplyweight