What Does Eating Well Mean? A Bioindividual Approach

Tell me if this internal monologue sounds familiar:

What should I eat? How should I eat? Should I try keto? Gluten free? Maybe I should be a vegan. I know I shouldn’t snack. Should I eat breakfast? What about intermittent fasting? Low fat? High fat? Low carb? 

Just writing this makes me feel a little panicky and I’m sure its overwhelming for some of you as well. So before we go any further: stop. Take a deep breath in and let that breath move out. 

The amount of diets, or ways of eating, are many, and are often overwhelming and contradict each other. And yet what we eat is so incredibly important. Food gives us energy, nourishes us, and can support managing disease and illness. Food that isn’t good for you (and I mean you as an individual, because foods have different affects on different people) can also contribute to us feeling fatigue, low energy, brain fog, bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea, PMS, and really the list goes on. Food is also a source of comfort. Carbs and sugar cause us to feel physiologically better (in the short term), so if you turn to these foods when you are feeling stressed that makes sense! 

So what does eating well mean?

I coach from the perspective of bioindividuality. We are all different and not all eating plans will work for everyone. Balance is important. We shouldn’t label the vast majority of foods as “good” or “bad,” but strive for eating in a way that feels good to us, that works with the seasons, that nourishes us, and easily allows for flexibility and grace when you enjoy something that falls on the “bad” list. 

Generally speaking, eating lots of whole foods is a safe bet to feel good and nourished. Fill your plate with lots of vegetables and small amounts of grains, protein and healthy fats. In the winter and early spring, our bodies are still craving warming foods. Roasted root vegetables, soups, strews, bone broth, eggs and cooked warm cereals are all warming and nourishing. 

Figuring Out Your Bioindividual Diet

To learn more about specific foods and which ones your body feels the best eating can take a little navigating. This can change with the seasons, as well as with the seasons of our lives. One of my favorite ways to see what foods feel the best is an elimination diet. There are lots of different ways of doing this (Whole30 is a well know elimination diet), but it involves removing foods that are commonly irritating for many people. This list usually includes: gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and sometimes includes eggs, nuts, and legumes.

The purpose of taking these foods out for a period of time is not to make you miserable, I promise! When we eat foods that don’t agree with our body, we can experience increased inflammation; leaky gut (damage to the gut lining); and uncomfortable symptoms such as foggy thinking, fatigue, bloating, gas, etc. If you experience some of these things, you might be so used to it that this feels normal to you. Taking irritating foods out allows your digestive system to heal. Most elimination diets are for two weeks to a month. The key with this is adding in the foods you’ve taken out one at a time and seeing how you feel. You might feel like there is no way beans are bothering you, and then when you add them back in, lo and behold, you can feel a direct affect in your body.

When you remove these irritating foods, you might feel much better. If this is the case, that is awesome! You’ve learned some valuable information about your body. I don’t think this means you can never eat this food again. But it might make it feel less worth it to you. If you notice extreme sensitivities, you might want to leave the food out of your diet for a few months and work on healing your gut and then retest. If you are less bothered, you now have good information so you can make food choices that best serve your body.  

If you try this, think of it as an experiment. Be interested and curious about what you can learn about yourself.

Reach out if you want health coaching support to try an elimination diet and figure out what foods are optimal for your health.