We continue our five-part look at the senses, exploring in depth how each relates to all aspects of our existence, and our body-mind-spirit health. Today, we’ll examine the sense of Taste.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and imagine you’re holding a slice of lemon. In your mind’s eye, see the bright yellow skin, and inhale its citrusy aroma. Now, imagine biting into that lemon, and sinking your teeth into the tart fruit. Feel the sour juices spurting into your mouth.
Chances are, you immediately began to salivate, and possibly even pucker, at just the thought of the taste of the lemon in your mouth.
As with all the senses, our ability to taste transcends being a mere physical sensation to engage us on mental, emotional and spiritual levels. The mental image of biting the lemon activates the physical response of our salivary glands, almost as much as actually biting the lemon could.
There are five primary taste sensations: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami. The fifth, umami, was just added in 2007. It’s described as an earthy, savory taste, like you’d find in mushrooms or savory soups, meat and cheese.
The sense of taste is such an important part of our lives it’s become part of our language. We give someone who’s not “sweet” a “sour” look. “Bitter” people might use “salty” language. We “hunger” and “thirst” for knowledge. Discerning people have “good taste.” We “savor” a good book.
Being out of balance in a mental or spiritual sense has a negative impact on our sense of taste. For instance, a depressed or highly emotional person isn’t able to detect high fat levels in foods, while their ability to perceive other flavors can be heightened. That’s why someone suffering from a traumatic breakup, for instance, could eat a pint of ice cream or a bag of potato chips without being aware of the high levels of fat, sugar and salt in the food.
Because the human brain is programmed to like fats, sugar and salt, fast food and processed food companies focus on creating products with such a high concentration of all three that the unhealthy foods create “cravings.” The brain on fast food starts to process tastes differently, and perceive the unhealthy elevated levels of fat, sugar and salt as “desirable.”
When we stop eating junk foods and switch to live, raw vegan organic meals instead, like the foods offered at the Optimum Health Institute (OHI), the taste buds and brain do their own version of a detoxification. As the body eliminates all the excess fats, sugars and salt from your system, the sense of taste comes back into balance. A bite of a Granny Smith apple is an explosion of sweet and tart on your tongue, while the natural saltiness of a dehydrated tomato totally satisfies.
To help deepen your awareness of your sense of taste, get a variety of organic fruits and vegetables. A good selection would include a grape, a mushroom, a chili pepper, a dehydrated onion ring, an Essene cracker, a snow pea, fermented cabbage, a red pepper, broccoli and sunflower seeds. Arrange the foods on a plate, and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to go into a highly perceptive Alpha state, then slowly pick up one item at a time, and taste it.
How quickly can you tell what the item is? Does it seem to register a taste on a particular part of your tongue? How does the taste change, if it does, when you bite into it, when you chew it, and when you swallow it? You might discover, after this exercise, that you’re more appreciative of the taste of what you eat, and you’re also more aware of how your food can impact your mood.
To learn more about getting your body, mind and spirit into a healthy balance, experience the healthy lifestyle program at the Optimum Health Institute. Honor yourself in a transformative environment at our missions in San Diego or Austin. We can help you achieve your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual goals for optimal health in 2013. Call us at (800) 993-4325 to make your reservation.
