What Even Is Quality Nutrition: Part 2

Something you should know about me is I challenge everything. If I say something, I question it. I step into curiosity a lot around where my thoughts and beliefs stem from, how they were created, and if they need to be re-shaped to something new. So when I put out information on what is "Quality Nutrition" I had to question what else is Quality Nutrition beyond the exact foods we might be eating.

Yes, there is a lot of research that dives into the health benefits of whole natural foods and we could also be eating the healthiest foods in the world and if we're eating in a stress response our digestion shuts down making it more difficult to digest any nourishment coming in. So what else is Quality Nutrition?

Pleasure: There is a part of digestion called the Cephalic Head Phase of Digestion. Have you ever noticed salivating just thinking about food? Our body prepares itself before food even comes in to produce saliva and enzymes and get digestive juices flowing. If we eat quickly and bypass the pleasure of nourishing our body, no matter how "healthy" the food is, we will continue to want to eat as our body has not registered that food has come in. Slowing down and noticing the pleasure we receive from nourishing our body with any food also makes a meal Quality Nutrition.

Play: In a study published in Public Health Nutrition, researchers from Finland created  "sensory-based food education" programs for youth. The programs included activities like preparing salads, growing vegetables, picking berries, and "sensory sessions" where children touch, listen, taste, and smell different kinds of foods and then share observations with each other.  This sensory-based education helped children explore food with all five senses and instilled a joy of eating. No matter what age we are, playing with our food makes the whole eating experience more interactive, more fun, and therefore more relaxing where we can digest any food with more ease.

Permission: Right now, I want you to tell yourself you're eating the wrong things. Notice how that feels in your body. Does your heart start racing? Do you feel contracted and tight? Now, I want you to tell yourself everything you have consumed today was the exact nourishment your body needed. How does thinking that feel in your body? Can you breathe easier? Do your shoulders relax? When we gift ourselves a sense of permission that whatever we have eaten at any meal was good enough this makes each meal Quality Nutrition by the sense of acceptance we're providing ourselves.

At each meal this next week, explore bringing in pleasure, play, and permission. Notice how you feel at the end of each meal and throughout the day as you create these satiating eating experiences. Every meal can be an experiment in what supports us emotionally and physically with feeling vibrant, energetic, mentally clear, cared for, and loved by ourselves.