Healthy Eating - What Does It Mean?
What is the best way to eat for all humans?
The truth is, there isn’t one right way.
Nutritional science is often confusing, and any attempt to too narrowly define a “human diet” yields conflicting results. If you have spent any time Googling what to eat in order to be healthy, you’ll know what I mean!
Genetics play a role in how our own body interacts with different foods. ‘Nutrigenetics’ and ‘nutrigenomics’ are the study of how food affects a person's genes and how a person's genes affect the way the body responds to food. (Fenech et al, 2011)
Eastern perspectives of nutrition, such as Ayurveda, also support that we each have a unique constitution. For example, some of us may require more building, grounding foods on a regular basis, while some of us have more reserves to draw from in times of stress. Our constitution is naturally affected by the seasons, i.e. cooling, hydrating foods in summer. (Lad, 2002)
The climate we live in also effects our body’s requirements and the kinds of foods that are most readily available to us. Consider the higher fat diets of people living in very cold climates. What is healthy for one population, may not be so for another.
Our nutritional requirements shift in response to hormone changes, stress levels, illness, pregnancy & post-partum, activity levels, the seasons…
What science reveals about our physiology mostly suggests that we need a varied diet containing both animal and plant foods. Still… there is no denying that some people seem to be thriving on a more plant-based diet.
What to do amid all the wellness noise???
Firstly, consider this: things like connection, time spent outdoors, natural light, movement, self-compassion and self-acceptance also positively contribute to better health – these are arguably the most important contributors to good health! (Phillips & Hine, 2019; Burns et al 2021; Seymour 2016)
In order to find a way of eating that works for you in your current stage of life, it is vital that you also develop a relationship with your own body in order to navigate the dynamic nature of health.
What we each know more fully, is OUR experience, and the cues that our body gives us about our own current state of health.
Is your digestion regular and calm?
How are your energy levels?
Is your menstrual cycle regular?
How are your pain levels?
How does your body respond under stress?
How does your body respond to certain foods?
Do you have cravings?
How is your skin?
How is your mood?
Perfect health is not a destination that we someday arrive at. Health is a process and a journey, that requires adaption throughout of lives. The idea of a perfect diet to achieve a fixed state of perfect health is not realistic.
We move away from balance, and back towards it, and in this process we become more skilful at understanding what it is we need under different circumstances.
Health has been defined as the “ability to adapt and self-manage”, but health could also be “the quality of connection to ourselves and our lives”, or “the ability to do what makes my life meaningful”. Ultimately, your definition of health is your own and can be one that feels most meaningful to you.
Naturopathy is an empowering, whole person approach to health that seeks to improve the client’s understanding of their own body and what it is trying to communicate. It is preventative and offers natural therapies that support the body back towards a natural state of balance.
References
Buckley M, Cahill L, Cosgrove L, El-Sohemy A, Ferguson L Fenech M, French T, Fung K, Milner J, Lockett T, Heada R, Koh W, Tai E, Zucker M, 2011, ‘Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics: viewpoints on the current status and applications in Nutrition Research and Practice’, Journal of Nutrigenetics & Nutrigenomics
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3121546/
Burns A, Cain S, Lane J, Phillips A, Saxena R, Vetter C, 2021, ‘Time spent in outdoor light is associated with mood, sleep, and circadian rhythm- related outcomes: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study in over 400,000 UK Biobank participants’, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 295
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032721008612)
Hine D & Phillips W, 2019, ‘self-compassion, physical health, and health behavior: a meta-analysis’, Health Psychology Review, Self-compassion, physical health, and health behaviour: a meta-analysis - PubMed (nih.gov)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31842689/
Lad V, 2002, ‘Textbook of Ayurveda: fundamental principles’, Volume 1, The Ayurvedic Press
Seymour V, 2016, ‘The human-nature relationship and it’s impacts on health: critical review’, Frontiers of Public Health, Volume 4
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00260/full