SELF CARE through Nutrition!
Good Nutrition is good aid for the good self-care. Oops that tongue twister! In nutshell, you can achieve a good self-care through altering the nutrition you take daily. So, what is the good self-care and what we mean by good nutrition? Let’s explore here…
What do we
really understand by “self-care”?
Self-care is a very broad term and the meaning of is
different for everyone. What is jogging or cycling for me as self-care
practice, can be reading a book for you. Harvard Medical School describes self-care
in a simple, self-explanatory way: “Self-care
means paying attention to and supporting one’s own physical and mental health.” So,
what makes me physically and mentally fit, is self-care for me. And precisely
here, for a better physical and mental health, essential nutrients have a great
role to play!
Why nutrition
have an important role to play?
Here is the catch! When we say nutrition, it’s not about
practicing the dieting of depriving our stomach from food we love. In fact,
sticking to a strict diet have negative impact on good nutrition and self-care
plan.
Good nutrition is all about infusing your body with the food
that gives you vital nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in abundance that in
turns gives you active energy for good mental and physical health. So, to put
it in simple words, not taking nutrients and still expecting good self-care is
like going gym for mass gain and not taking protein rich food.
Making it clearer, nutrition plays a vital role in the body’s
ability to create hormones that control our moods, drive our emotions. When
your cells aren’t getting the fuel they need, you might feel irritated,
depressed, anxious, or stressed. When you nourish your body mentally,
physically, and emotionally with good food and nutrition, it’s the ultimate
form of self-care.
Self-care is a very broad term and the meaning of is different for everyone. What is jogging or cycling for me as self-care practice, can be reading a book for you. Harvard Medical School describes self-care in a simple, self-explanatory way: “Self-care means paying attention to and supporting one’s own physical and mental health.” So, what makes me physically and mentally fit, is self-care for me. And precisely here, for a better physical and mental health, essential nutrients have a great role to play!
Why nutrition
have an important role to play?
Here is the catch! When we say nutrition, it’s not about
practicing the dieting of depriving our stomach from food we love. In fact,
sticking to a strict diet have negative impact on good nutrition and self-care
plan.
Good nutrition is all about infusing your body with the food
that gives you vital nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in abundance that in
turns gives you active energy for good mental and physical health. So, to put
it in simple words, not taking nutrients and still expecting good self-care is
like going gym for mass gain and not taking protein rich food.
Making it clearer, nutrition plays a vital role in the body’s
ability to create hormones that control our moods, drive our emotions. When
your cells aren’t getting the fuel they need, you might feel irritated,
depressed, anxious, or stressed. When you nourish your body mentally,
physically, and emotionally with good food and nutrition, it’s the ultimate
form of self-care.
The Relationship between
Self-Care and Nutrition!
As part of remaining mentally, physically and
emotionally fit, many of us automatically turn to physical activities or
routines to practice self-care (and largely without caring what our body needs).
Planning good nutrition is equally important for you like gym, yoga or jogging.
It actually gives you that feel good factor by energizing your mood and making
you aware about needs of your body.
If you are looking to up your self-care routine,
consider focusing on nutrition. A balanced, varied diet can be an essential
part of self-care as the food you eat directly impacts your overall health and
well-being. Proper nutrition can play an important role in the management of
daily stress and the long-term effects that stress may cause. To expose your
body to continuous stress over time can lead to health issues, such as
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other metabolic illnesses. However,
nutrition can help beyond minimizing stress.
Let’s
discover some of the ways nutrition intertwines with other aspects of
self-care:
Listen to what your body needs (and wants): Honing in to what your body really needs can be tricky, especially if
you have gotten out of touch with your body’s natural
hunger and fullness cues. Finding your way back to
intuitive eating can sometimes be a long process, but it is totally worth it!
Giving yourself permission to eat whatever you want, and consciously thinking
about it (whenever you want and how much you want) can be really freeing. It
plays vitally with your emotions (one who is on strict diet can easy comprehend
it)
Cooking as a form of
self-care: For those of
you who may find solace in cooking as a form of stress reduction, this is a
perfect way to incorporate nutrition into your self-care routine. This way you
connect to your body’s physical need of good food with your emotions. Enough
for you to keep yourself energetic.
Practice mindful eating: When you were last only with food during lunch or dinner?
Usually, we are lost in some debates, or favorite TV shows or scrolling the
social media posts. So we just eat most of the times, without enjoying what we
are eating! Knowing and enjoying what we eat, has great
nurturing experience on our body. Eating more slowly and mindfully also
improves your digestion, which means you’ll absorb the nutrients in your food
more efficiently.
Connect with others
through food: Simply taking a moment to enjoy time with your friends or
family can be another method of self-care. Eating together with someone or with
a group facilitates bonding and brings people closer to one another (a good
mood enhancer, isn’t it?).
Nurture your Gut: Gut is the gateway to
good health! Your gut is full of tiny microorganisms that play a major role in
your mental and physical health, particularly your moods and immune function.
And, when your gut is healthy, you can absorb nutrients from your food more
efficiently, which affects every system in the body. Nurture your gut health
by eating more natural
and healthy foods which feed the healthy bacteria in your gut
We
all struggle sometimes with giving ourselves a break. With life always getting
in the way, it is important to take the time you need to focus on yourself and
your well-being. Self-care is not about just doing anything; it is about doing
the right things that make you connect with yourself. Whether it is through
nutrition, exercise, meditation, social activities, or other methods.
So,
how will you start to engage yourself in more self-care?
References:
1. https://minimalism.co/articles/nutrition-and-self-care
2.
https://www.therealgoodnutrition.com/therealgoodblog/2019/3/25/good-nutrition-is-good-self-care
3.
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/practice-self-care-through-nutrition/
5. https://www.yourchoicenutrition.com/5-ways-to-practice-self-care-through-nutrition/
Disclaimer : All images, and visuals are used for representation purposes. We do not claim any copyright over these images.
Let’s
discover some of the ways nutrition intertwines with other aspects of
self-care:
Listen to what your body needs (and wants): Honing in to what your body really needs can be tricky, especially if
you have gotten out of touch with your body’s natural
hunger and fullness cues. Finding your way back to
intuitive eating can sometimes be a long process, but it is totally worth it!
Giving yourself permission to eat whatever you want, and consciously thinking
about it (whenever you want and how much you want) can be really freeing. It
plays vitally with your emotions (one who is on strict diet can easy comprehend
it)
Cooking as a form of
self-care: For those of
you who may find solace in cooking as a form of stress reduction, this is a
perfect way to incorporate nutrition into your self-care routine. This way you
connect to your body’s physical need of good food with your emotions. Enough
for you to keep yourself energetic.
Practice mindful eating: When you were last only with food during lunch or dinner?
Usually, we are lost in some debates, or favorite TV shows or scrolling the
social media posts. So we just eat most of the times, without enjoying what we
are eating! Knowing and enjoying what we eat, has great
nurturing experience on our body. Eating more slowly and mindfully also
improves your digestion, which means you’ll absorb the nutrients in your food
more efficiently.
Connect with others
through food: Simply taking a moment to enjoy time with your friends or
family can be another method of self-care. Eating together with someone or with
a group facilitates bonding and brings people closer to one another (a good
mood enhancer, isn’t it?).
Nurture your Gut: Gut is the gateway to
good health! Your gut is full of tiny microorganisms that play a major role in
your mental and physical health, particularly your moods and immune function.
And, when your gut is healthy, you can absorb nutrients from your food more
efficiently, which affects every system in the body. Nurture your gut health
by eating more natural
and healthy foods which feed the healthy bacteria in your gut
We
all struggle sometimes with giving ourselves a break. With life always getting
in the way, it is important to take the time you need to focus on yourself and
your well-being. Self-care is not about just doing anything; it is about doing
the right things that make you connect with yourself. Whether it is through
nutrition, exercise, meditation, social activities, or other methods.
So,
how will you start to engage yourself in more self-care?
1. https://minimalism.co/articles/nutrition-and-self-care
2.
https://www.therealgoodnutrition.com/therealgoodblog/2019/3/25/good-nutrition-is-good-self-care
3.
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/practice-self-care-through-nutrition/
5. https://www.yourchoicenutrition.com/5-ways-to-practice-self-care-through-nutrition/
Content Credit: Aashish Thanki