Eating is as much about mind as matter. That’s one of the main points of “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life,’’ by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung. Hanh is a Buddhist monk who lives in France. Cheung, 57, is a lecturer and director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health. Among her duties is serving as editorial director of the school’s Nutrition Source website (www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource). She has taught at Harvard since 1985, and lives in Wellesley.

Q. What drew you to nutrition?

A. When I was young I wanted to be a doctor. But my mother is very [long pause] traditional. I was still in Hong Kong then. She didn’t think it would be appropriate for a lady to be studying medicine. There would be long nights, and the schedule would not be compatible with having a family. So she was the one to introduce me to the field of nutrition. You see, in Chinese culture food is very important. It’s a form of preventive medicine. So, OK, if I can’t be a doctor, that would be the next best thing.