Herbs and spices are healthy, though. Cinnamon has been shown to be effective at lowering blood pressure. Cloves is often taken as part of a parasite cleanse and there are many other examples, of course. It’s at least a question of whether or not you know whether something is unhealthy and what you choose to do with that information.
Did you find that argument that pleasure is in and of itself a good thing in the Catechism? I’m not being sarcastic. I really want to know. Is that official church teaching?
People used cinnamon for thousands of years, and continue to use it, for reasons that have nothing to do with imagined health benefits other than making the food more enjoyable to eat. I use cloves on a periodic basis, but to the best of my knowledge, I’ve never had a parasite in my life, and wouldn’t treat it with cloves if I did. In other words, my herb and spice drawer has nothing to do with “health” benefits, except the benefit of knowing that Mom goes that little extra mile with the food, to let us know she loves us. The use of herbs and spices to enhance food and therefore to enhance our shared experience at the dinner table is a moral and commendable art, in and of itself.
From the website of the Holy See:
It is unnecessary for the Christian to be concerned about…avoiding imagined defilement through ascetical practices in regard to food and drink (Col 2:20-23). True Christian asceticism consists in the conquering of personal sins (Col 3:5-10) and the practice of love of neighbor in accordance with the standard set by Christ (Col 3:12-16).
As an example, consider Col 2:20-23:
If with Christ you have died to cosmic forces, why should you be bound by rules that say, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” as though you were still living a life bounded by this world? Such prescriptions deal with things that perish in their use. They are based on merely human precepts and doctrines. While they make a certain show of wisdom in their affected piety, humility, and bodily austerity, their chief effect is that they indulge men’s pride.
I will spot you this, though: the danger to be avoided is setting up demands in the belly that interfere with the practice of love, either in the cook or in the diner. If I’m going to get all bent out of shape over some fine point of cooking or use my need to get a certain culinary result over my duty to love my family and others around me, that is a moral problem. If I train my family to put their appetites before the practice of love, that is a problem. Letting there be some fine points of cooking which require proportionate extra expenditures in time or ingredients is not.
Paul treats this with regards to the question of whether or not to eat meat of unknown origin, because of the possibility that it might have been sacrificed to idols, in Corinthians. His rule is that you don’t have to worry about what you eat except for when you offend the sensibilities of someone with scruples in that direction. Love is the overriding concern.
If I had a guest coming who had scruples concerning herbs and spices, I would come up with something to serve which depended on the flavors of the “nutritious” ingredients alone to season the dish. If we had someone coming who was a vegan or who kept kosher or halal, I would do my best to obtain food that met their requirements…and where possible, serve the same food to everybody. You do what you need to do in order to have the meal show hospitality to all those at the table. I think that is the main thing.
As far as the fake sugar goes, it can be a way for people who need to restrict their caloric intake to stay on the wagon. When it does not have a detrimental effect on health or on the person’s ability to love others, that is a legitimate use.
