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Achieve wholeness — in food and in life

I’ve come to believe that one of the biggest misfortunes behind the science of nutrition is the lack of emphasis on the mental, emotional and spiritual connection with the way we eat.
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“Our dietary habits are integrally related and interwoven with our physical and emotional addictions and, as such, cannot be separated from considerations of spiritual growth toward a sense of wholeness.”

— Ronald F. Schmid, ND

I’ve come to believe that one of the biggest misfortunes behind the science of nutrition is the lack of emphasis on the mental, emotional and spiritual connection with the way we eat.

Ronald F. Schmid, in his book Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine, describes the journey towards whole traditional foods requiring not only knowledge about whole foods, but also the need for a healthy attitude towards life in order to maintain such a healthy diet.

As one ventures towards more healthful, natural, wholesome foods, they inadvertently have to give up or start freeing themselves of addictions, including addictions to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and even caffeine — ah!

Is all of this possible?

Absolutely — why not?

Growing towards a sense of wholeness as an emotional and spiritual being is interwoven with our dietary habits.

It’s important to continue on your journey with this awareness so you can start to add more wholesome activities into your life to correspond and enhance your dietary choices — you’ll understand as you do it.

As I notice addictive behaviours in my own life, I reflect on how much time I have spent outdoors, if I have fallen out of a routine yoga practice or how my attitude has been recently.

Not many people understand the connection to the way you eat and yoga, for instance. But the practice of yoga, like the practice of eating wholesome foods, is a means of centering yourself — or for those who don’t like such terms, a way to get your mind in congruency with your actions.

Great for people who are always talking about changing their diets but continue to stuff down the cheeseburgers — we’ve all been there in some way shape or form.

So why wholesome?

Cultures around the world that still live and eat foods that are natural, local, organically produced have a fraction of the diseases we experience in our modernized fast food societies. It just simply makes sense.

I know it can be hard for some people to grasp — even myself at times — but the rewards are always worth it.

So where to begin?

First things first is to take full responsibility for your actions — your choices. I know it can be tough.

Going for beers or indulging in not so good for you choices can be so enjoyable. But ask yourself: are they liberating choices or are they suppressing choices? Are they hindering you from moving towards a better you or are they enhancing the inner you that is talented, and capable of greatness?

Everyone can differ in different times of his or her lives. I’ve seen myself drink a beer and feel stressed, irritable and unpleasant in times where my life was not on track and other times it feels pretty damn worth it.

Where are you at emotionally? Are you comfortable in the skin that you walk in and feel at peace in your life — how do your food choices reflect that and what could you be doing differently to be living a more wholesome experience?

Really, only you have the answers.

So start answering and start acting.

Kristin Fraser, BSc, is a holistic nutritionist and local freelance writer. Her column appears every second Wednesday. She can be reached at kristin@somethingtochewon.ca.