Gentle Nutrition 101

On the journey to healing your relationship with food you’ll have to navigate gentle nutrition. It sounds simple, but even as a dietitian it can be hard to identify where “the line” between diet behavior and gentle nutrition falls. If you’ve spent even a second on social media you’ve seen a lot of all-or-nothing information when it comes to nutrition, but that is just another lie diet culture tells you. Let’s talk about how to use nutrition information for good and not evil. 

Are you worried about food?

There’s always a new headline, social media star, or newspaper article demonizing food. They all claim to be sharing the secret to better health and often, they’re grossly exaggerated or taken out of context. Why, you ask? To sell more papers, products, subscriptions, etc. by scaring people. Catchy, dramatic titles and claims catch the attention of consumers and perform better and everyone wants to improve their health through nutrition! For example, dairy is always getting raked through the mud, and for what? Because it’s a hot topic that gets people talking (which we debunked in this blog post). 

The fear mongering of nutrition information makes it hard to practice gentle nutrition, but there IS a way. 

When reading a nutrition article, consider these things: 

• Did a Registered Dietitian write it or is one/multiple referenced? This is important because as dietitians we are trained exclusively in nutrition AND to look at the full picture, not just one ingredient or food. Think about it- a podiatrist is a doctor, sure, but would you go to them for a gynecology appointment? Probably not. 

• Did is make you fearful of a food or ingredient? If it did, forget about it. There is no one ingredient or food that will make or break your health and you don’t need to carry that fear.

• Is it making nutrition seem black and white? Nutrition is hardly ever black and white. Many factors are involved in the eating experience and context is important. 

• Is it selling something? Be an informed consumer. Not all articles written about a product to highlight its benefits are bad, but some are. Notice if the seller is using fear to entice you or if the health claims seem too good to be true. 

What does it mean to honor your health with gentle nutrition?

This is principle 10 of Intuitive Eating. Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole describe gentle nutrition as “make[ing] food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel good.” Let’s break that up - the gentle piece of this comes from honoring your taste buds, eating foods that you enjoy and satisfy you. The nutrition piece of this is honoring your health by using nutrition education to create meals and snacks that offer nutrient density. These pieces come together to make you feel good! 

For example…

• You eat pizza because you love it and you add a side salad or cut vegetables with dressing to add freshness, fiber, micronutrients, and color to your meal. You find that when you eat fresh vegetables alongside your cheesy, delicious pizza, you feel better!

• You know that whole grains offer more nutrients but you LOVE white rice with your burrito bowls. So you choose white rice and then have whole grain bread with your breakfast. 

Gentle Nutrition Tips

The top two things to consider when making food choices is 1.) Do I actually want to eat this and 2.) how will this food make me feel? (hint: the answer to #1 should be YES and the answer to #2 should be GREAT.) If you’re eating food that you actually want that makes you feel great emotionally and physically, you’re doing it right! And if not, what’s getting the way? If it’s fear of certain foods or fear of not eating “perfectly”… keep reading. 

Intention is key.

At the end of the day, it comes down to the intention behind your choices. If you only ever eat brown rice even though you LOVE white rice, that isn’t a healthy choice. If you eat zero sugar yogurt because you’re afraid of the added sugar in your favorite flavored yogurt, that isn’t a healthy choice. When the intention is to enjoy the food you eat and eat in a way that makes you feel great mentally and physically, THAT is gentle nutrition!

This is one of the hardest principles of intuitive eating because of the nuance and how individualized it is. If you find you struggle with your relationship with food, our team is well equipped to help you!

Learn more about our exclusive 1:1 nutrition coaching and apply today!

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Written by Chelsea Shafer, RD, LDN, CYT

Hey, I'm Chelsea!

I’m a Registered Dietitian, 200-hr certified yoga instructor, and cat mom! As HSH Office Manager I love all things intuitive eating + movement and I’m glad you’re here! Learn more about me and the HSH offerings here.