Redefining Healthy Eating

Knowing what to eat these days has become more confusing than ever. We’re drowning in nutrition information – a lot of which is completely contradictory. So I want to take a moment to share with you how we define healthy eating here at the Kristen Yarker Nutrition Agency. Because I’m a big fan of being clear up front. I want you to know that you’re in the right place.

Why You Struggle with Having a Healthy Relationship with Food and Your Body

What’s come to be known as diet culture has really infused health with an unhealthy (and unattainable) beauty standard. And, it’s not just women who have this experience – guys feel the pressure now more than ever. That’s not the kind of equality that we’re seeking.

This infusion of health with diet culture runs deep. It’s difficult to tease out wanting to be healthy from wanting to look a certain way.  It’s so insidious that it’s no wonder that intelligent people who are successful in many areas of their life have an unhealthy relationship with food and their bodies.

Nutrition Isn’t One-Size Fits All

So, how do we define healthy eating here at the Kristen Yarker Nutrition Agency? First, I want to share what we aren’t. Because I want to clear that up. We don’t have an agenda that everyone needs to be vegan, or keto, or paleo, etc. We refuse to participate in this world of judgmental online tribes – where it’s “us” versus “them”.

Here, we support people to eat in a way that meets your nutrition needs. We see that there are many different ways to achieve that end. We also recognize that nutrition isn’t one-size fits all.

Redefining Healthy Eating

Now that I’ve explained what we aren’t. You may be asking, what are we? How do we define healthy eating? Our definition is influenced by a lot of diverse sources, gathered from my almost 30 years of training and practice. What we conclude from all that researching is that food has three roles in our lives:

1.       Food is fuel for the body. This is where meeting your body’s nutrition needs fits in. Measured and reported by quantitative scientific literature.

2.       Food is a source of pleasure. The way our bodies are designed, the way we human beings have evolved, we experience pleasure when certain foods are seen, smelled, and eaten. Since we human beings have evolved this way, we conclude that experiencing pleasure from food is a good thing.

3.       Food is a way for people to connect. In every culture, past or present, that I’ve ever explored, human beings gather to mark milestones in life by sharing food. The same holds true for, hospitality. In every culture that I’ve explored, when someone comes to your home, you offer them something to eat or drink. Ever immigrated to a new country or travelled for a long period of time? It’s common for homesickness to express itself by a strong craving for a food or drink from home. The ubiquitous nature of these phenomenon tells me that there’s something fundamental about this role for food for us human beings.

We know that we are more than just our physical selves. We’re also our mental and emotional selves. We’re social creatures. So, it follows that food has a role in all these aspects of ourselves. Food has a role in our mental health and emotional health in addition to our physiological health.

So, getting back to the question of how do we define healthy eating?

Healthy eating is achieving a balance of eating to support food’s three roles in our lives. You meet your nutrition needs while enjoying what you eat and participating in the foods that connect you – with your friends, family, colleagues, nostalgia, and broader culture.

You may say that we’re here to redefine healthy eating. Or perhaps, more accurately, that we’re returning the definition of healthy eating to a time before diet culture overtook us. 

We invite you to join us in redefining your health. Celebrate healthy eating each month with our e-newsletter. Sign up here. When you’re ready for individual support, use this link to book a consult call. I’ll match you with the best fit dietitian on our hand-picked team.

Photo by Piero Istrice on Unsplash