by Charlotte Fraise

Created on: February 28, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

Food. Food for thought, food for physical needs, food for imagination...FOOD. We all need "food", man and beast alike. Nothing has more power in our lives (except maybe water) than food. Food, even something as simple as a pinch of cinnamon or a teaspoon of vanilla has the power to bring back childhood memories, the aroma of Mom or Grandma cooking in the kitchen. (Yes, I am old enough to actually remember those days, along with left over pie crust sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.)

Food is such a necessity of life itself, that (Along with water and shelter), it means survival. It is so important to us as humans that the word "food" is used to mean many other things,(some of which I stated in my first paragraph.) We use the term to describe things we need to speculate on, or understand (food for thought). We use "food for imagination" to describe something that makes our creative juices flow! We "hunger" for knowledge, for love, for understanding. We "eat" our own words if we say something wrong. We also equate "food" with our very comfort.

Yes, food is a most wonderful comforter. When something goes wrong, who among us doesn't turn to an old childhood comfort-food? For many it is good old chocolate, or ice-cream (or better yet, chocolate ice-cream.) For me, it is chocolate Malt-0-Meal or Pizza, or even hot-milk-toast like my Grandpa used to eat before bed. Our "comfort foods" make everything seem alright, if even for just the few moments we are eating it.

Food also has the literal power to heal, not just to make us feel better like the comfort foods above, but by actually boosting our very immune systems. More and more, science is proving that certain foods like broccoli and other veggies, fruits, and even coffee and tea along with chocolate have anti-toxins to help our bodies. And it has been scientifically proven now that the old homemade remedy of chicken soup actually does work to help speed along a cold or flu! And it isn't just because it is hot. Studies were done using hot water, tea, and other soups even, and the chicken soup had the ability to actually shorten the span of colds, partially by boosting the white blood cell count which we need for healing.

Which brings us back to the beginning of my little reflection. Food is one of the most important, most basic needs we have. You can live on water for several days, but eventually you HAVE to have food. And even water can be received from some forms of food, so in a way you might say you need food even more than water, though I am sure most lifeforms would prefer to have both. So the next time you pick up a simple piece of bread, or that chocolate cup-cake, think a second about that most powerful and most important aspect of our lives.....FOOD.

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