I sat in the waiting room of a quiet wing in my local hospital. It was the first year into covid and just a few months prior, I had been told by a specialist that I needed a small, surgical procedure. Listening to the sound of silence broken by the odd footsteps of a nurse, really leaves a person with their thoughts. How did I get here? Was there something different I should have done? Something I shouldn’t have done? Have I really not been kind enough to my own body?
Thoughts reeled throughout my head as I started to nervously stare at the clock, and although the small surgical procedure went well and I healed with no complications, the thought of how I care for my body and what I put into it shifted my relationship with health and food drastically! From that moment on, I started the journey towards better health – and that’s how educating myself on holistic nutrition began. Now, as I am currently enrolled in the practitioner certification program at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition, I am excited to share what I learn through Personhood ART and help you get the most out of your nutrition too!
So, what is Holistic Nutrition?
Holistic Nutrition is the understanding that the foods we ingest and our daily nutrient intake, is a vital part of our overall health. Nutrition is the process of nourishment to our human body through what we eat and drink. When we eat nutritious foods and try to provide our body with as many nutrients as we can to keep it healthy, we build it up and fortify its ability to survive and/or thrive for us to continue living. The holistic component of nutrition is recognizing that it is only 2 parts of 6 components that make up Holistic Health. These six components are:
- Diet and food
- Nutrients and supplements
- Physical care
- Mental health
- Emotional health
- Lifestyle and stress levels
In the list above, nutrition focuses on the first two facets, however, Holistic Nutrition considers the other four facets as well because all the aspects of health contribute to our relationship with food and how we nourish our body through eating. Each of these facets need to support one another to provide us with good overall health and to ensure that we can fight off disease.
Now nutrition shouldn’t be something that a surgery or a hard health experience shocks you into integrating in your daily life. So, with that being said, Personhood ART Astrologer, Regan Hayward and I sat down to talk about the 2024 Aries Season, and how it’s a great time of year to capitalize on the influence of the action planet Mars and start one’s journey to better nutrition and health! But as you begin your journey, or if you are levelling it up, the science, data and concoctions prescribed by many nutritionists can get really overwhelming, really fast!
So, we’ve compiled a list of 5 easy actions that you can incorporate into your daily routine to kick off better nutrition this Aries Season:
1. Take it SLOW. When it comes eating, taking your time to chew your food well, is just as important as what you put in your mouth. Turn off that TV or step away from your work desk for 15 minutes and give your food the attention and love it deserves 😉
Levelling up your routine? Try to put down your utensils and take a pause between bites. Slowing down the pace of your meal will help you to identify if your almost full, which is the perfect place to stop eating and save anything left for later!
2. Swap ONE “not-good-for-me” food with ONE “better-for-me” option. You’ll be surprised at how one small swap is a big step towards your nutritional health. Pick a snack or a sugary beverage and swap it out for a better choice, like an apple with some nut butter instead of that bag of chips in the afternoon, or an herbal tea instead of that 3rd macchiato. One swap will not only be achievable, but your body will also thank you for it!
Leveling up your routine? Try choosing one whole category to remove from your diet, like baked goods, pop, or anything with sugar. Removing one whole category of foods will give you noticeable results without too many foods disappearing to make the change hard to stick to.
3. Eat or drink, but DO ONLY ONE at a time. This one may sound a little strange, but believe it or not, drinking while eating actually diffuses your stomach acid and makes digestion harder to do. It’s like pouring a bucket of water over a roaring fire and hoping the wood will still burn. So when sitting down for dinner, try not to fill up that stomach on that full glass of water!
Levelling up your routine? Try to chew your food for 30 chews. This will get your saliva at an optimal level for digestion and help your gut do its job better!
4. Ask yourself the question, are there PLANTS on my PLATE? The most important foods when it comes to nutrition are plant-based foods. These are the foods where our body will find the nutrients it needs to function and fortify. So when you head to the fridge to make breakfast or go out for dinner with friends, just simply ask yourself, are there plants on my plate? Ensuring that every meal has a least one plant, brings you one step closer to better nutrition.
Levelling up your routine? Try to ensure to get one meal that is plant only into each day. This will upswing your nutrient intake and give your digestion a break from heavier foods like rice or bread.
5. LISTEN to your Body. Now this is not about paying attention to your cravings and feeding your body whatever it wants – this step is about being present with your body during and just after a meal. Often times, your body will provide you evidence of any food sensitivities or if its struggling with digestion by providing physical signs like bloating, constipation, or heart burn. This step is all about awareness, the more we listen to our body the more we can help it moving forward. If nothing else, this would be the most important step in beginning your journey to better nutrition.
Levelling up your routine? Keep a five-day food journal, and pair it with notes on physical reactions. While we don’t like letting go of most of the food we love that may be hurting our bodies, try to think of this step as more of an analysis of what you may need to “take a break” from to balance out.
Pick one or try all five to get your nutritional habits started on the right foot this astrological year and take better care of your Personhood!
Here’s to a healthier food journey,
Josephine Condotta
