FACTORS THAT

AFFECT OUR FOOD

CHOICES
Created by Anastasia Lysak
HFC3M-Food and
Culture
 CULTURE
Definition:
Culture - the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept,
generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by
communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture
is symbolic communication.
Food in different countries:
People eat the food they are used to eating in their country. In almost every
country of the Old World, over several centuries, unique rules for cooking, table
etiquette and meal formats have been formed. For example, in Asian countries
they prefer to eat spicy food and many different snacks. In European countries,
they prefer non-spicy food, but use different spices for flavors. In America, they
prefer fast food that can be eaten on the go. Each country has its own national
dishes. In Italy it is Tagliatelle Bolognese. In Korea it's Kimchi. In America it's a
Hamburger. Many people base their taste preferences on their culture and
habits.
 CULTURE AND HOW IT
AFFECT ME
SINCE I AM UKRAINIAN AND HAVE LIVED ALL MY LIFE IN UKRAINE, FOOD CULTURE
GREATLY INFLUENCES ME, BECAUSE I AM USED TO EATING OUR NATIONAL FOOD.
THERE IS NO SPICY FOOD IN UKRAINE, SO I DON’T LIKE SPICY FOOD. WE ALSO
HAVE THREE MANDATORY MEALS A DAY: BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER. FOR
LUNCH WE ALWAYS HAVE A MAIN COURSE, SOUP AND SOMETIMES DESSERT. THERE
ARE MANY NATIONAL HOLIDAYS IN UKRAINE, WHICH WE CELEBRATE AND PREPARE
OUR NATIONAL FOOD. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THE HOLIDAY “IVAN KUPALA”, FOR
WHICH WE PREPARE PORRIDGE, KVASS, LENTEN DUMPLINGS AND AROMATIC
HERBAL TEA. WE ALSO HAVE A HOLIDAY ON WHICH WE EAT APPLES IN DIFFERENT
DISHES, THIS HOLIDAY IS CALLED “APPLE SAVIOR”. AND FOR CHRISTMAS WE
PREPARE A KONTORK DISH CALLED KUTYA.
 NATIONAL DISHES OF
UKRAINE

borsch cabbage rolls vareniki dumplings

 BORSCH
Borscht is a national dish in Ukraine; we eat it
on holidays or in everyday life. This is a type of
soup with beets. Every person in Ukraine has
their own family recipe for these dishes, so they
are not very similar to each other. These
recipes have been passed down through
families for centuries. But the most important
components of Borzya are beets, meat and
potatoes. This dish is usually eaten with onions
and lard. If you visit Ukraine you must try this
dish, it is very tasty.
 ALLERGIES AND
INTOLERANCES
There are many people in the world who have allergies to
various foods, so they limit themselves to consuming them.
An allergy can be fatal to a person’s life, so you need to be
careful with it and follow all the rules.Also, people cannot eat
certain foods due to health problems.
Here are the most common allergenic foods.
Milk Regular cow's milk often causes allergies in children
under 3 years of age.
Seafood Exotic seafood is a common cause of allergies.
Peanuts This product is a legume.
Egg white.
Cereals.
Citrus.
Spices and seasonings.
Our family has atopic dermatitis, a disease that is
affected by the foods we eat. Because many foods
are allergens for us, for example, some types of
berries and fruits (strawberries, lemon,
pomegranate, currants, cranberries); certain
vegetables and herbs (eggplants, tomatoes,
radishes, radishes are prohibited); most types of
nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and others are
prohibited). But personally, I eat almost all of these
foods, because I do not have severe atonic
dermatitis. But I am allergic to citrus products, so I
exclude them from my daily diet. It affects what I eat,
but not that much.
 PRODUCTS
ALLERGENS

MILK PEANUT CRUSTACEANS EGGS

AND MOLLUSCS
 MOOD/EMOTIONS
EMOTIONS INFLUENCE FOOD CHOICES, BUT THERE IS ALSO FEEDBACK. WHAT
WE EAT CAN CHANGE OUR MOOD. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOOD AND MOOD
INCLUDES BOTH BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS. MANY PEOPLE
TURN TO FOOD FROM TIME TO TIME AS A WAY TO COPE WITH THEIR EMOTIONS.
THE EMOTIONS THAT WE TRY TO EAT ARE BOREDOM, LONELINESS, SADNESS,
FATIGUE AND OTHERS. WHEN WE ARE IN A BAD MOOD, WE USUALLY CRAVE
SWEET AND SALTY FOODS. WHEN WE FEEL BAD - WE ARE STRESSED, WE FEEL
ANXIOUS - WE ARE DRAWN TO FOOD THAT TASTES GOOD AND GIVES A FEELING
OF COMFORT. MOST OFTEN THESE ARE HIGH-CALORIE, SWEET, FATTY FOODS
WITH LOW PROTEIN CONTENT. BIOLOGICAL REASONS ARE RELATED TO THE
FACT THAT WHEN CONSUMING “COMFORT” FOODS, THE BODY RELEASES CERTAIN
NEUROTRANSMITTERS. THUS, SUGAR CAUSES THE RELEASE OF DOPAMINE, THE
PLEASURE HORMONE. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT IS RELATED TO HABIT. AS
SOON AS YOU “COMFORT” YOURSELF WITH CHOCOLATE, ICE CREAM OR COOKIES
SEVERAL TIMES, THE CONNECTION “IT WAS BAD - I ATE SOMETHING SWEET - IT
BECAME GOOD” IS FORMED IN THE BRAIN. A FEW TIMES IS ENOUGH FOR THE
BRAIN TO REMEMBER IT AND “EATING” EMOTIONS TURNS INTO A BAD HABIT.
 EMOTIONS
My nutrition is highly dependent on emotions,
because when I have bad feelings, such as anger,
sadness, confused feelings, I eat food that lifts my
mood, and in my case it is homemade food that my
Mom prepared. When I'm bored or when I'm watching
a movie, I eat not very healthy food, such as chips,
sweets and carbonated drinks, but I know when to
stop it, so I don't eat a lot.
 RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
RELIGION GREATLY INFLUENCES PEOPLE'S DIETS BECAUSE IT HAS MANY
PROHIBITIONS THAT PEOPLE MUST OBSERVE. THERE ARE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS
AND THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT IN EACH RELIGION. FOR EXAMPLE, IN JUDAISM,
FOOD MUST BE KOSHER (“SUITABLE”, “SUITABLE”), THAT IS, PERMITTED FOR
CONSUMPTION, MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF KASHRUT - JEWISH LAWS ON
EATING FOOD. KOSHER REFERS TO ALL PRODUCTS AND THEIR COMBINATIONS
THAT ARE PERMITTED BY THE TORAH (THE MAIN HOLY BOOK OF THE JEWS,
KNOWN TO CHRISTIANS AS THE “PENTATEUCH OF MOSES”) AND JEWISH
TRADITION AS FOOD FOR JEWS. THE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS OF ISLAM ALSO
HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE FOOD CULTURE OF BELIEVERS. THE FORMATION
OF THE MUSLIM DIET OCCURS EXCLUSIVELY ACCORDING TO THE RULES
PRESCRIBED BY THE KORAN (THE HOLY BOOK OF MUSLIMS, A SET OF
REVELATIONS SPOKEN IN THE NAME OF ALLAH BY THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD)
AND THE SUNNAH (THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD). IN THE
ISLAMIC RELIGION THERE IS A PRINCIPLE: EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT EXPLICITLY
PROHIBITED IS PERMITTED (HALAL). (HARAM). ACCORDINGLY, FOOD CONSUMED
BY MUSLIMS MUST BE HALAL. IN THE RULES GOVERNING NUTRITION IN
CHRISTIANITY, A SPECIAL ROLE IS GIVEN TO FASTING. THAT IS WHY IT IS
IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THEЩ FEATURES OF THE DIET AND FOOD INTAKE
DURING EACH ORTHODOX FAST.
 RELIGION
Religion does not greatly influence my diet. I am a Christian, so I
have excluded only a few foods from my diet, these are pork and
eggs, and some types of fish. Since a Christian cannot kill the flesh
of animals, eggs and many types of fish. I do not fast from food on
some days, but many Christians do. So it doesn't affect me at all.
 HANK YOU!
T