Nutrition Month: Discovering your ideal diet

March is Nutrition Month! Did you know that several elements play a key role in the way you eat? Whether it’s your culture, traditions, preferences or nutritional needs, the concept of healthy eating differs from one person to another. “Good for you!” is the theme for Nutrition Month and, in this year’s campaign, the Dietitians of Canada are inviting the population to explore the idea that healthy eating is different for everyone and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Eating to survive, yes but …

Food is certainly an essential aspect of our survival, as is sleep. However, eating is much more than a trivial act! Indeed, food occupies a predominant place in our lives, and this, at all ages. From newborns looking for breast milk in their first few minutes of life to people in palliative care wanting to eat a comforting meal to soothe their day, it is obvious that eating is more than a way of nourishing our body and mind. Eating plays a central role in social relations and cultural rituals in addition to having a practical function during social gatherings.

Food that fits my life!

While we eat, for most of us, at least three times a day, our eating habits and food choices are dictated by a diverse set of factors such as our culture, traditions, education, health issues, taste buds, personal reality, emotions …

Are you still having doubts?

Here are a few examples that clearly demonstrate the strong relationship between us and food:

• From a young age, we learn that a cake is an integral part of a birthday with people we love;
• Food can be a source of great comfort for one or a source of disgust for another, or even one’s preferred method to cope with different life experiences;
• A meal taken alone will not have the same connotation as the same meal taken in good company;
• An older person with diabetes will have very different dietary concerns than a young athletic teenager;
• A mom will plan and prepare the family’s weekly menu according to everyone’s tastes;
• A person of French origin who has recently arrived in Quebec will find it quite particular to have dinner at 5:00 p.m.

Finding your health strategy

Throughout our life, we have been confronted with modifying and adapting our diet according to what we are feeling, to the environment that surrounds us and to what we are experiencing. So, to cope with all of the above, it becomes more than relevant to find our own health strategy! In the age of social media, the endless sources of nutritional information can destabilize us and even challenge our very own eating habits, routine and culture. This is why the help of a nutritionist-dietitian can be more than useful.

The science is increasingly clear on this subject: There is no one-size-fits-all diet. The best strategy is one that is best suited to your needs and reality! Thus, it will be easier to implement and sustain in the medium and long term. More importantly, it will have real repercussions on your overall well-being, while allowing you to maintain your food identity.

Get a free consultation!

Would you like to be guided in determining the most suitable food strategy for you? Until March 31, 2021, take advantage of a free initial 30-minute express consultation with a Nautilus Plus qualified nutritionist-dietitian. Click here for more information!

Happy Nutrition Month!

Véronique Plante, RD.

Nutrition Month: Discovering your ideal diet is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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