Where it all began...my FOOD PHILOSOPHY

Nutrition (noun) | The process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth:

Has anyone noticed how this little ‘noun’ has dominated many conversations within circles of friends, websites, magazines and even four channels of info-commercials on television over the past few months? The other day the lunchroom chat at my work ended up with a colleague informing us of how their husband’s friend-of-a-friend had lost ‘x’ amount of weight on the latest bizarre diet involving kiwi fruits. I was even sitting in a café last week, waiting for a friend when I overheard a table of ladies discussing the foods they were avoiding that week… No wonder everyone’s confused about nutrition and what they should eat!

I stumbled into studying nutrition and dietetics at university purely because I didn’t have the marks to make it into physiotherapy. I remember thinking at 18, “what else do I enjoy doing in life?” and the next best thing (apart from sport) was cooking, alongside eating. However I knew I’d never survive working in a kitchen so I married my love of food with health and arrived at nutrition. Now, with fours years of tertiary education and nearly six years of work experience under my belt, I find it really fascinating to see how our world has become food obsessed – think from gourmet celebrity chefs on bikes, weird and wonderful weight loss tips and the obesity crisis. 

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So where does my food philosophy stand?

I believe food is the central spoke in the wheel of life; it is essential for our survival but also holds strong ties to the social, emotional and physical aspects of human wellbeing. Food should be something that just occurs in our lives without much thought, but at the same time is held in high respect for its nurturing and pleasurable properties. Balance really is the key to living well and I believe it is true that “too much of anything is not good.” But balance is never a steady thing. There will be times when we tip too far one way; eat the whole 2L tub of ice cream or drink too much so really, it is the act of re-balancing is what I think healthy eating is all about.