Why I HATED Nutrition...

Why I HATED Nutrition...

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You’re a Nutritionist…You Hated Nutrition?


Yes, I know, the title of this blog seems a bit odd, as I practice Nutrition daily for a living…Hear me out!

I was trained as a Holistic Nutritionist, which is vastly different from the traditional role of a regular Nutritionist, which I will explain a little later in this blog.

Before studying Holistic Nutrition, my knowledge of what Nutrition really represented was very basic; you ate healthy foods (without knowing what fully constituted ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’) and you exercised to stay healthy! Once I began studying Holistic Nutrition, I learned a great deal about health. Holistic Nutritionists are trained with the overarching theme that the body is whole and should be treated as such! What this means is that no one system of the human body really acts in isolation, and that physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and dietary health all contribute to someone’s overall health picture!

This to me made complete sense, however the traditional side of nutrition and medicine doesn’t see it as such, or at least, they do not recognize that this is the case…

As you go down the path of learning about Holistic Nutrition, you also learn about traditional nutrition and what it represents. Traditional nutrition places its focus on very specific areas of health. A traditional Nutritionist may emphasis the fact that food is fuel and only a means to energy production, and that it is important to practice such things as counting your food calories and measure your portions, while at the same time exercising, to maintain health. A traditional nutritionist may also hold strong viewpoints regarding specific foods, such as that eating fats make you fat and cause heart disease, or that all red meat is bad and causes cardiovascular issues…

As a student coming from a Holistic perspective, I thought this narrow ideology was terrible representation of nutrition, and I hated that these concepts were seen as the primary viewpoints of nutrition…

What Do I Think Now?

Well, in a sense, I still hold the same view. I don’t believe any facet of nutrition or health practice should view the body, when looking at it regarding health, should be viewed in isolation, and that there is a much more complex story that makes up being healthy! To simply think that health is strictly about counting calories, maintaining proper portion sizes, and exercising is short sighted in my opinion. In the same sense, I don’t believe that any one food is inherently bad or good, or that X food is bad and causes Y, and thus it should be avoided. In Holistic Nutrition, we are educated on importance of moderation, and that while yes, some foods can have a more negative impact on the body, if kept in moderation with a healthy and balanced diet, an individual can maintain good health! We are taught to look beyond traditional viewpoints and dig deeper to figure out what the root of any issue is, and to not simply use blanket statements to guide people’s nutrition choices!

Can’t We All Just Work Together!?

While in the past I may have hated the ideologies of traditional nutrition, I truly understand and feel that all fields of nutrition and health, whether that’s traditional nutrition, Holistic nutrition, medical care, naturopathic care, chiropractic care, or energy medicine, each of these has an importance, and is necessary towards helping individuals reach true health and wellbeing! The best approach is to work together to help people in achieving this goal!

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To share your thoughts about this blog post, visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/holisticlivingnutrition, I would love to hear from you!

Also, visit my Instagram page @holisticlivingnutrition

Keep on living holistic,

Michael Sharp, CNP, NNCP.

DISCLAIMER: The information listed above is for educational purposes and discussion of general health information only. The information, opinions, ideas, and suggestions listed above are in no way intended to diagnose disease/health issues or act as a treatment for disease/health issues and is not to act as a substitute for medical advice from your doctor. Before taking part in any natural or alternative approach to health, these approaches should be reviewed by your doctor for approval especially if there are existing health conditions and if prescribed and or pharmaceutical medication is being taken due to the potential for interactions between medications and any natural approaches to health.

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