So what is Nutrition?

 If you’re like I used to be, you might have a limited or narrowly defined concept of what constitutes good “Nutrition”.

• Is it eating perfectly healthy every single day?
• Is it something only people with degrees need to think about?
• Is it understanding every known chemical in the food universe?

The simple answer to that is, “NO!”

In fact, most people think of Nutrition as being something they are either really “good” at, or something they are really “bad” at. 

The truth of the matter is, the ideas we hold about “Nutrition” are often carried over from childhood.

We often describe ourselves in terms of:

• Having either a “good” or “bad” relationship with food
• We may feel “guilty” when we eat certain foods
• We often reward ourselves with food for a “job well done” (think about that the next time you reward your child with food for good behavior)
• Describe to others how we eat when we are sad, depressed, angry or anxious.  These behaviors that are identified as “eating our emotions”
• Sometimes we skip meals to “punish” ourselves for perceived infractions
• Sometimes we eat foods in private where nobody else “can see”.

All of these behaviors exist along a spectrum and complicate the very basics at the heart of “Nutrition”– good or bad– and that is, feeding and nourishing our bodies.

Whether you view yourself as having a “good” relationship with food or not, the fact of the matter is, “Nutrition” is, quite simply, the process of getting food into your body as:

• raw materials for growth
• fuel for energy
• vitamins and minerals that keep your body healthy and functioning properly
• vital nutrients to facilitate repair

One of the ways you can shift your perceptions is to think about the foods you consume.  Each time that you consume foods that are raw, fresh and whole (whole meaning, unprocessed, unchanged or naturally existing), you are fueling your body with elemental materials to help it function.

The more processed a food is, the more our bodies have to try to figure out what to do with the very UNnecessary chemicals that have been ingested.  While some substances barely register on our bodies’ radar, others can cause problems ranging from food allergies, inflammation of the joints, migraines, and even disease.  *Sign up for my“Ditch The Junk” Done-For-You Guide to learn more!

You wouldn’t put cheap gas in a Lamborghini and expect it to continue to run smoothly…

Think of your body has a well-designed, highly-efficient machine.  The better care you give it, the more smoothly it will run.

What lingering ideas (good or bad) do you bring from your childhood?  Have you stopped to consider how that internal dialogue might influence the Nutritional choices you make now?