Personalised diets based on computer algorithms and gene or gut microbiome tests?

Andreacullen
February 1, 2016
Gastrointestinal health / Nutrition & diet tips
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Hi folks,

I am not going to over-write in this little blog. I merely want to prompt you into some deep thinking about the following while I highlight some cool research that has been in the news:

This is the research:

and more here on the personalised nutrition project

In a nutshell we can if we like soon look to science and technology to tell us what to do when it comes to food…. and hope and trust that it knows more than Momma Nature and the innate healing wisdom within.

I am not dismissing this research for one moment, I think the more we can learn the more awesome this journey is for all of us; however I also believe that we are far smarter than we think at learning what works for us in health and wellness….. once encouraged, empowered and educated to get us started along this health adventure.

I want to ask you to pause a moment and ask yourself some questions:

How much do you believe in the innate wisdom of your body to communicate to you about his/ her needs regarding nutrition and his/ her state of health nudging you to make changes.
What about our personal responsibility to health and our accountability to eating a diet that benefits our health; are you going to hand this over to some one else and then blame them when it doesn’t work and you don’t lose weight and you are not feeling healthy?
Why are YOU ‘sick’ and what you are doing to get better.To restore health requires asking yourself some hard questions about your current diet, the quality of your food purchases and impact of your current cooking methods, your lifestyle choices, commitment to sufficient sleep, rest and recovery, your level of emotional mastery, daily stress levels which boils down to your perception of what is around you, how you manage your emotions and make decisions under pressure, positive attitude, belief systems about health, our selves and illness, body movement and physical fitness, your environment (water, air, anything that touches the skin or is ingested, medication, vaccines, dental fillings, etc., people/ media), and your level of commitment in the journey back to health.
No one is going to fix it for you and most certainly no pill or potion is going to magic your health back. The journey to health is a reversal of the journey to illness and your levels of commitment and the consistency of your choices can be all the difference.
Take a moment to look at your own self, your health, ancestry, where you live, where your ancestors lived. Explore what foods are indigenous to you, and what are local to you now and when. What foods are you drawn to and what do you shy away from? What do you believe does and doesn’t work for you when it comes to ratios and proportions of the macronutrient foods (carbohydrates, fats and protein) and what foods do you feel nourish and heal, raise you up and sustain you in Winter; and elevate your energy and enlighten you in Summer. What foods aid the transition in seasons such as Spring and Summer; and what knowledge did the herbalists and native traditional people in the know recommend for healing. For example in Ireland in spring nettles were encouraged…. and so on.
You may amaze yourself when you ask yourself these questions and trust in this and explore what you come up with. If you believe that bread doesn’t suit you and potatoes do, peppers don’t and spinach does… why would you not explore this further and make the necessary changes. Do you need some one out there to tell you this information?

I have clients so confused when they come and see me about food and yet they have the most astute observations about what is the cause of their problems; if only they trusted in themselves and sought education from people who listen to their observations and concerns!!!

If you click the links above what you will read is truly phenomenal. What science is starting to learn about the body beggars belief.

However, pause a moment… the body has been doing this all along, for a LONG long time. We thought we knew it all yesterday, and today we still think we know it all even though science opinions change and often! If you pick up a biochemistry book such as this one that I am currently breaking my heart over you will read just how complex it all is.

And yet as I study this so I can be the best therapist that I can be and on top of the medical and scientific breakthroughs of our times I am able to step back from it all and think wow.

Our bodies are amazing! Sheer genius with a simplistic complexity in design that no human could possibly ‘invent’ and yet they continue to bring you life every day without you even thinking about it. How often do you say thank you to your awesome body?

What is your ratio of complaining about your body versus appreciating it?

Despite the astonishing science that I have learnt over my life time and trust me I have had a head in the books since I was a wee one; I believe that the body is smarter than any science and that science can barely touch on the incredible wisdom within to know what our bodies need and the innate ability we are gifted with at birth to not only be well but to heal. Homeostasis…….

“the body will at every opportunity return to health…”

The key is to listen; and this can be tricky when we are unwell. But as we work through all the various imbalances that we find together (or with a good therapist trained in functional medicine or similar) and when you then start to listen to your own body and learn about her needs….you will be amazed at how he/ she speaks.

Honour this…eat real food, as unprocessed as possible, cooked a healthy way, at a table, in a relaxed manner and surrounded by loving people.