From day 135, Intuitive Eating for Every Day
Do you ever worry that a meal, dessert, or snack just harmed your health?
Did that slice of bread trigger an inflammatory response?
Or did that piece of chocolate spike your insulin levels?
Diet culture sends messages all of the time around what's determined to be dangerous, health-harming, inflammatory foods.
Whether this information is true or not, consider how fearing foods impacts your relationship with food and your health.
When we experience fear, we’re anxious and worried. This stress impacts our emotional well-being. Stress triggers an inflammatory response (by the way, inflammation is a natural way our body responds, heals, and protects).
Feeling guilty about your food choices takes you out of your awareness of your body. It’s harder to tune into hunger and fullness.
When guilt makes you feel uncomfortable, there is a part of your brain that wants comfort or distraction. As a result, you may eat more.
Fear-based eating robs you of enjoying food. How can you receive the pleasure of eating, whether it’s from the taste of food, how the food feels in your body, or the experience of eating if you fear the food is harming you? You can’t. You couldn’t enjoy driving a Porsche if the brakes don't work.
You don’t need to tune out all health claims around food. Be aware of where health claims are coming from. And of course, your body offers you plenty of information about food.
The truth is no one meal, snack, or day of eating is going to harm your health.
Letting go of fear-based eating gives you an opportunity to care for your health, your body, and your well-being at a deeper level.