Nutrition & Lifestyle
by Valerie Moore
What's in Your Heart, Shows Up on Your Plate
While enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the world’s largest nutrition school, I was introduced to a new way of understanding my “plate”, not only from a nutritional standpoint but also from an emotional one. According to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, primary food is defined as: “We call anything in your life that nourishes you, but does not come on a plate, primary food. The important primary food areas are: Career, Relationships, Physical Activity and Spirituality.” After studying this concept, it became clear to me, that there is a direct correlation between primary foods vs. secondary foods (secondary being the actual food that we consume). Yes, there is a connection between how you fill your plate and what’s in your heart! If you were at all like me, I never made the connection between the foods that I chose to “fill” my plate with and the emotions plaguing my heart. For you see, I was an emotional eater, using food to soothe my heart pain and at that time and like so many others, I really didn’t understand how to feel better any other way. After all, what on earth could be “wrong” with sitting home alone on a Saturday night with a quart of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? I wasn’t hurting anyone (but me). In my health coaching practice, I facilitate the process of helping others to delve deeper into the why’s of their eating patterns and in most cases, like my own, it leads many back to childhood.
As I thought about what to say in this article, I realized that the sword I was wielding had a double edge. Let me explain as I take you back to my childhood. I grew up in a loving household that had its typical share of ups and downs. Both of my parents were present in the home. My mom is one of the sweetest, kindest, loving and giving human beings you would ever want to encounter, however, my mom had what I would consider, a not so pleasant childhood. She also grew up in a home where both parents were present, however, the “lack of” essential things was commonplace. Therefore, mom grew up with the mindset that her children would not experience some of the things she had to endure. So, mom raised us the best that she could (and she did a great job) but many of her beliefs and standards that were passed along to us were based out of fear. Her own fear! What does this have to do with me? Everything….Our belief systems are formed at a young age, by what’s passed down to us – believed to be true (but not necessarily factual), and also from our own experiences. One area of lack in my mom’s childhood was “food”….more often than not, there was barely enough for a family of ten. So she set out on this quest, once she reached adulthood that her children would never experience being hungry or not having enough to be satisfied. For the most part, we sat down together as a family to eat