‘Let food be the medicine and medicine be the food’ – Hippocrates

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle is a big part of the Functional Medicine approach.

We often do not realise that food is one of our most important contributors to health and well-being.

It is also about our perception of these self-healing lifestyle practices.

Food is…

  • medicine as it influences our health and creates wellbeing or disease
  • energy as it provides us with the necessary nutrients which can be transformed into energy by the powerhouses in our cells
  • information as anything we put in our mouth is the information to our body which may evoke the ‘danger’ response or send a message for the body to calm down and reduce inflammation, change our cellular processes and gene expression
  • community and tradition as meals are eaten and shared with our family and friends and influenced by the culture
  • nutrition for our gut bacteria which in turn influence our health and well-being
  • healing through the connection with nature and her resources when the food we choose to eat becomes part of our body

Movement is …

  • building our framework
  • overcoming limitations
  • flexibility and strength
  • adaptability and growth

Sleep is…

  • regeneration and rejuvenation,
  • part of the circadian rhythm,
  • time for the subconscious mind, bedroom

Stress transformation is…

  • joy, playfulness, happiness
  • activities when you are in ‘flow’
  • activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (meditation, breathing, journaling, mindfulness)
  • self-care practices – rituals, ceremonies and healing habits,
  • self-compassion and felling of safety

Healthy habits and lifestyle cannot be built overnight, but small steps at the time. It is not always about what we do but rather how we do it. Exercise benefits may depend on the type of training, meals before and after and time of the day. Sleep patterns are heavily influenced by exposure to the blue light. Stress may not be only psychological but also physical or chemical. All those small nuances play a role and by addressing them we create habits which are ‘smarter’ as we get the greater benefit with less effort. When we create small lifestyle rituals and ceremonies we will be drawn to our self-care time!

If you want to learn more about nutrition, healthy habits and building self-compassion rather than counting calories, let me help you on your journey. We will dive into science but we will use also common sense and your preferences. Regardless of your conditions, there is so much we can achieve!