With the exception of breathing and drinking, eating is the most essential bodily requirement of all. Many people naturally conclude that they want to make the subject of food an even more central aspect of their lives than it already is. We dedicate huge amounts of our natural cerebral facility to making food easier to produce, more nutritious, and- of course- more delicious.

Consider the artistic heights the discipline of preparing food has risen to. A well-plated piece of fine cuisine is as beautiful as a classical painting- more so even- because you get to eat it. Eating is an extremely intimate process. Before we are willing to put something into our bodies we have to really appreciate it. In the case of food we need to like the way it looks, smells, tastes feels, and how it makes us feel.

In recent years, science has turned its attention to understanding what food means to us, and the results have been interesting, to say the least. Neurologists have discovered that the simple act of eating engages larger portions of our brains than any other activity. But how?

When we think of mentally taxing endeavors we may think of playing Chess, advanced mathematics, novel writing, engineering, and so forth. However, while these take an effort to perform and talent to excel at, they employ limited neurological resources compared to eating. You may be thinking, ‘eating is easy?’ And you’re right. However, when you take in food, your body and brain are assessing it on multiple levels to determine whether the food is safe, whether it has the nutrients we need, how it was prepared, and more.

You may have noticed that the human visual system renders some of the sharpest- most information-rich images in the animal kingdom. Our visual acuity is second only to that of predatory birds who must be able to spot a rabbit in a bush from several hundred feet. We developed keen vision in order to be able to spot fruit from great distances. Our ability to see and perceive also has to match the abilities of advanced predators just to be able to navigate dangerous jungle in order to obtain that distant fruit. Because our large brain makes us so adaptable, we also had to be able to derive a lot of information in a sensory way. Our sophisticated palates are a product of that necessity.

Finally, in today’s information-rich environment, the average person knows a great deal about how food is prepared. The neural networks that contain that knowledge are engaged every time we eat- we literally taste the way the food was made. You really don’t need any explanation other than that to appreciate the fact that eating foods from other cultures is so incredibly fascinating. To discover a little taste of Italy, visit L’Amore today.