Medicosnext
Food is an integral part of our lives. The human relationship with food is unique. Unlike animals who eat mainly out of instinct, we human beings have an emotional connection with food. We eat not only to satisfy our hunger, we eat for various reasons. We eat for health and vitality. Sometimes we eat for personal pleasure, because some foods satisfy our craving like no other. Certain foods we eat are rooted in our cultural, traditional, and religious beliefs. We eat socially to bond and to feel a sense of belonging. We eat to celebrate festivals, achievements, and milestones, and to mark important days and events.
Certain food appeal to our sense organs
We want to eat because we love how they appear and smell. A perfectly symmetrical, round, golden brown selroti (hoop shaped, sweet, fried rice dough bread) and a bowl of aromatic aloo-tama-bodi (potato, fermented bamboo shoots, and black eyed peas curry) are perfect examples of how food appeals to our senses. Sometimes, food is our identity. Our choices in our food habits define us. It is a way to connect us to our heritage. We look to food for comfort and try different kinds of foods for adventure. Sometimes, we eat because certain food gives us joy. When I get a chance to eat my mother’s cooking, it gives me happiness at a deeper level and comforts me when I am feeling down.
In the past, mainly geography determined our eating culture
What grew in that particular area and what was readily locally available guided our eating habits. Seasonal and regional produce was the highlight of all meals. Food was usually always eaten fresh. To preserve certain food items, various preservation methods were developed and tried. What were abundant became the staples. This resulted in an emergence of patterns of food choices within specific geographic, cultural, and religious groups. These foods then became a part of our tradition, culture, religion, and identity. People from different cultural and traditional backgrounds eat different types of food. Even if the ingredients are similar, the resulting cuisine may be very different. The ingredients, methods of preparation and cooking, preservation techniques, and the variety of food eaten at different times of the day are unique to each culture. The reasons that influence eating habits and choices all over the world are multiple; however, our tradition and culture play a key role in determining what we eat, how we eat, and when we eat.
I grew up in a traditional family. At my house, dinner was early. We did not usually eat after sundown. When asked why, my grandmother would say it was good for us to eat dinner early. It was a tradition thing for her. She was simply repeating what her mother had done, and her mother before that. Looking back, she was practicing what we call today in modern terms as ‘the circadian rhythm diet’, or the ‘body clock diet’, which basically means one eats in sync with their body’s internal clock. So, eating was for daylight hours only. Another term for it is ‘intermittent fasting.’ By eating early and keeping the stomach empty for several hours until the next meal, we give our body time to carry out the digestive process properly, utilize all the nutrients we’ve consumed, get rid of all the toxins, regenerate new cells, burn calories, and give our body time to reset.
In our country, food is deeply connected to our religions and festivals
Our festivals are plenty, and they have played a vital role in determining what we eat and in what season. Almost all our festivals have food specific to that festival. I could eat selroti, fini, anarasha anytime of the year, but those same delicacies in Dashain/Tihar always feels special and nostalgic. In our culture, we have various days in various seasons when we eat certain foods. On Maghe Sakranti, we eat chaku (hardened molasses), til ko laddu (sesame candy balls), ghiu (clarified butter), and tarul (yam). We eat sakharkhanda (sweet potatoes) and pindalu (cocoyam) on Kartik Ekadashi. We eat yomari (steamed rice flour dumplings with sweet fillings of molasses and sesame seeds) as post-harvest celebration in Yomari Punhe in December. We have been doing it for generations.
There is a scientific reason behind why these were eaten in those particular months. These food are what we refer to as thermogenic foods. They are high in healthy fats, proteins, and fiber-rich carbohydrates. Thermogenesis is a process by which the body generates heat during food metabolism. Hence, these food help us keep warm during the winter months. Drinking of kanda (warm drink made with spices boiling in water) is also a common practice during winter months. The ingredients that go into the drink, like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, clove, etc., all stimulate thermogenesis. In the times when modern heating system was not available, these days were set as reminders to everyone to eat these kinds of foods throughout the winter months.
In Janai Purnima, we eat various kinds of mixed sprouted beans and legumes called kwanti. Beans and legumes are high in antioxidants, protein, calcium, iron, folate, dietary fibers, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, and magnesium, thus bringing about a lot of health benefits. Similarly, we eat samay baji, a high- protein food platter during Indrajatra. I believe that days like these, when we traditionally eat mixed sprouted beans and legumes curry or a protein rich food platter, were and still are a reminder for us to eat healthy throughout the year. According to the Bikram Sambat calendar, the beginning of Chaitra Dashain marks the beginning of Nav Samvatsar, or the New Year. The new moon day is the day dedicated to eating bitter things, neem leaves in particular. Karela (bitter melon/bitter gourd), sisnu (sting nettles), bhogate (grapefruit), and white asparagus are some of the bitter foods we consume in our country. Bitter foods contain antioxidants and are believed to stimulate the digestive system and improve absorption of food by stimulating the digestive enzymes, aiding in detoxification by the liver, and lowering blood sugar levels. The day is a reminder to us that a little bit of bitter in our diets does us a lot of good.
We have special days to mark important days in farming
Nepal is an agricultural country with more than 60% of the population engaged in farming. We have special days to mark important days in farming. Asar 15, which marks the beginning of the planting season during monsoon, is celebrated by eating dahi chiura (yogurt and beaten rice). This nutritional, non-cooked snack provided the farmers with a full belly after a day’s hard work in the fields planting rice. Yogurt is packed with essential nutrients, protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and minerals like magnesium and potassium. It has probiotics (good bacteria), which are good for digestive health. Yogurt also has cooling properties. This, along with our staple chiura, makes for an ideal snack that is both nutritional and filling. Hence, dahi and mohi (a drink made from yogurt) became an important part of our diet. Similarly, Shrawan 15 marks the end of planting season, and is celebrated by offering kheer (rice pudding) to the gods and then eating it as prasad. Kheer is nutritional and tasty, and we eat it often throughout the year as prasad, or simply to satisfy our sweet tooth.
Fermentation as a way of preserving foods before the days of refrigeration
When I was little, our kausi was full of bhudkos (clay pots) and thekis (wooden pots) with various vegetable preserves fermenting at different stages. There were pickles of various types, there were gundruk,(fermented leafy vegetables), tama (fermented bamboo shoots), and sinki (fermented shredded radish). Masayeura and titaura (semi fermented, preserved, sun-dried legumes and vegetable nuggets) would be sun dried. Traditionally, fermentation was used as a way of preserving foods before the days of refrigeration. In various other cultures, eating preserved food is a common practice. Natto, miso, kimchi, kombucha, and kefir are some examples of fermented food and drinks from around the world. The method of preservation varies in various cultures, hence the resulting food tastes very different. Foods and drinks that have undergone fermentation contain probiotics, which have a multitude of health benefits, specifically for digestion. They are believed to help reduce the symptoms of chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Fermented vegetables not only retain all their nutrients and vitamins, but the process itself increases the nutritional value of food during fermentation, because microorganisms generate various nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin B12, and vitamin K. In a culture, where traditionally eating meat products was only on special and rare occasions, these preserved vegetarian options, rich in vitamins and micronutrients, provided necessary dietary supplements our body needed, and also made sure there always was vegetables on our plates throughout the year, whether or not fresh ones were available.
There is a strong relationship between our culture and traditions and our food choices and habits. Access and availability has allowed us to enjoy not only the foods of our own culture, but traditional food of various other cultures, as well. Traditional diets and eating habits and our ancestors have a lot to teach us about food. Traditional food and eating habits provide us with a roadmap to healthy eating and healthy living.
