Is it serious doctor ? In France, the country of gastronomy, there are a plethora of sayings about food. But it is thanks to its readers, questioned about their weirdest eating habits, that 20 Minutes was able to verify two in particular: “tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are” and “all tastes are in nature”. The dozens of testimonies received, as surprising as they are varied, were submitted to the expert eye of Pamela Nesslany, nutritionist doctor at the private hospital of Arras les Bonnettes, in Pas-de-Calais. Do not panic, most of them have no other consequence than the puzzled look of your loved ones.
It was not a question here of dwelling on regional specialties which, however normal they seem to the natives, can surprise the visitor. It is to the heart of their intimacy that our readers have invited us, revealing the unavowable, like Matthieu, 43, who declares, at the risk of being booed by an entire nation: “I love food English “. There is also Marie, 56, who flees supermarkets and can only eat organic vegetables, more out of political conviction than taste. Instead of chowing down on popcorn while watching a movie, David, 49, “likes to nibble on raw spaghetti”. Strange, certainly, but much healthier.
Appreciated but strangely made associations
“In the responses, we often find sweet-salty or sour-salty associations, tastes that are generally appreciated, even if it is sometimes done in a somewhat strange way”, notes Pamela Nesslany. Thus, Pierre, 61, enjoys eating Gruyère cheese with powdered sugar. Helena quietly savors salted popcorn with a glass of mint milk. And the famous Nutella-Camembert association is Elodie, 36, who sticks to it with pleasure.
“At the risk of sounding crazy, I admit I’m totally in love with my artisanal mixture of buttermilk, milk chocolate and raw onion”, confides Pierre. An improbable combo that the sexagenarian has been practicing since his earliest childhood. “For many, in fact, these habits go back to childhood. It’s a bit like their Proust madeleine, ”says the nutritionist. According to her, this creates a kind of mechanism that is difficult to get rid of: “There is a notion of repetition. The more you eat something, the more you train palatability and the reward circuitry and the more pleasure you will have in eating it,” she explains.
“Bread in a glass of coke has no equal”
We love, but we don’t always assume. “Dipping bread in a glass of coke has no equal in terms of flavor,” says Pierre. “I eat the apple cores and the skin of the kiwis,” Delphine says, in addition to swallowing the pits of olives and cherries. And, in the land of cheese, some suffer, like Quentin who, at 26, can’t stand either the taste or the texture. “It’s boring to have to ask to remove the cheese and frustrating when the cook forgets,” he concedes, also acknowledging “taking a few valves” on this subject. Same problem for Marlon, 24, for whom “winter is a nightmare with raclettes and fondues to avoid”. For Pamela Nesslany, however, the problem does not come from these habits: “The social norm, the gaze of others, will send back an image of you as being weird whereas, in the family setting, it seems completely normal”, believes she.
Nothing too bad then, habits and tastes being very personal notions relativize the doctor nutritionist. On the other hand, certain little quirks seem more worrying to him, like that of Jean-Yves who puts on “a whole camembert a day minimum”. Or Emilie, who spreads “butter and Nutella” on her sandwiches. Or Adrien, 38, who hates cooking: “I formulated a ration to have my calorie count and a good balance of macros. I eat the same thing every day. Never any deviations. Nothing. Invited somewhere, I bring my food, ”he says. And if he declares that he has never been in such good shape for two years, Dr. Nesslany still has a doubt: “A balanced diet does not necessarily mean white meat and green beans. Removing an element, even if it is fat, breaks the nutritional balance,” she insists. “Everything is important and above all you have to have a varied diet. »