אֲכִילָה

When a person eats animal food — meaning, either that he eats with great animal-like lust, or that he eats food from which the holy sparks [nitzotzos] have not yet been clarified and elevated from the dimension of animal food to human food — through this he falls from the dimension of da'as [Divine knowledge-connection]; and then through this he falls into fallen love [ahavah nefolah] and fallen awe [yir'ah nefolah], for the primary wholeness of love and awe is through da'as.

The eating of the Tzaddik is solely for the sake of the soul [neshamah] — for he polishes and refines his soul through his eating; and thereby he becomes an ish tevunos [a man of tevunah — deep discernment and understanding; tevunah being the Kabbalistic faculty of deep comprehension, situated between chochma and da'as], and merits to draw up and reveal the aitzos [counsel / the Rebbe's advice and pathways], through which emunah grows.

One who wishes to utterly break the lust for eating — to the point of receiving no pleasure whatsoever from his eating — should train himself not to bring what he is eating into his mouth and palate, but only to chew it between his teeth without the aid of the palate. [Translator's note: This is an unusual and demanding practical instruction. The chech — the palate — is the seat of taste-pleasure. Bypassing it is a concrete physical technique for neutralizing the enjoyment of eating while still consuming food.]

Eating raw onions is highly damaging in many respects. See the inner text.