To care for something means to ensure its safety, comfort, and health. This concept should apply to the way we treat our bodies and may formulate in different ways for everyone. Some may care for themselves through meditation; others through spending time with loved ones. I feel that it's important to care for yourself through the food that you eat, as well.
To nourish yourself is provide your body with food that optimizes your health, minimizes disease risk, and improves your lifestyle. An appropriate dietary pattern is one of the most characteristic aspects of health because of its short and long-term benefits, mental health effects, and physical manifestations. For example, if you're anemic, enhancing the iron and vitamin C content of your diet can relieve fatigue and headaches. If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, a carb-counting plan can minimize the associated consequences of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and sores.
In caring for yourself, fuel your body with nutrients that aid in energy production, decrease risk factors for chronic disease, and allow you to live an active lifestyle. These foods will vary from person to person depending on environmental factors, genetic predisposition, preference, and biochemical markers which speaks to the lack of validity in fad diets that "work for everyone."
If you want to start creating a dietary pattern that is specific to your body, try following these guidelines:
1. After a meal, note any physical or mental symptoms that you're experiencing (good or bad) with a list of the foods you had eaten.
2. Don't change your diet quite yet, as those symptoms may have been flukes. Stick with your normal eating habits.
3. Eventually, try to associate symptoms with certain foods. This is called a dietary recall, an assessment tool used by dietitians to discover dietary patterns and create solutions.
4. Now, try eliminating the foods causing negative symptoms and increase those positively affecting your physical and mental health.
Remember, our dietary needs change consistently and this experiment may need to be repeated over time! Speak to a dietitian to ensure safety in this protocol, especially if you have preexisting health concerns.
Nourish represents this holistic and individualized perception of food and encourages you to discover your unique dietary goals!