I believe that nutrition is one of the most important forms of nourishment for the body. The food we eat literally fuels our cells to carry out their daily functions.

Nutritional deficiencies such as protein, zinc, iron or vitamin D have a huge impact on the ability of our body to function on a day-to-day basis.

Our bodies are incredible. Our heart beats, our lungs breathe, cuts heal, hair grows, food is digested, toxins are detoxified… without us even having to think about it. However, in the same way that a car’s performance is affected by its fuel and maintenance, so too the capacity of our bodies is affected by our food and hydration.

There are many ideas about the ‘best’ diet out there. No one agrees on anything and the advice changes all the time. This is because nutrition is actually a deeply unique thing.

Often times when we start becoming reactive to food, we tend to have our diets restricted further and further, and keep reacting to more and more foods. This is because restricting the diet doesn’t fix the issue of reactivity, and it will keep getting worse.

Many of us also have a complicated relationship with food. Emotional eating (such as binge eating or restrictive eating) is extremely common. Combine this with the fact that our grocery stores are filled with gut-destroying processed foods full of trans fats and sugar which are literally designed to keep you coming back for more; finding our balance with nutrition can be incredibly challenging.

Being diagnosed with coeliac disease helped me to understand the foods that my body loves and needs. But gluten is only one part of the puzzle.

Our digestive organs are significantly affected by stress. When I say ‘stress’, I mean things like mental health challenges, poor sleep, overworking, high caffeine consumption, relationship difficulties - anything which creates an overstimulation of the nervous system. When prolonged, the ‘flight/fight’ arm of the nervous system is activated - the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This causes blood to be drawn away from the digestive organs and to the arms and legs to get you ready to run or fight. In our culture, SNS dominance is extremely common due to our diet and lifestyles.

The vagus nerve also remains inactive when the body is in SNS dominance. The vagus nerve is an extremely long nerve extending from the brain, connected to several parts of the gut, and is responsible for secreting digestive juices to help food be properly digested and absorbed. This means that, unless you are relaxed and present when you eat a meal, the food will not be digested well and in fact, can cause a lot of inflammation (and further food intolerances) due to the undigested food particles floating around. Considering that many of us eat on the run, this is happening to a lot of people.

These are two big reasons why we are seeing such an increase of digestive disorders in our culture.

So, what is eating vs nourishment? It’s a state of mind.

Do you eat because you have to, driven by emotions, or do you eat because you love your body and want to give it the best? Do you rush through your meals to get to the next thing and feel bloated and tired afterwards, or do you view eating as a ritual?

Truthfully, the way to find your right diet is by first exploring your relationship with food and determining the factors that are driving your eating decisions. Then we need to look at where the overstimulation is occurring in your life and find ways to activate the vagus nerve and help the nervous system come back into the parasympathetic, or rest/digest, state. Addressing both physiological and psychological aspects is necessary.

Once there is a healthy relationship with food and a well-functioning digestive system, food becomes a lot easier and less restrictive. It even becomes enjoyable and uplifting. This is what it means to nourish yourself with nutrition.

If you are ready to get started on this journey, click here to view the options for working with me and we’ll help your body to heal using the power of food as medicine.