My Unique Approach to Nutrition
We all know that the way we eat has the power to improve our health. The diet industry would like us to believe that following the latest diet trend (Keto, low-fat, plant-based, intermittent fasting, low-calorie, high in super foods, etc.) is the key to achieving your dream body and being healthy for years to come. Although some of these diets may have some merit, I would argue the impacts on other areas of your life make them detrimental. Disordered eating behaviors (even outside of diagnosable eating disorders) have negative effects on your gut health, mental health, and hormones. My nutritional priorities may surprise you.
Priority One: Enjoyment
I think the most important part of any eating pattern is that it is enjoyable. When your primary goal is enjoying your meal, it removes guilt around food that can drive us to make poor choices. If you are trying to follow a low-carb diet and find yourself at a party with all high-carb foods, you may choose to not eat anything at the party and miss out on some of the fun experiences there. Later, once all your willpower has been exhausted, you may find yourself at the bottom of an ice cream tub and filled with guilt. If you had let go of the diet mentality, you most likely would have enjoyed some treats at the party in a moderate way and gone home to eat a balanced next meal.
Enjoying your food is not a diet strategy. It is letting go of allowing any particular diet to influence your choices around food. It means sometimes you will choose to eat the cookie and sometimes you will choose to eat the broccoli. It will allow you to see cookies and broccoli as morally equal, rather than one as a “good” food and one as a “bad” food.
Priority Two: Variety
Variety is the spice of life. As humans, we have the teeth and digestive enzymes that allow us to enjoy an enormous variety of foods. Although some people feel better following a plant-based diet, we have the ability to be omnivores. Our nutritional needs are vast and the best way to cover all the bases is to eat as a great a variety of foods as possible. This means eating the rainbow of produce and making sure to eat from almost every (if not all) food groups. When restrictive diets are followed for too long, it can lead to significant nutrient deficiencies that no supplement can correct. Additionally, in order to have the healthiest gut bacteria, is has been shown that eating at least 30 different plant foods per week is most supportive. Herbs and spices count towards your total plant foods, so experimenting with some new spices is a great idea.
Priority Three: Nutritional Value
Once you are enjoying your food and eating a great variety, it can be a time to think about a few gentle nutrition tips. Often times, enjoyment and variety will lead to excellent nutritional choices and no other changes will be necessary. The gentle nutrition tips I tend to advise are aiming to have most meals be a balance of proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates. This type of eating helps balance blood sugar, leading to better mood and energy throughout the day. For example, breakfast could be eggs, sauteed vegetables and a piece of whole-grain toast or fruit. Lunch could be brown rice, ground beef and roasted brussel sprouts. Dinner could be a curry on roasted sweet potatoes. Not every meal or snack needs to be balanced—sometimes having a cookie with a glass of milk hits the spot. Observing how you feel when you eat certain food combinations can help guide your choices for future meals. Everyone has their own unique nutrition needs.
How to Find More Information
I love talking about food and non-diet approaches to nutrition in my practice. I work with patients to find an individualized eating pattern that best supports their health goals and is sustainable for many years. I approach nutrition from a weight-neutral perspective (i.e. weight loss is never the primary goal). Sometimes my patients do lose weight as a consequence of dietary changes, but this is never the driving force. I also work with many individuals who have eating disorders to heal their relationship with food.
About the Author:
Alli Erdahl is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing at Orchid Integrative Medicine in Chaska, Minnesota. Dr. Erdahl specializes in mental health, women’s health, eating disorders and GI health.
