Nutrition vs Nourishment
NUTRITION VERSUS NOURISHMENT
Food and emotions are very deeply linked in human beings for reasons far older than our current obsession with thinness. For centuries the human race was able to survive because we ate the things our tribes said were okay to eat. We avoided the poisonous berries and ate what Mother said was safe. Food has always been an essential part of the daily ritual of living, and the foods we were fed in childhood have left a very deep impression on us. At an unconscious and conscious level, they help us feel safe and cared for (Northrup, 1994).
One of the reasons diets and food fads are so popular is that we are tribal beings who take our cues about what to eat from those around us. One of the reasons diets so often fail is that they conflict with much deeper cultural programming that comes from our family of origin. If generations of your relatives served beef brisket (or borscht, or macaroni and cheese) for dinner every Sunday, that dish will forever be equated with family gatherings and feelings of belonging. However flawed they may be, our families usually present our strongest links to our past and to others; in a profound way, they represent safety and the sense of being at home.
Unfortunately, the eating patterns of the past do not always work well in the twenty-first century. The rib roast with gravy and buttered potatoes that once nourished our great grandparents on the farm may lead to a heart attack in someone whose most strenuous daily activity is booting up the computer. On the other hand, the food products our contemporary culture urges us to consume—loaded with fat, salt, sugar, artificial ingredients, and chemical additives and stripped of nutrients during processing—are equally unlikely to sustain us into a healthy and advanced old age. Taking a scientific, reductionist approach is not the answer either. Obsessing about every calorie and gram of fat on our plates can turn food into an enemy. Eating is one of the most vital ways we connect with our environment and with each other. Treating food as a hostile force is not good for our bodies, our souls, or our relationship with the world.
So, what is the key to healthy eating? Moderation and common sense are a good starting point. Once we understand our basic nutritional needs and which foods we would be wise to avoid when possible, we can move gradually into patterns of eating that provide us with a sense of physical well-being. However, unless we have a medical condition such as diabetes that requires strict dietary controls, healthy eating does not mean abandoning favorite foods forever. On occasion a piece of grandmother's fried chicken at a family gathering, an ice cream cone on a summer afternoon, or a mug of sugary cocoa after sledding is a necessary reminder that being alive is sometimes supposed to be fun and that sharing food with the people we love can be healthy for our hearts in ways not yet recognized by biomedical science. Food is rich in cultural, social, and personal meaning as well as nutrients, and all these elements are necessary for a balanced diet. (Micozzi 372)
Reference:
Micozzi, Marc. Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4th Edition. W.B. Saunders Company, 2011. VitalBook file.
Food and emotions are very deeply linked in human beings for reasons far older than our current obsession with thinness. For centuries the human race was able to survive because we ate the things our tribes said were okay to eat. We avoided the poisonous berries and ate what Mother said was safe. Food has always been an essential part of the daily ritual of living, and the foods we were fed in childhood have left a very deep impression on us. At an unconscious and conscious level, they help us feel safe and cared for (Northrup, 1994).
One of the reasons diets and food fads are so popular is that we are tribal beings who take our cues about what to eat from those around us. One of the reasons diets so often fail is that they conflict with much deeper cultural programming that comes from our family of origin. If generations of your relatives served beef brisket (or borscht, or macaroni and cheese) for dinner every Sunday, that dish will forever be equated with family gatherings and feelings of belonging. However flawed they may be, our families usually present our strongest links to our past and to others; in a profound way, they represent safety and the sense of being at home.
Unfortunately, the eating patterns of the past do not always work well in the twenty-first century. The rib roast with gravy and buttered potatoes that once nourished our great grandparents on the farm may lead to a heart attack in someone whose most strenuous daily activity is booting up the computer. On the other hand, the food products our contemporary culture urges us to consume—loaded with fat, salt, sugar, artificial ingredients, and chemical additives and stripped of nutrients during processing—are equally unlikely to sustain us into a healthy and advanced old age. Taking a scientific, reductionist approach is not the answer either. Obsessing about every calorie and gram of fat on our plates can turn food into an enemy. Eating is one of the most vital ways we connect with our environment and with each other. Treating food as a hostile force is not good for our bodies, our souls, or our relationship with the world.
So, what is the key to healthy eating? Moderation and common sense are a good starting point. Once we understand our basic nutritional needs and which foods we would be wise to avoid when possible, we can move gradually into patterns of eating that provide us with a sense of physical well-being. However, unless we have a medical condition such as diabetes that requires strict dietary controls, healthy eating does not mean abandoning favorite foods forever. On occasion a piece of grandmother's fried chicken at a family gathering, an ice cream cone on a summer afternoon, or a mug of sugary cocoa after sledding is a necessary reminder that being alive is sometimes supposed to be fun and that sharing food with the people we love can be healthy for our hearts in ways not yet recognized by biomedical science. Food is rich in cultural, social, and personal meaning as well as nutrients, and all these elements are necessary for a balanced diet. (Micozzi 372)
Reference:
Micozzi, Marc. Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4th Edition. W.B. Saunders Company, 2011. VitalBook file.
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