What Is The Right Nutrition For Your Body?

When a food disagrees with the body, some of common symptoms experienced include, but are not limited to: gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, joint pain and flare ups of preexisting skin conditions.   Here are some of the basics when building a healthy relationship with your food that will help alleviate the above symptoms to some degree. 

1. Eat Mindfully! It is important to listen to your body's cues while you eat in order to identify when you feel adequately full, or if certain foods are aggravating. Eating in front of the television or computer distracts you from connecting with your body's signals. You will be more likely to overeat and begin to associate technology with meal time. If you are going to reach for that bag of chips, really make sure that you are tasting each chip. The more time you spend really tasting and chewing, the less likely you will overeat and the more satisfied you will feel.  

2. Chew your food! Do you tend to inhale your food? Chewing your food adequately prevents you from overeating. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. If you eat your food too quickly you don't give your stomach enough time to send that message, resulting in the misguided sensation that you are still hungry. Also, it is important to remember that digestion begins in the mouth. The mouth has different enzymes that help to break down carbohydrates and protein. Chewing your food gives those enzymes time to take effect and mechanically will assist in the digesting process.  

3. Ask yourself why? Do you tend to snack, not because you are hungry but just because you feel you "need" to have something? Try to explore the emotions behind why you reach for food. Overeating can be rooted in anxiety, stress or depression. Food can be used as a reward for many people and the brain really does see it that way. The more you feed those emotions, the more the brain associates that emotion with "needing" food to soothe. 

4. Enjoy your food! Do you like the foods that you are eating? Do you eat certain foods only because you think they are "good" for you? Developing a healthy relationship with your food also means that you enjoy what you are eating. This doesn't mean that you can eat whatever your heart desires. Remember moderation is key. But finding recipes that you like can make healthy food easier to eat and enjoy. If you live a busy lifestyle, focusing on making better food choices at restaurants can be another option.

5. Be sustainable! Creating strict do's and don'ts when it comes to food can be taxing emotionally. Learning what your body is able to tolerate is more useful and sustainable than completely cutting out a certain food for the rest of your life. Unless you have a specific illness that precludes you from consuming a food (for example, celiac disease and gluten), there is no reason that you should feel like you are "not allowed" to eat that food. In saying that, this is where dose comes into play. Make sure that if you do decide to eat a food that may not always agree with your system, the food is of good quality, you have only the amount that your body can handle and you enjoy it!

6. Moderation! There will be times when the food choices you have are not ideal, but are out of your control. For example at a birthday party or a wedding. Unless you are going to weddings every week, it is completely fine to have a slice of cake! Again, try to stay within your body's limits and enjoy what you are eating! Enjoying your food, no matter what it is, helps to nourish healthy emotions associated with foods.