Food Elephants

One elephant in the room we don’t see is often diet, and revealing the elephant takes some artistry.  Few people want to be told their diet isn’t serving them–it’s a judgment.  We all have some kind of attachment and identity around what we eat from cultural norms, family traditions, philosophy and ethics, and what constitutes comfort food.  Since we literally and energetically become what we have eaten, this is more than just idle theory.

To some degree our day revolves around food–deciding on what or where to eat, buying ingredients, scheduling, preparing, perhaps sharing, and eating it.   We have varying levels of pride and ownership, especially if we hunted, raised, grew, foraged, or harvested our food.  This is magnified if we spent time on a recipe or large meal.   Food contains an emotional attachment.  We all “love” something–grandma’s biscuits, dad’s BBQ ribs, mom’s pies.  We want others to love them too and certainly respect our choices.

Taking a hard look at diet is essential in any whole health approach.  You may be the most creative vegetarian cook in town, and your body may need more protein.  You may have a mostly organic, balanced, whole foods diet, and the mold, parasite, or bacteria exposure requires a radical shift.  You may have candida, a fungal infection, or common-enough food sensitivity explaining all that gas or bloating that has become normal and unseen–the elephant in the room.

It’s a yoga.  Dietary yoga practice–tuning in, noticing your body, scanning your systems.  Taking a regular, fresh look at this body and how it’s functioning.  Being objective about those cultural traditions–they can still have value and we don’t necessarily have to follow them.  Being honest about how our diet is treating us.  Letting go of attachments to what we think is ‘right’ to eat or even harder–what we want to eat.  Those taste buds wield considerable power over this life.

That all sounds mighty noble and mindful.  The powerful fact is that we know we’re eating junk food and allergic food, and we still do it.  We’re becoming more honest about sugar addiction, and it’s just one tip of the human addiction matrix.  The psychology of why humans knowingly engage in harmful acts may be beyond the scope of this paper, and it remains relevant.

One path to addressing this is through the whole health paradigm.  If we want to support this body, mind, heart, and spirit in more integrated ways, then we are more inclined to nourish the body.  If our emotional needs are met more honestly and fully, we don’t need to compensate with more sugar.   If we respect and support our exercise needs, we will consume calories accordingly.  If we understand that our whole being actually is made up of healthy parts, we will eat more consciously.

The bottom line is ethics.  We have an obligation to steward these bodies and consume our fair amount of resources.  There’s no guilt or shame in doing that–we are given these bodies–we have the obligation and responsibility to nourish them.