Physiologists have puzzled for half a century over how appetite works. We have no explanation for the subtle appreciation of the flavour of fresh food, less still for the speed and accuracy with which we know we have had enough.
We put it all down to our sense of smell. We know it cannot be taste-buds on the tongue, however much we talk about them, since they are only capable of detecting four rather basic flavours — sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness. The nose, on the other hand, can detect smells that chemically are hardly there at all — as little as one molecule, some people say.
The truth is that you do not detect subtle flavours with your body at all. You use the energy-pattern or psi-field that gives your body its shape and contains your Self.
Appetite works between your psi-field and that of the fresh produce that would best satisfy your present need for food. The defect in your psi-field exactly matches what the foodstuff has to offer. When you chew it the energy is released into your head, giving your nose a chance to detect it and your psi-field to assimilate it. When your psi-field is replenished, the appetite for that food goes away, on the spot.
This means that small children presented only with fresh food that tastes honestly of what it contains can select exactly what they need by taste alone.
This mechanism does not work, of course, for food that has lost its psi-field. This applies to anything cooked more than a few hours ago, anything preserved, tinned or frozen. It applies even more to ‘foods’ that have been created by industrial processing rather than by natural growth — confectionery, sausages and other spiced reconstituted meats, for example. You can taste the primary flavours on your tongue, of course, which is why these are included by the manufacturers in the recipes, but these do not tell you what you need or how much of it.
The result is that children have no personal means of knowing when to stop eating ‘food’of this kind. If this is all you ever eat, your appetite is only "satisfied" when you have eaten all you can find space for. A ‘blow-out’is a pathetic substitute for the satisfaction in depth that comes from the real thing.
What to do
Respect fresh greengroceries more, and take the trouble to cook them fresh to be eaten straight away.
Take time over your meals, and savour each mouthful. Try not to swallow anything until you have stripped it of taste, to make the most of its vital energy. When a particular item stops tasting wonderfully attractive, stop eating it: you have had enough of that.
Eat food items one at a time, to allow yourSelf a proper chance to assimilate exactly the right amount of each one.
Store food naturally. Do not freeze peas and beans — let them dry on the vine, and sprout them when you want to eat them. Never fall into the trap of eating only from freezer to microwave.
Avoid frequent or heavy use of condiments such as sugar, salt and soy sauce. If you need these, your food lacks sufficient flavour of its own: ask yourself why, and set matters right.
If your children seem not to want what you believe is good for them, read Feeding Young Children and Children’s Appetites.