3 Tips to Better Nutrition
Posted: September 17, 2013
Patients frequently ask me what they can add to their diet to improve their condition. Patients who ask this question are often those who have already given the most thought to creating a diet of whole foods. While I do recommend eating a whole-foods diet that is chock- full of nutrients, there is more to nutrition than the food we eat.
To improve your nutrition, ask yourself the following three questions:
1) What do I believe about the food that I eat?
Do you tell yourself that what you eat is devoid of nutritional benefit, but that it is what’s available, or that it’s cheap, or that it’s simply comforting? If you believe that what you eat is not good for you, you are less likely to digest it as well as if you ate what you believe is nourishing. Whether you eat kale or a cookie, what you believe about it is important to your body’s experience of whatever it is that you eat.
2) How do I feel about what I eat?
If you discipline yourself to eat a meal that you believe is nutritious, but you feel like you’re punishing yourself while eating it, guess what? You’ve diminished your body’s ability to be nourished by that food. Feeling good about what you eat is as important as what you believe about what you eat.
3) What am I focused on while I eat?
Do you notice the color, taste and texture of what you eat? If you are reading, watching TV or rehashing a conversation you had earlier in the day, you may not even notice that you are in fact eating! Chewing well, breathing, and relaxing – all are important for supporting good digestion -and more likely to happen if you notice what you eat while you are eating it.
In summary:
- Believe that what you eat is nourishing you.
- Feel good about what you eat.
- Pay attention to what you eat while you are eating it.
While nutritional beliefs about the perfect diet continue to change, these three tips will help you get the most out of what ever you do eat.