you are what you eat

proverb

Personal health and wellbeing is determined by one's eating habits, in both positive and negative ways.

OriginGerman Der Mensch ist, was er ißt →
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Meanings

proverb
  1. Personal health and wellbeing is determined by one's eating habits, in both positive and negative ways.

Origin

  1. GermanDer Mensch ist, was er ißt
  2. Englishyou are what you eat

Semi-Calque of German Der Mensch ist, was er ißt (literally “The human/man is what he eats”), coined in 1850 by Ludwig Feuerbach in a review of Jacob Moleschott’s Lehre der Nahrungsmittel. Für das Volk (Erlangen, 1850). Compare German man ist, was man isst.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan ets el que menges
  • ets el que mengesproverb
Danish du er hvad du spiser
  • du er hvad du spiserproverb
Dutch je bent wat je eet
  • je bent wat je eetproverb
Estonian sa oled see, mida sööd
  • sa oled see, mida söödproverb
Finnish olet mitä syöt
  • olet mitä syötproverb
French tu es ce que tu manges, vous êtes ce que vous mangez
  • tu es ce que tu mangesproverb
  • vous êtes ce que vous mangezproverb
German man ist, was man isst, man ist, was man ißt
  • man ist, was man isstproverb
  • man ist, was man ißtproverb
Hungarian az vagy, amit megeszel
  • az vagy, amit megeszelproverb
Icelandic þú ert það sem þú borðar
  • þú ert það sem þú borðarproverb
Norwegian du er hva du spiser
  • du er hva du spiserproverb
Polish jesteś tym, co jesz
  • jesteś tym, co jeszproverb
Portuguese você é o que você come
  • você é o que você comeproverb
Russian ты то́, что ты е́шь
  • ты то́, что ты е́шь (ty tó, što ty jéšʹ)proverb
Spanish de lo que se come se cría, eres lo que comes
  • de lo que se come se críaproverb
  • eres lo que comesproverb
Swedish man blir vad man äter
  • man blir vad man äterproverb
Ukrainian Ви є те що ви їсте
  • Ви є те що ви їсте (Vy je te ščo vy jiste)proverb
Cite this entry
APA

you are what you eat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat

MLA

“you are what you eat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “you are what you eat,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat.

Source: you are what you eat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.