food and drink

ok how do i tell what my food drink does for me?

for example i have the new character food and water, it doesnt seem to do anythin. should it help me heal or meditate if i consume it?

follow up if its like a buff, where can i see how it is affecting character and for how long the buff will last.

Non-stat food is there just so you don't get annoyed by the constant spam:

You are hungry. You are thirsty. You are out of food and drink.

It used to be that being thirsty would reduce your mana regen and hungry would reduce your HP regen. Now I believe it's just spam messages like moogs says.

Either way, get these:
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=111234
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=111237

and make them the first food/drink in your inventory (I put them at the top of the first bag in my inventory).

And either swap them with cheap food (iron ration, water flask, whatever) or click cheap foods every so often to prevent eating them.

"for example i have the new character food and water, it doesnt seem to do anythin. should it help me heal or meditate if i consume it?"

The stat food works by just being in your top two slots in a bag in upper slots on char. It does not work by eating it. For example on my ranger I have quiver in top left slot in inventory and a bag in top right slot. In the bag I put my food in top left spot and drink in top right spot. Do not eat the food or drink to have it change your stats. It does that by being there. Experiment, take the food out and hold it on your cursor and you will see your hp go down if you have a hp raising food in there. Same with drink.

Now in order for those to keep giving you the benefit (be it mana or hp or whatever stat) people try not to eat it up so they force feed themselves other basic no stat food. This is sometimes a pain to remember so just go fish raxil fish in argath, there are safe places as you zone in, and make some broiled raxil fish which is nice food and easy to get and make. The stats last as long as you have the food in there. There are other foods to buy in bazaar pretty cheap also. The links above are great beneficial foods but I cannot afford them on my server and the mats are expensive also so making them for myself it out. Yeah I know you can farm them but once again, not at my level.

Be sure and get the AA at level 50 that will slow down how fast and how much food you eat. However being on a mount or having a pet will eat more of your food.

In games like WoW, food is mainly used as a way to heal between battles or you click it for buffs. EverQuest is different. You character has to eat and drink to live so you have to carry it to avoid penalties. You don't have to click to eat though, just have it on you. And if you have stat food, it gives you a buff for being in your top slot