Food Or Drug?

Gary Wenk, writing at SEED magazine, wonders how sharp the difference between food and drugs are. Defining food as substances that one’s body uses for  ”optimal functioning” and drugs as substances that support the brain in the same way, Wenk questions how the difference between food and drugs can be sustained. After all, the foods we eat affect our brains and the regular use of stimulants such as coffee further blurs this line. Wenk argues for getting rid of the food/drug distinction entirely:

In truth, anything you take into your body should be considered a drug, whether it’s obviously nutritious or not. As you will see, even molecules that are clearly nutritious (such as essential amino acids like lysine and tryptophan—available in bulk at your nearest grocery store) exhibit properties that many of us would attribute to a drug.

Ultimately, Wenk is arguing for a much more attentive understanding of how our co-evolution with different plants efffects our moods and perceptions of experience. Wenk argues that each meal is part of a larger evolutionary history and that we are literally “on” different types of foods that impact our brains in different ways.

SEED: This Is Your Brain On Food