Food Is Also About Who Made It

When people talk about health, they usually say that the three most important things are exercise, diet, and sleep.

I think that is true.

However, after many years of working with people’s bodies, I have come to feel that, in the end, the most important factor is a person’s will to live.

That said, exercise, food, and sleep cannot simply be ignored.

And among them, daily food is especially important.

Personally, I have come to believe that what matters is not only what we eat, but also who made it.

I find it difficult to believe that a meal lovingly prepared by a mother for her family produces exactly the same effect on the body as food prepared in an environment where “fast-food prank incidents” happen regularly.

Of course, nutritionally speaking, we can compare calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

But food is not only numbers.

I feel that the awareness of the person cooking, as well as the atmosphere surrounding the meal, somehow become part of it too.

There was one experience about food that deeply changed the way I see these things.

It happened about five years ago.

A man in his forties came to the salon.

He was slightly overweight.

As I was observing his body, an image suddenly appeared in my mind:

something thick and sticky, almost like tar.

Without really thinking, I asked him,

“This feels like oil… doesn’t it?”

He looked confused.

“What do you mean by oil?” he asked.

So I asked him about his eating habits instead.

He replied very casually:

“I mostly eat fried food. KFC, tempura bowls, fried chicken… things like that.”

I remember thinking:

I see.

He had been consuming fast-food oils almost every day.

Perhaps that was why I sensed something heavy and tar-like inside his body.

Of course, this was only my personal impression, not a medical diagnosis.

But the image I felt and his actual eating habits matched so closely that the experience stayed with me.

Later, I began researching cooking oils and processed foods more deeply.

I discovered discussions about trans fats often used in fast food and processed products.

One blogger had even gone so far as to call major fast-food chains directly and investigate what kinds of oils they used.

There are truly meticulous people in the world.

To be clear, I do not think eating fast food once a week will suddenly destroy someone’s health.

And honestly, it tastes good.

When people are busy or exhausted, fast food can feel convenient and comforting.

But once I experienced that strange “tar-like” sensation from someone’s body, I personally lost much of my desire to eat it.

Food is not simply fuel.

What we put into our body eventually becomes part of us.

That is why I believe it matters not only what we eat, but also who prepared it for us.