I love to eat, possibly more than any other activity. This article is a little different from the usual buffet finishing articles and pictures that I usually write, yet it’s something to think about. If you eat the portions of food I do, it’s important to keep nutrition in mind and eat a balanced (albeit massive) diet. Even though I might devour a carnivorous meat platter in Uruguay, I try to balance it out with a garden full of vegetables and an orchard full of fresh fruit. Today’s guest post is from  Cathryn who is a proclaimed health-nut yet took a step back to analyze her food strategies when she traveled. She put together a series of 10 quotes revealing the power and the value of food, realizing that you miss a great deal when you don’t experience the local cuisine.

I was recently on vacation and was shocked when I realized I was counting calories, rather than enjoying regional delicacies.  After all, how often does one travel to far and exotic lands?  And if, while there, the food is not sampled and enjoyed, it is a great loss towards a true understanding and appreciation of the land.  My realization caused me to step back and re-evaluate my ideas about food and eating.

These days, “thin is in.”  Weight loss is the latest fad.  And almost everyone is on a diet.  “Food” is a four-letter word.

Many of us try to simply avoid food, in an effort to loose weight and look great.  But, avoiding food is not the answer.  As most dietitians would tell you, starvation is not the best diet.  The emphasis should not be on avoiding food altogether.  The emphasis should be on eating healthy. And in addition to eating healthy, we need to be living healthy as well.  This means, exercising: walking, running, jogging, swimming, whatever you like.  But, coupling an active lifestyle with healthy eating is the key.

Eating is not bad in and of itself.  But we need to eat the right things, at the right time, in the right quantity.  Many dieting experts will even tell you that splurging a little here and there may actually be better for your diet in the long run, because it makes dieting more sustainable.

As I was re-evaluating my thoughts on food, I realized that, like many people, I have forgotten the joy of food and eating.  I have forgotten that food is not enemy number one.  And can in fact be a good thing.

In an effort to help us begin to view food in a different light, I have compiled a list of ten quotes on food, eating and the power of thereof:

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
-George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) — an Irish playwright who is the only person to be awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature and an Oscar

The whole of nature, as has been said, is a conjugation of the verb to eat, in the active and in the passive.
-William Ralph Inge (1860 – 1954) – an English author, Anglican priest, professor of divinity at Cambridge, and Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral

That’s something I’ve noticed about food: whenever there’s a crisis if you can get people to eating normally things get better.
-Madeleine L’Engle (1918 – 2007) – an American writer best known for her Young Adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
-James Beard (1903-1985) – an American chef and food writer

Food is the most primitive form of comfort.
-Sheilah Graham (1904-1988) – an English-born American nationally syndicated gossip columnist during Hollywood’s “Golden Age”

Food to a large extent is what holds a society together and eating is closely linked to deep spiritual experiences.
-Peter Farb (1929-1980) – an American author, anthropologist, linguist, ecologist, naturalist, and spokesman for conservation

Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the single most significant trademarks of a culture.
-Mark Kurlansky (1948 – present) – a highly-acclaimed American journalist and writer of general interest non-fiction

If there is anything we are serious about, it is neither religion nor learning, but food.
-Lin Yutang (1895 – 1976) – a Chinese writer and inventor who is known for his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
-J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) – an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
-Fran Lebowitz (1950 – present) – an American author who is best known for her sardonic social commentary on American life through her New York sensibilities

Now, this doesn’t mean, “throw your diet out the door.”  It simply means it is okay to loosen up a bit.  Just make healthy choices.

Author Bio: Cathryn Johnson is self proclaimed health-nut and a content writer for Online MBA who gives advice on the education, pursuing an online mba rankings and living a healthy life. In her free time she enjoys travel, theater and having fun in the sun.