Food is a powerful tool for our self-healing. I believe in a diet filled with life-affirming, health sustaining whole plant foods. It is through my experience and personal research that I have come to understand what we can do to support life and regeneration within our bodies.
There is one way to better health: your way. I believe each of us has the ability to discover and discern what to eat and what not to eat. To access this part of ourselves it is a combined journey of analyzing objective data and sensing/feeling into our bodies moment to moment. Learning, for example, how high levels of added sodium effect the human body and then sensing into your own experience through consumption or abstinence.
Restriction VS Inspiration and Informed Choices
I have spent many years of my life restricting what I eat. How much, how often, what foods etc. It is an exhausting and demoralizing experience that often led me to feelings of deprivation, resentment and discouragement that led to compensation of some kind, whether than was binging, guilt, anxiety or feelings of isolation. That being said, there are things I learned from restrictive eating that have been powerful and helpful:
1. Identifying foods that are causing discomfort or reactions in my body
2. Building discipline to eat in a way I have designed for myself
3. Growing a willingness to stand out and eat differently than other people
It is my belief now, that restricted eating is not the best way of losing weight, dealing with food sensitivities or addressing other diet-related health issues.
The difference is choosing to eat certain foods over others from a place of power and love. Love of your body, your life and the quality of your life.
EAT TO LIVE BY JOEL FUHRMAN
When my friend told me about his beans n' greens style 6 week cleanse, I thought "Sure, I'm due for a cleanse". However, when I read his book I was floored by the level of information about the consequences of a high calorie, low nutrient diet. Along with illuminating blind spots I had about things like salt, oil and what really qualifies as a processed food, he invited me to see a new possibility for myself. Perhaps the allergies/sensitivities and miserable trip of "restricted eating" that I had been on, was not the only way to do things. Perhaps the health benefits that I saw while restricting dairy soy and gluten were not simply due to my removal of irritating food groups, but because it required me to eat minimally processed whole foods that I prepared myself. (However, as food sensitivities have risen in our population, so have their junk food counterparts example: Gluten free dairy free Soy free Donuts!)
It is this inspiration that moves me to consume quantities of food that purifies and supports my body on a daily basis. It then becomes much easier to choose food that literally cleans my system (fresh fruits, raw and steamed vegetables) rather than food that contaminates it. I have come to realize that many of my inconsistent experiences around food came from not truly taking nutritional healing on as a lifestyle, but doing cleanses from time to time. As a yoga teacher friend of mine used to say "Detox to Retox!" Imagine if eating food that protected your body from disease was the rule and less than ideal foods, the exception.
FIBER FUELED BY WILL BULSIEWICZ
After reading Eat to Live and starting my transition towards a theraputic way of eating, my same lovely friend told me about Fiber Fueled. Written by gastroenterologist Dr. B (as he invites you to call him), it is fascinating exploration of our gut microbes or The Microbiome. I learned that all plants have a microbiome too, and when we eat them whole, minimally processed we receive their microbiome into ours! Our microbiome has been called our "second brain" because of it's powerful impact on our health and essential functions. Plant fibers feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut and other foods and substances damage it and upset the balance. There has been immense research on the subject in recent years and there will be more!
Each of us has a microbiome as unique as our fingerprint. Each of us have an individual way of processing what we eat based on our microbes. I love this because it truly brings the power back to YOU to figure out what works best for your body! At the same time, there are fundamental similarities like that the beneficial bacteria species that help our bodies heal and regulate feed off of plant fiber. What kind of plant and how much is totally up to you!
THE WORK OF DR. MICHAEL GREGER
Dr. Greger has created
IT IS NOT ABOUT BEING VEGAN. It's about adding more healing foods to your diet. It's about identifying how what you eat makes you feel and getting powerfully informed about the ways in which foods can heal or cause harm.
IT IS NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. It's about examining your standard. If nourishing, healthy fresh food is the rule, and donuts and potato chips the exception you are setting yourself up for vibrant health and a diet that includes some flexibility. If I eat something "crappy" like french fries or something, I don't flagellate myself. If I feel poorly afterward, I know why. But even if I don't feel poorly afterward, I have a standard set by my knowledge base and intuition. There is always another meal to make a different choice.
WORKING WITH ME
My goal is provide information that inspires you to make changes that feel authentic. I will present you with research-based data and that we will discuss and explore. If eating a whole foods, plant-based diet is new territory for you, I will provide coaching about meal prep/planning and how to really enjoy the new experience. Perhaps if you have some experience I will share ways of enriching your approach and inspiring you to really take it on during our time together. You will have my utmost support and encouragement whether you are venturing into this way of life for the first time or returning after a hiatus.
There is a connection between our capacity to make lifestyle shifts and how much stress we are carrying in our bodies. During the first month of our somatic work together you will be releasing a lot of tension/pain that you have been carrying. You will begin to have tool to release stress and tension as it shows up. It will be easier for you to make changes when you are not living in a state of pain and ongoing tension.