Oral Fixations

I’m a very orally fixated person. I enjoy having something in my mouth at all times – be it a piece of chewing gum or something long and hard – lest I be censored or fired by my editor, I’m referring here to a pen or a pencil. Munching on cheese-flavored popcorn, Nagaraya nuts or M&Ms thoroughly heightens my pleasure of a movie at a theater. On a night out, I always feel the need to pick on those often-stale peanuts while sipping my martini simply because they’re there on the bar.

As an individual who makes his living out of the dining scene, food is always at the forefront of my mind. It’s more often the topic of my conversations and the subject of most of my work-related activities, not to mention the normal cravings and thoughts of food I experience each day. As would be expected, the overall exposure to food during my workdays heightens these normal food cravings I have. Throughout the day, I often have to battle with the following: temptations for blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs in the morning; eager thoughts for a hearty bowl of wonton noodles or Hainanese chicken towards noontime; evil lusting for a caramel pecan pie and a hot frothy cup of cream java early in the afternoon; infidel desires for a multi course, heart attack-inducing meal involving foie gras, steak tartare, several glasses of Chateauneuf De Pape finished by Sauterne sips in between generous spoonfuls of mango pavlova – the life!

The consumption or at least thought of such things is all related to a feeling of security for me. My desire for food can be attributed to the same reason that Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher deemed her desire for it: "Food, security, and love are all entwined so that we can’t think of one without the others". Food, for me, is a pleasurable experience that evokes these feelings of security and even love (think Laura Esquivel’s Like Water For Chocolate). It’s a necessity, a hobby, and a routine all in one. My Sunday afternoons are never complete without ordering my Super Supreme Pizzas with extra toppings of Italian sausage and mushrooms.

There is even scientific evidence of the connection between food and emotions. The hypothalamus, which regulates our feelings of hunger and satiety, has neural connections with the limbic system, the center for emotions. This is why different emotional states affect hunger, appetite, and satiety. This is also why dealing with Atkins- hooked persons requires the patience of Mother Teresa.

There are also, of course, the nutritional needs for food as well, at the very base of why I desire food. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that our basic and physical needs must be met before our emotional ones can even be realized, such as our reasons for desiring food. A perfect example of this fact was demonstrated to me when I attended spa therapy a few years ago. One of our activities involved 36 hours of fasting. The first few hours was a breeze and my spa companion and I were still yakking merrily despite our spa counselor’s warnings that we should conserve our energy. As we progressed to hour 20, yakking turned into yawning. Thirty hours into my fast, the counselor who I had earlier thought to look like Angelina Jolie was now Medusa! My feelings at that time were not helped by the fact that I had drank myself silly the night before and the smell of vodka was still fresh in my breath. Finally 36 hours had passed and we were offered clear vegetable broth as our first meal. I would have preferred a 16 oz medium rare tenderloin steak but then that would have put the digestive system into shock. I gulped that meal down with such voracious gusto! To this day, the broth’s pronounced taste of celery, onion and freshly ground pepper is still fresh in my memory. Once that physical need was met, I felt my emotions changing too. I was satisfied, warm and focused. My counselor was once again Angelina Jolie. Cheers!

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E-mail me at djmontano@pacific.net.ph