There are certain writers whose work, no matter the topic, I will read because their perspective is perennially interesting. Such is the writing of British food critic Bee Wilson. A search of the public library materials turned up her 2015 book “First Bite: How We Learn to Eat.”
Wilson shares some of her personal experiences that led her to write about food. Her personal story mirrors that of many with food issues they have overcome. Obsessively dieting and fixating on food is not the way to heal issues of overeating, undereating, or otherwise having a disordered relationship with food. It is only when a person can experience indifference about food that healing has occurred. In this state, something delicious can be enjoyed or passed over, a good experience that is not viewed as strictly necessary.
This is, of course, grossly oversimplified, and issues with food, which we require to live, become increasingly complex as the passage of time and the formation of habits progress. However, as Wilson observes, there are still people in the general population who have a healthfully detached experience of food, eating when they are hungry and stopping when they are full. Should we not look at this portion of the population to learn more about how to eat well?
What is most startling about Wilson’s observations is that studies are unanimous: We like what we eat because we eat it. Babies are predisposed to like certain foods but not, as is commonly assumed, due to genetics. According to Wilson—and I believe her (I’m not going to track down all the studies just yet; I’ll take her word for it)—it’s well understood that the foods we like to eat are…the ones we eat. In this reinforcing feedback loop, we enjoy flavors because we’ve experienced them before.
This fact has interesting implications for babies, before birth and after. Studies demonstrate that babies in utero taste what their mothers eat. It’s a strange thought, but the phenomenon is demonstrable (and explains why my children like onions and blue cheese, I suppose). Breastmilk also, apparently, varies in flavor depending on what the mother eats.
While visiting a rural area where raw milk can be gotten with knowledge of the cows and the practices of the farm and other reassuring factors that make consuming unpasteurized milk reasonable, I sampled kefir, a fermented drink made from the raw milk. It smelled like a barn. I was not the only one convinced that I was sipping grass and hay every time I took a sip. I did not sample the raw milk itself; perhaps these flavors intensified in the fermentation process. Whatever the explanation, I had newfound awe at the way that breastmilk might taste like spinach or green olives or lentil curry.
It’s fascinating that in all the discussion of breastfeeding versus formula feeding, the pros and cons, the logistics and the agonies, we almost never hear about a key element of human nourishment: taste. What does breastmilk taste like as it is overlaid with the various (or unvaried) flavors of a mother’s diet?
Wilson writes, “The early exposure of babies to flavor—both in utero and through milk—works as a kind of ‘imprinting,’ as Gary Beauchamp puts it. We become emotionally attached to these early aromas.”
She suggests, “flavor may be one of the strongest arguments for mothers attempting to breastfeed, at least for the first few months, and eating as varied a diet as possible while doing so.”
Any discussion of breastfeeding tends to devolve into a lecture on the hormonal irregularities and physical deformations that render breastfeeding difficult or impossible for some. For others, there are insurmountable sensitivities that push mothers into extreme elimination diets while breastfeeding. All these factors are real and challenging. Additionally, as Wilson also observes, there are formula-fed babies who grow into toddlers with a well-developed palate. There are also breastfed babies who refuse to eat. This isn’t a simple and straightforward development, but there are general principles that generally apply.
That said, if you ever find yourself in that relatively easygoing state of breastfeeding on-demand while eating a normal diet, it’s interesting to consider how to incorporate more and far-ranging flavors to the mix. From kimchi to mushrooms and arugula, blue cheese and Dijon mustard, what would you include on a culinary world tour for your breastfed baby?
