As humans, we have an innate ability to listen to our bodies and make food choices that align with our physical and emotional needs. This concept is known as intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is an evidence-based approach to food that emphasizes listening to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues, honoring your cravings, and rejecting diet culture’s harmful messaging. It encourages you to become an expert on your own body and trust its signals.
Intuitive eating also promotes a non-restrictive and flexible approach to food, where no foods are off-limits or demonized. This means that you can enjoy all types of food without feeling guilty or ashamed, as long as you’re mindful of your body’s signals and eat in a way that feels good for you. It’s important to note that intuitive eating is not a diet or a quick fix to weight loss. Instead, it’s a long-term, sustainable approach to nourishing your body and improving your relationship with food. Research has shown that practicing intuitive eating can lead to improved body image, better mental health, and a healthier relationship with food and exercise.
Here are ten benefits of intuitive eating for a healthy relationship with food.
Improved Physical Health
Intuitive eating can improve mental and physical health by promoting a balanced diet and reducing the likelihood of disordered eating behaviors. It encourages you to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full, which can help prevent overeating and weight gain. Intuitive eating also emphasizes the importance of listening to your body’s cravings and giving it the nutrients it needs, which can lead to a more balanced diet overall.
Increased Mindfulness
Intuitive eating is all about being present in the moment and paying attention to your body’s signals. By tuning into your hunger and fullness cues, you can become more mindful of your eating habits and develop a deeper appreciation for food. Mindful eating has been linked to improved digestion, reduced stress, and better overall health outcomes.
Better Mental Health
Intuitive eating can have a positive impact on mental health by reducing anxiety and promoting self-acceptance. Diet culture can lead to negative body image and feelings of shame or guilt around food, which can take a toll on mental health. Intuitive eating, on the other hand, encourages a non-judgmental approach to food and body image and promotes self-compassion.
Improved Relationship with Food
Help your mind develop a more positive relationship with food by rejecting diet culture’s restrictive messaging and promoting a healthy, balanced approach to eating. It encourages you to trust your body’s signals and honor your cravings, which can help reduce the likelihood of binge eating or other disordered eating behaviors.
Enhanced body awareness
Intuitive eating enhances the body’s awareness by promoting a deeper connection to your physical self. By listening to your body’s signals and responding to its needs, you can become more in tune with your physical sensations and develop a greater appreciation for your body.
Reduced Stress
Intuitive eating can reduce stress by promoting a non-judgmental approach to food and body image. Diet culture can be incredibly stressful, as it promotes unrealistic beauty standards and encourages harmful dieting behaviors. By rejecting these messages and focusing on your own needs and desires, you can reduce the stress associated with trying to conform to society’s expectations.
Improved digestion
Improve digestion by encouraging your body to eat slowly and mindfully, which can help your body better digest and absorb nutrients. It also promotes a balanced approach to eating, which can help prevent digestive issues caused by restrictive or disordered eating patterns.
Reduced risk of disordered eating
Reduce the risk of disordered eating behaviors by promoting a healthy, balanced approach to food. Intuitive eating encourages you to pay attention to your body’s signals and honor its needs, which can help prevent the overeating or binge eating that often leads to disordered eating patterns.
Improved self-esteem
Improve self-esteem by promoting a positive body image and reducing feelings of shame or guilt around food. By rejecting diet culture’s unrealistic beauty standards and promoting self-acceptance, intuitive eating can help you feel more confident and comfortable in your own skin.
A sustainable approach to food
By rejecting diet culture’s harmful messaging and promoting a balanced, sustainable approach to eating, intuitive eating can help you develop a positive relationship with food that lasts a lifetime. Whether you’re looking to improve your physical health, reduce stress, or simply feel more at peace with your body and food choices, intuitive eating is a powerful approach that can help you achieve your goals.
The Truth About the American Diet
Although the benefits of plant consumption are indisputable, emerging diet fads and changing guidelines have left more than 75% of consumers confused about nutrition 1. As a result, many Americans have turned to their own internet-based research to seek clarity. However, online research can be time-consuming and often requires sifting through a cacophony of conflicting opinions to get to any evidence-based information.
Despite consumer confusion, it has been well-established that:
- Americans are over-consuming grains, sugar, sodium and saturated fats while under consuming fruits and vegetables.
- Eating fruits and vegetables is beneficial to both physical and mental health.
Plant Consumption Improves Mental Wellbeing
The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables seem to be endless. Not only are plant-based diets better for the planet, but they also benefit our bodies. While the physical health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables have been well known for decades, recent evidence suggests that diets rich in fruits and vegetables may also improve psychological well-being.
According to a study published in 2019, increased fruit and vegetable consumption improves mental well-being. Using data from more than 40,000 participants in the United Kingdom, the study found that mental wellbeing increased in a dose-response fashion to both quantity and frequency of fruits and vegetables consumed. Researchers concluded that even modest increases in fruit and vegetable consumption have positive effects on wellbeing 2.
Another study published in 2017, found that increased fruit and vegetable consumption is positively associated with happiness and inversely associated with depression. Researchers randomized 522 students into three groups. For 14 days, students in group 1 continued their usual diet, students in group 2 received two daily text reminders to eat fruits and vegetables, and students in group 3 received two high quality servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day. Researchers found that the students in group 3 demonstrated higher happiness and lower depression scores 3.
A third study involving more than 6,000 participants similarly found that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with improved psychological wellbeing 4. This study reported psychological wellbeing was “positively associated with the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits in men and women…especially when consumed on a daily basis.”
Plant Consumption Improves Cognition
Consuming fruits and vegetables may also help with cognitive function. Using 20 years of data from over 28,000 men, a 2018 study found that the increased consumption of vegetables, fruit, and fruit juice was associated with lower odds of poor cognitive function. Even after controlling for non-dietary factors and overall energy intake, researchers found that participants who consumed leafy greens, red and orange vegetables, berries and orange juice demonstrated the highest cognitive functioning scores 5.
Current Dietary Guidelines: Food Plate vs. Food Pyramid
Do you remember, the food pyramid? Using a tiered triangle, the pyramid visualized grains, like bread and pasta, as the largest component of a balanced meal. However in 2011, changing dietary guidelines replaced the food pyramid with the food plate. Now, fruits and vegetables take center stage. Half of the food plate is dedicated to fruits and vegetables indicating that the largest component of a balanced meal should be plants. What about grains? The remaining ½ of the plate is split evenly: ¼ for grains and ¼ for proteins.
How many servings of fruits and vegetables did you eat yesterday? According to current guidelines, the recommended daily number of servings of fruit is 2-4 and vegetables is 3-5. If you’re not quite reaching those recommended amounts, you are not alone. Remember, change doesn’t need to happen all at once. If you’d like to eat more fruits and vegetables, consider increasing your intake by just one serving per week until you’ve reached your goal.
8 Simple Ways to Eat More Plants
Ready to make a change? Here are 8 simple and delicious ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet:
- Half Your Plate. At each meal and snack, fill half your plate with fruits and/or veggies.
- Add Some Extras. When a recipe calls for a fruit or a vegetable, try adding a little (or a lot) more than suggested.
- Blend It In. Smoothies aren’t just for fruit! They’re also a great way to eat more leafy greens. Try adding spinach or kale into your next blended beverage.
- Take A Dip. Spice up your vegetables with a new dip! Explore new flavors of hummus, try a spiced yogurt or even use your favorite salad dressing as a dip for raw vegetables.
- Spread It On. Try swapping out mayonnaise for a plant-based spread like guacamole. Puréed cooked spinach is another vitamin-packed and spreadable option for sandwiches.
- Heat it Up. Roasting and grilling are great ways to give your favorite veggies a major flavor boost. After cooking, enjoy plain, add to a sandwich or use to top a salad.
- Jazz It Up. Boost any vegetable recipe by adding different nuts, seeds and spices, or experiment with specialty oils such as infused olive oils, avocado or palm oil. Topping with parmesan is another great way to vegetables things up!
- Just Add Chocolate. Try dipping your favorite fruits in dark chocolate for a fun (and antioxidant-packed) snack.
Reach Out for Professional Support
Are you struggling with disordered eating patterns or a negative relationship with food? Seeking support from a psychiatrist can be a helpful step toward cultivating a healthier lifestyle. If you also struggle with a mental health condition like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or OCD, mental health treatment in conjunction with a balanced diet and regular exercise can significantly improve your overall well-being.
At Nuero Wellness Spa, we offer a wide range of evidence-based treatments. Our in-person and online psychiatry includes comprehensive psychiatric medication management. Our clinicians will work with you to determine if medication is right for you as well fid the best medication for your unique needs. In-person and online therapy is a great way to identify the underlying causes of mental health struggles and learn effective coping skills. Alternative treatments like TMS therapy treat mental health conditions at the source, targeting specific parts of the brain responsible for mood regulation. Don’t wait to get the help you need, contact us today to take the first step towards a healthier, happier you!
References
- Ltd, R. a. M. (n.d.). Consumer Insights in Food, Nutrition and Health 2019. Research and Markets Ltd 2024. https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/4806897/consumer-insights-in-food-nutrition-and-health
- Ocean, N., Howley, P., & Ensor, J. (2019). Lettuce be happy: A longitudinal UK study on the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 222, 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.017
- Peltzer, K., & Pengpid, S. (2017). Dietary consumption and happiness and depression among university students: A cross-national survey. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 27(4), 372–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2017.1347761
- Sapranaviciute-Zabazlajeva, L., Luksiene, D., Virviciute, D., Bobak, M., & Tamosiunas, A. (2017). Link between healthy lifestyle and psychological well-being in Lithuanian adults aged 45–72: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 7(4), e014240. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014240
- Long-term intake of vegetables and fruits and subjective cognitive function in US men | Neurology. (n.d.). Neurology. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006684