How cooking and connecting fully with food brings emotional, mental and physical benefits – interviews

Mariana de Oliveira Dias, executive director of health and wellness at Sands China in Macau and Lou Lou Chang, founder of the Space Within retreat talk of a wholehearted approach to cooking and eating

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Having family and friends together around the table to share home-cooked food brings joy and mental health benefits to all, according to experts. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Jul 2024

People who have always loved to cook already know the feeling of joy and self-fulfillment that can come from baking banana bread that makes your whole kitchen smell like a bakery, or serving up a comforting casserole that has been simmering on the stove for several hours.

And during the pandemic, when people had to stay at home and started spending more time cooking and baking to entertain themselves, it was more apparent to many that cooking can indeed be good for the soul.

Official studies have confirmed this. In a study published in 2021 by Ozan Güler and Murat Ismet Haseki in Turkey, nearly half of all respondents stated that cooking brings them happiness, while 23 per cent saw it as a fun activity and nearly a third said it bought them psychological relief.

“Home cooking can have a positive impact on mental wellness as it engages both body and mind. I consider home cooking a holistic activity as it enhances a person’s mental health in many different ways,” says Mariana de Oliveira Dias, executive director of health and wellness at Sands China in Macau.

“It reduces stress; allows creative freedom and self-expression by experimenting with different flavours, ingredients and techniques; provides a sense of accomplishment and pride,” she says. “Seeing the end result is rewarding and boosts self-esteem; invites mindfulness, as you are fully present and engaged in the cooking process; and encourages you to slow down and savour each step of the process.”

Cooking can do much more for you than just provide something to eat. Photo: Shutterstock

Lou Lou Chang, founder of the Space Within wellness retreat, also in Macau, explains that cooking allows us to give the analytical left side of our brain a rest.