I’m rarely at a loss for words but for some reason I just couldn’t get into the writing groove this morning. Typically the words come spilling out of me. Not today. I considered writing about my recent trip to Buffalo and how much fun it was to visit old haunts.
How nourishing it was to be “fed” by relatives. SO.MANY.FOOD.MEMORIES.
I considered writing an “I Remember” piece because that prompt ALWAYS gets me writing about something rich. And what better time than now, following a trip to my beloved birth place. A walk down memory lane. . .
I thought about introducing all the autumn foods and flavors that are making their way into my kitchen as I wrap my arms around my favorite season.
And then I opened an email.
The email:
“So I am reading your recipe for pumpkin pudding…it is looking so luscious. I see bananas in the recipe. Great. Then I see the ad that warns NEVER eat bananas. As a nutritional therapist, I am needing to learn how to resolve these conflicting messages for myself and my clients. What do you do? I am willing to devote time and energy to studying all I can…where do I go for the info?”
And I knew I had to share my response because it so encapsulates all that I have come to know in this work. Plus, it’s time I come clean on bananas. I’m sure I was a monkey in a past life. I could LIVE on apples and bananas.
My response:
I hear you and I truly understand your conflict. I have struggled with those same questions. After so many years trying to do it “perfectly,” I’ve come to the conclusion there is no perfect diet. I’m in a much more spacious place around food today. I call myself a flexitarian. My diet is largely plant-based. I eat whole, organic foods, in season whenever possible. I love Michael Pollan’s words: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” I really believe it’s as simple as that. Unless, of course, there is a specific health concern involved. Or, a psychological attachment to eating (or not eating) that needs to be unraveled.
And, I LOVE bananas. I have probably eaten at least two bananas a day for as long as I can remember, and I’m one of the healthiest most vibrant people I know. I would not, however, advise a client with diabetes or candida to do the same.
We could probably find equally convincing articles on the pros and cons of bananas, and just about every other food on the planet.
I believe we have to come to a place in this ever-evolving, always conflicting nutrition conversation, where we STOP reading all the expert advice and start listening closely to our bodies. I know, for example, that wheat and dairy do not serve me. So, as much as possible, I avoid foods that contain wheat or dairy.
With my clients, I provide as much information as possible, given their individual circumstances, and then, I encourage them to experiment. The body has a deeper wisdom. We just need to learn how to read it.
I hope that helps. Thanks for reaching out. . .
Warmly,
P.S. Here’s a great TED talk on what happens to our decision-making process when we listen to “expert” advice:
14 thoughts on “YOU are Your Best Food Guru”
I love Michael Pollan’s words, too, and it sums up how I eat: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
You’re absolutely right, there is no perfect diet. I’ve never been drawn to those modes of eating that require eliminating a certain food. Moderation, fresh food, seasonal ingredients…that just feels the most natural to me. I suppose that’s my body’s wisdom.
Yes, Tracey, that is, indeed, body wisdom.
And gorgeous photo, by the way! I love fall produce so much.
data deluge. I love that phrase. There is a rigidity within the camp of experts that doesn’t serve us. And I have a resident expert inside my skin. Sometimes it is difficult for me to quiet the external voices long enough for me to hear her…but when I practice stillness long enough, I can do it. It is this stillness that is my friend.
Here’s to “stillness,” Rebecca. And the voice of inner wisdom.
Sue Ann, two things immediately captured my attention in your post: 1) the title; and 2) your statement about being in “a much more spacious place around food.” There are so many food choices today and so much information, it feels more restrictive than liberating. Thank you for reaffirming that the best “source” is my own body. Also, spacious mindsets have more room to decide — and more fun!
A phrase from the TED talk also stood out: “feeling uncomfortable about uncertainty.” Life is in a constant state of flux (love your term “flexitarian”) and rather than numb those feelings with the latest, greatest fix, your approach takes into account the marvelous diversity of each human body. That, to me, is “expert” advice.
Yes, Kim, I agree. “Spacious mindsets have more room to decide — and more fun!” Especially, the fun. Here’s to living in the mystery. . .
Thank you, Kim. I don’t ever want to be considered an “expert.” A guide on the side feels so much more spacious.
I really enjoyed the TED talk. I have many times referred to myself as an indecisive person, always talking forever to make even the simplest decisions. Googling all the possible outcomes of something, asking my friends endlessly for their advice. This is always something that I have wanted to work on. Following my intuition and trusting my decisions. When it comes to experts however, I seem to almost always immediately question their accuracy. Especially when it comes to medical experts, for a few reasons, I find it very hard to trust them. I guess this is because I have seen many people, including myself be prescribed a medication that would only cause more harm. Or when I look at the media for example, one minute we are being told that (using the banana example) “Bananas are incredible! Eat nothing but bananas all day” and the next minute we are hearing “Bananas will kill you!”. Even they cannot make a straight decision! I have seen so much anxiety instilled into the public because many of us have chosen to believe that everything we hear through the media, or through experts is true. And like the speaker said.. we are literally SHUTTING OFF our own decision making process. That is frightening! We are giving up our ability to think for ourselves and relying on outside sources to give us all the answers, and we will eat them up whether they are right or wrong. In a way, we are slowly giving up our free will.
Thank you for responding so thoughtfully to this post, Nadia. Yes, I can so relate to the need to Google all possible outcomes. I even do that with recipes. I can’t just choose “one” recipe, I have to find three or four recipes for the same dish and then pull ingredients from each to make the perfect pot of minestrone. I’m glad you have a discerning ear for “advice.” Keep cultivating your intuition.
I, too, love Michael Pollan’s words. I eat the way I do because it’s *perfect* for me (and honestly, for the planet and those fuzzy and feathered creatures, too). But, do I eat *perfectly* all the time? No. I do my best. I eat, like I live, with intention. Thank you, Sue Ann, for being so thought-full 🙂
Kindred spirits for sure, Shanna. Here’s to eating AND living with intention.
This is it for me, Sue Ann… “I believe we have to come to a place in this ever-evolving, always conflicting nutrition conversation, where we STOP reading all the expert advice and start listening closely to our bodies.”
After years of being a devotee to diets which superseded my own body needs, I too have returned to my own innate intelligence: listen to my own body. Since I have done this, my digestive issues have cleared up, my blood sugar problems (even with two bananas a day) have vanished. My weight has settled into its own groove and my energy has returned. I mourn for the years where I struggled to be so ‘good’ under the laws of a diet which was touted to be healthy and which took me down a road dis-ease and moved me away from my own deep body wisdom. So GRATEFUL to be returning home to myself! And, I would add… with a LOT of support and nudging from youuuuuuu! Thank you soooooooo dearly for your guidance. xo
Here’s to no more struggling and striving and wrestling. Yes. I, too, feel so much happier in a more spacious place around food and my body. Thank you for showing up here so fully, Kathleen.