Eating habits are such a big part of our culture, we don’t really doubt them. Education has taught us in school the importance of having 3 to 4 meals a day. Advertisements and government campaigns heavily contribute to the way we eat.
We are all following the same regime, yet we are all different. Different backgrounds, genetics, gastro-intestinal floras, intolerances and tolerances as well as different beliefs. Shouldn’t we eat differently as well ?
I’m all for experimenting. The chemicals we put in our bodies, whether we eat, breathe or drink them affect our energy, mood and even mental health. They almost define who we are. Research has been looking into how the gastro-intestinal flora defines a person and growing interest is arising around the gastro-intestinal tract.
So what if, this whole time, I was weakening my body with some food and it was participating in making me more depressed, anxious and tired ? I would want to find out that food and remove it from my diet.
But there is no easy way to do that, only with time and experimenting with your diet.
The frequency of meals is something that can be altered. I noticed that if I don’t have breakfast, I feel better the rest of the day. It wasn’t taught to me. On the contrary, skipping breakfast was viewed as the worst of habits, leading to further snacking and gaining weight. But it works for me. The only thing I’m sure of is that listening to my body can only make me feel good.
These habits we abide by are so recent in human history, I doesn’t make sense how much we trust them. Only since the industrial age and Kellogg’s trying to sell their cereals have we been pushed to early breakfast.
Eating breakfast first thing in the morning, especially cereals and grains, is heavy on the metabolism and might slow you down rather than supply the appropriate nutritional intake.
Our bodies naturally secrete hormones to help you wake up, adrenaline and dopamine, giving the energy necessary for any task.
Intermittent fasting might seem very difficult to some. But the human body is amazing and adaptive in that way. If you do the 16hour fasting, from 8pm to noon, the first times might bring you down.
But by progressively lengthening the fasting period, fasting becomes easier and almost enjoyable.
Everybody should question the way they eat and realize how much it defines them. « You are what you eat ».
Sincerely,
Annabelle Gerrard D.C.