Shaping Food and Well-being Discourse Across Genres, Contexts and Centuries

This special issue, Health and Well-being as Seen through Food and Nutrition Discourse(s): Past and Present Perspectives, brings together a collection of studies that explore how discourses surrounding food, diet, and nutrition have contributed to shaping and redefining ideas of health and well-being across time. The volume combines diachronic investigations of earlier centuries with analyses of contemporary discourses, offering a multifaceted view of how notions of well-being are constructed through language and culture. From moral and prescriptive writings on moderation and virtue to present-day narratives of self-care, sustainability, and body awareness, the contributions highlight continuities and shifts in the ways societies have linked nourishment to moral, social, and physical balance. By examining a wide range of genres—from medical treatises and recipe books to media and digital communication—the issue reveals food discourse as a privileged site for observing how linguistic choices and cultural practices reflect and shape evolving conceptions of health, identity, and the good life.