Nutrition Information

Eating Instinctively


I start from the premise that eating instinctively means eating healthily. I strongly believe that the body can transmit to the brain accurate information about its nutritional necessities: a moderate amount of food, and only foods that are beneficial for health.

Most of these natural eating instincts, alas, are lost on the way. Usually, during the growing process, adults project their unhealthy habits on children, offering them a range of foods that are not always the best choices. As adults, we form our own eating habits, which are more or less healthy. We usually worry about our children's eating habits, but their instinct is often correct.

My theory has as starting point my own experience as a child, when I recall rejecting foods that I found too greasy or too deeply fried. Observing the behaviour of babies and children towards feeding might give us an idea about what eating instinctively means. Small children who did not have the time to be influenced by adults, have their natural eating instincts unspoiled. Contrary to adults' opinion about eating, they want to eat many smaller meals and only when they are hungry.

To support my thesis, I resort to the recommendation made by specialists in baby nutrition. They advise on feeding babies on request, not forcing a program on them. Thus a meal program will be generated by their inner scheduler according to their needs.

So, from children we learn that one should eat when hungry, and the amount strictly required by body necessities. We should not be driven by social cues such as eating out with friends, even if we are not hungry, or take a lunch break just because it is 12 noon.

Another reason which supports the theory of a simpler way of eating is that based on foods offered by nature. All living creatures find in nature what they need to sustain life. Theoretically, foods of natural origin in their unspoiled state should be sufficient to ensure a healthy existence. While I do not support any kind of paleolithic diet, but we are bound to make reference to the simple way of eating in ancient times. In modern times modern and more complex diseases have developed. These include the increased incidence of tooth decay, allergies and various diseases of the digestive system such as diverticulitis, most of them tightly connected to modern diets. Man was not built for so many refined and super-refined processed foods. Cooking, the great discovery, was just a means to make foods more digestible. Nowadays we experience an extreme version of modern eating, one abounding in processed foods and pre-prepared meals.

Eating raw foods, such as vegetables and fruit, in proportion to cooked meals is definitely healthier. It is also healthy to choose unrefined foods, as natural as possible.

We need to reconsider our diets and healthier ways of eating. But it is harder to re-educate ourselves and easier to acquire good habits from scratch. First we need to forget everything we know, get rid of all our unhealthy habits and only then rediscover eating. And it is even harder to resist the many temptations scattered around us.

Laura Ciocan writes for http://www.dietsindex.com/ where you can find more information about all diets indexed
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared.
Contact:lauracio@gmail.com


MORE RESOURCES:

FAO Says Investing in Agriculture and Nutrition Supports Battle ...
Voice of America - 1 hour ago
On this World AIDS Day, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is calling for greater investment in agriculture and nutritional policies. ...


Got milk, got health debate
Chicago Tribune, United States - 13 hours ago
The focus on milk follows other recent efforts to improve school nutrition, including banning soda, limiting trans fats in lunches, purging junk food from ...


Senior Nutrition Dec. 1-5
Oneida Dispatch, NY - 18 hours ago
VERNON — The following are the Oneida County Office for the Aging nutrition program menus for the coming week. For more information call the Office for the ...
SNACK Dec. 1-5 Oneida Dispatch
all 2 news articles


School nutrition
Times-West Virginian, WV - 7 hours ago
County schools are following stringent meal-plan guidelines to ensure school children are receiving adequate nutrition. Good nutrition is imperative to good ...


Elderly Nutrition
Sioux City Journal, IA - Nov 30, 2008
Persons 60 years of age and older and their spouses may participate in the elderly nutrition program in Siouxland. In Sioux City, meals are served ...


New president needs new anti-hunger plan
Central Maine Morning Sentinel, ME - 34 minutes ago
We must stress that ending hunger and improving child nutrition would be one of the most effective tools to boost the nation’s international economic ...
Ease childhood hunger Buffalo News
Answers About Hunger in New York, Part 2 New York Times Blogs
30 million Americans need food stamps Peninsula On-line
TMCnet - Newsday
all 15 news articles


Good nutrition key in fast bone healing
Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR - 5 hours ago
Nutrition. Much of the “glue” that mends broken bones is found in food. These nutrients are especially important to bone healing Protein such as collagen ...


What you don't know about nutrition can pile on the pounds
Chicago Daily Herald, IL - 11 hours ago
To help you keep off extra pounds during the holidays, let's debunk common nutrition myths: 1. Eating before bedtime is fattening. ...


Total Nutrition Technology Launches Customized Nutrition ...
Carolina Newswire (press release), NC - 2 hours ago
CHARLOTTE — Total Nutrition Technology, which specializes in weight loss, health management and enhanced sports performance, has just launched its own ...


Get Healthy Pensacola! targets nutrition
Pensacola News Journal, FL - Nov 29, 2008
December's Get Healthy Pensacola! seminar will shed some light on nutrition and food safety by addressing some common food myths. ...

Nutrition - Google News

home | site map
© 2006