“If you want to be he althy, eat alone and in the dark…” - probably everyone has heard this playful phrase related to “bad advice”, or variations on it. However, every joke has its share of truth. And this phrase is no exception to this life rule. It most accurately reflects the essence of such a concept as "hidden eating".
What is this?
Secret eating is eating at the wrong time, hidden from other people. Of course, if a person has breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack or dinner alone, without company, then this concept has nothing to do with it. But if he sneaks to the refrigerator under the cover of night and sweeps the most delicious pieces from the shelves, hiding from the household, then this is secret eating.
Also, an example of this concept is an action familiar firsthand to many people. It consists in pulling out the most delicious pieces from a common pot, pan, from a baking sheet or from other dishes and, of course, eat them.secretly from other family members.
How did this word come about?
The word "hidden eating" originated in Orthodox Russian monasteries. It arose due to the fact that some of the novices and monks felt insufficient in food, but were embarrassed to eat more than others in the common refectories for fear of being branded as gluttons. Therefore, those who could not control their own desire to eat did so in secret from the rest of the brothers. Of course, those who lived in monasteries were well aware that such behavior only increased their fall into sin, but they could not cope with their appetite.
Gluttony - what is it? One of the deadly sins, that is, the most pernicious addictions for the Christian soul. Many understand it as gluttony. But this is not entirely true, although, without a doubt, the addiction to eating too much food or the desire for too delicious food is one of the most common manifestations of gluttony. This mortal sin consists in indulging one's own base carnal impulses and desires to the detriment of the soul. Trying to avoid being accused of it, the monks compromised with their own conscience, which, of course, resulted in their spiritual fall.
