Does one size fit all?
One size fits all! Its a great concept. One magical way of doing things, one size that we can squeeze, cram and poke the entire population into - Winning! Many of our conventional approaches to health and eating seem to use this approach to health but it seems to me like the one size fits all pair of jeggings - who do they really fit? For some people, they may be too tight around the waist, others may find them too loose. Some people may find that they are too short where as others find that they’re too long. This one size fits all is really only a one size fits some but we a lured into thinking we can all fit into the same mould.
Mainstream medicines have a list of symptoms which need to be ticked off so we can be put in our diagnosis box and then prescribed the according medications for that box. Mainstream media approach to diet and nutrition has us all confused as conflicting advice between calorie counting, Paleo diet and the Government mandated food pyramid all instruct us that theirs is the healthiest way of eating. But all of these approaches seem to miss one thing – we are all different!
When you go to a restaurant you wouldn’t expect only one item to be on the menu would you? Surely Not! You expect a variety of different options. So why should our eating styles be any different? Peoples heritage, tastes, intolerances and allergies or sensitivities all dramatically influence food choices. This coupled with our past food traumas (know I’m scared by a few from childhood – smoked cod eww!) and our values all helps to develop our personal eating style.
There is a lot of marketing (positive and negative) relating to different eating styles (sorry I really hate the word diet – Please refer to previous blogs for reasons) and we are constantly made to feel that if we’re are not keeping with current trends then we are risking not only our popularity but also our health! Or worse if we follow certain health paths by excluding foods such as Gluten we may be missing out on essential nutrients further jeopardising our health Unfortunately, many of these myths are presented in main stream media are nothing more than propaganda for large corporations just interested in keeping you as a customer.
The old-fashioned Food Pyramid that many of us have been taught is schools has not only now been shown to be out dated. It is thought to have helped contribute to our current chronic illness epidemic, with evidence indicating that it may not have been developed with our health in mind, rather profits of large agricultural organisations, specifically when looking at the US models (Eating Ourselves Sick – Louise Stephen).
This a misconception there can only be one “right” way of doing something is lost on me, I see it a little like travelling across Australia from Sydney to Perth. There are many routes and modes of transportation that can be taken, that ultimately lead to the same destination.
I am a firm believer in wholistic health (kinda comes with the naturopath territory) but what works for one may not, and definitely does not work for all of us. Our bodies are all different and means that we may respond to foods and wellness protocols differently – meaning what works for one may not work for everyone and may not work for you. Fasting is a fantastic way of not only losing weight but helping to kick start your metabolism and cellular regeneration but its not for everyone and certainly not recommend in all circumstances. While the Paleo diet and philosophy makes sense to me it can be difficult for some people to follow, especially where you have food allergies and food sensitives to maintain due to the restrictiveness.
Most of these eating styles whether Ketogenic, low carb high fat, vegan, vegetarian or Paleo all have one amazing thing in common…….. whole foods! Eating whole foods which are fresh and with a minimal processing as possible is one of the best things you can do for your body. Avoiding packaging product, even the one sprouting all the amazing health claims. This will gain control of your health as well as amazingly your waistline too! So, if the destination is health…… it’s up to you to pick a path, and its ok change that path mid-flight too, and, if someone’s eating habits don’t match yours it’s ok. It’s their choice, their health and their body and their choice, that doesn’t make it any less valued than yours…. it just different!
Allie
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Allison is a qualified Naturopathy and Nutritional & Western Herbal Medicine. As the founder of Fundamental Wellbeing she specialises in gut health and stress related conditions. Allison possesses as strong passion for all things health and wellness, she understands that balance is essential to life, looking for real world solutions to help client’s reach their health goals.
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