This quote by Edmund Burke is a metaphor that compares realities to food. It suggests that realities are necessary to the mind in the same method that food is essential to the body. Truths offer the mind with the sustenance it requires to grow and establish. Just as food offers the body with the energy and nutrients it requires to stay healthy, realities supply the mind with the knowledge and understanding it needs to remain sharp. Truths are the building blocks of knowledge and understanding, and without them, the mind would be unable to function correctly. In this way, truths are just as crucial to the mind as food is to the body.
"Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy and low-spirited: for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied"