The Cupcake Rule of Being Healthy

I remember sitting in my nutrition courses, bristling

Every time teachers said something I didn't like, I would shake my head (on the inside so no one could see). Why? Because what was being suggested that I eat sounded like it would not be fun to eat. It didn't resonate with me. It didn't appeal to my senses.

We live in a world where desiring a specific food or meal is “bad” when it does not fall into a narrow definition of "healthy."

The idea that we should eat food that gives us joy is never considered. This happens when food is studied in a lab, away from the people who might eat it.

Sometimes, I would like to take all the food researchers, put them in a room, and tell them they can't leave until they get a clue and realize the whole purpose of food—it's not just nutrients.

I’d also like to gather all the "health experts" who use less-than-satisfactory research to advise us on what to eat and tell them to stop talking.

Have you noticed how bland and boring healthy food can seem? It's no wonder people resist eating the foods nature provides.

The fact that we have sensitive taste receptors should be a big clue that nature wanted us to pay attention to flavor. The smell, taste, and touch of food can mean as much to us emotionally and psychologically as they do to our physical function.

Most health experts or scientists discount the value of taste and flavor, reducing it to being all about nutrients and signaling the body that certain ones have arrived.

And boy, are they wrong. Enjoying food has health benefits, and a sense of joy has many beneficial functions and counters negative aspects like stress.

One area where it helps is regulating gene expression. I wrote about gene expression and epigenetics last week. But if you do not want to be doomed by your genes, then understanding epigenetics and the control we have with our genes expressing themselves will interest you.

We can discuss the usual players, like diet, exercise, and stress reduction, and how they can help balance gene expression. This means we can control turning off the bad genes and turning on the good ones.

This is an oversimplification of the story. However, at least we have a vote and are not at the mercy of our genetic makeup.

What does this have to do with enjoying your food? A lot.

Yes, enjoying tasty food can play a role in balancing epigenetics. While epigenetics is influenced by nutrient intake, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures, the enjoyment of food contributes to overall well-being in several ways that can impact gene expression:

1. Enjoying food can promote relaxation and reduce stress. Chronic stress leads to increased cortisol levels, which can negatively affect gene expression related to inflammation, metabolism, and mental health.

2. Enjoyable eating experiences can activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode), supporting optimal digestion and nutrient absorption.

3. Taste and enjoyment influence food choices, and diverse, nutrient-rich diets support a healthy gut microbiome.

4. The gut microbiome plays a significant role in epigenetic regulation by producing metabolites (e.g., short-chain fatty acids) that influence gene expression.

5. Enjoying food triggers dopamine release, reinforcing positive eating habits and promoting satiety.

6. Dopamine and other neurotransmitters play roles in neuroplasticity, which is influenced by epigenetic mechanisms.

7. If food is enjoyable, people are more likely to stick to healthy eating patterns (such as a Mediterranean or whole-food-based diet), which are known to have epigenetic benefits.

8. Restrictive eating or eating foods perceived as unappetizing can increase stress and decrease adherence to beneficial dietary patterns. This is the important part.

9. Enjoying food activates cephalic phase digestion (the anticipatory phase of digestion), which enhances enzyme secretion, nutrient breakdown, and absorption.

10. Proper digestion ensures that nutrients involved in epigenetic regulation—such as methyl donors (B vitamins, choline, folate)—are effectively utilized.

So, once again, I ask you, why isn’t this a bigger conversation? Why isn't it dominating the discussion of how food can make us healthy?

We have to see food differently. Knowing about the nutrients in food is not enough. We must see that eating has many aspects that influence how our bodies respond. The foods we eat will benefit our well-being if we can feel joy from their consumption.

I'm probably talking to the wind. It is very difficult to ask the information world to change. The presentation of nutrition and food has a hard-wired history that too many advocates are invested in.

My goal today is to speak to you. If there's something you want to eat, eat it. If it brings you joy, then be happy and savor every bite. Feel no guilt, no matter what it is.

Just be mindful that while your body wants you to experience joy and pay you back with better health, it also needs other things, like a diversity of nutrients, to function.

I had a chocolate cupcake tonight, made from the same recipe as the one in the picture above. This was going to be the cover for the book I cannot seem to finish. And yes, that is me in the background, lovingly gazing at the cupcake I made—just like the one I ate tonight.

I hope you can look at this cupcake and feel joy. It doesn't have to be for the cupcake. It can be the joy of knowing that your favorite food will be good for you.

Let’s call this the cupcake rule for being healthy.

I can also give you 10 different ways this cupcake is good for the gut, but that’s a conversation for another day.