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Ah, “‘Tis the season….” But for many of us,
it is another day of the same old thing, or, maybe worse, it is a time
when there are even more expectations and responsibilities placed upon us
than we usually face. May be they come from inside, or maybe they are
expectations from others, none-the-less, the holiday season can be more
burdensome than joyful for many of us.
Hopefully, you can make some time for yourself for
inner reflection—Some time to consider things or people that you are
grateful for and some things that you would like to do a little
differently in your future. It may even be a little more important now
that we are entering a new Millennium!
So, I invite you to consider your relationship with
food! Some of you may scratch your head “Relationship” with food? I
have relationships with people or pets, not food!” This may be true for
the many of us who truly view food as a means of sustenance – You may
know folks who truly don’t care what they eat and may even forget to
eat, unless someone reminds them or prepares it for them. There are those
of us, however, for whom foods, especially certain foods, seem to have a
voice in our heads. It may sound like “I’m here waiting for you to eat
me – please don’t leave me in this half empty bag (or container) in
the dark all night” or “Oh, it’s the holidays and we both know I’m
not good for you. Still, this once, just a little bit won’t hurt….”
As a nutritionist, I often speak to people about the
nutrients and nutrition in the food they eat. I am growing in my
understanding that there is a lot more to food than just the chemicals
that make up the protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. In a book called Nourishing
Wisdom, the author, Marc David, very nicely shows how the
psychological and spiritual aspects of our lives affect how and if we are
truly nurtured. In his book, Mr. David suggests that we need to experience
food as a neutral thing – no “good” or “bad” food – and
instead, listen to our bodies to know what to eat. The foods we humans eat
are greatly influenced by our culture and psychology, rather than by
instinct. Our bodies want, and need, different foods at different times.
We prefer salads and light foods in the summer and soups and heavier foods
during the colder, darker winter months. There may be times when we are
happy or sad that we want a certain food, because it is familiar to us or
associated with similar circumstances in our past.
At holiday times, we look forward to special foods.
Why? For many of us, they remind of us happy times, special times and,
perhaps, times when someone else was responsible for the cooking! These
special foods have the capacity to nourish us in more ways than just
giving us calories and vitamins and minerals. For each of us, we long to
belong, to know we are important to someone or that we have made a
difference in someone’s life. If, somehow, we are not sure of these
things, we may turn to eating certain foods to feel comforted or to
preparing foods for others to be sure we are needed and appreciated.
As we grow older, many of us are faced with chronic
diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. We may find
it harder to maintain our youthful figures… And still, each year the
Holidays come around, luring us with their many treats, treats that often
are not very healthy for us in the long run.
Instead of feeling compelled to eat one more cookie
or sliver of pie, and then feel guilty about it, please consider this
instead. Take a few seconds to ask yourself, “Am I really hungry for
this? …How will I feel later, if I eat this now?”
Or “Do I need it right this minute? Could I wait till later when
I’m not so full?” It will just take a few seconds and it may save you
from feeling bad for a lot longer later! And, as any thing new you try,
you will forget sometimes. Do not worry about that! Celebrate the times
you remember – Celebrate the times you remember to take care of
yourself!
As you are shopping at the bakery or getting out your
family’s favorite recipes full of butter and sugar, ask yourself, “How
can I make this recipe a little healthier—and still taste good? What’s
important here? Is it that we have the same foods that taste the same, or
is it that we celebrate life and its many pleasures and treasures and
challenges this past year has brought?” If that’s what the holidays
are about, then it may not matter what foods are on the table, healthy or
not. But it may matter, in the long run, if you feel good about yourself,
because you know that taking care of your health and the health of your
loved ones is a year round commitment.
Rita Miller-Huey, M.Ed., R.D., L.D/N., C.L.C,
Adjunct Professor at Florida International University, Registered
Dietitian, Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist and Certified Lifestyle
Counselor, specializes in helping people with diabetes and personalizes
nutrition education and lifestyle enhancement strategies to individuals
and groups on a wide variety of health enhancement topics. She can be
contacted through Health Dynamics at (954) 942-3859
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