Hey, friend. As you can see from the title and subtitle of this episode, we're going to be having a candid conversation around food and the mess America has made it a bit all. So a quick content warning, I recognize that a conversation about food and eating can be very uncomfortable. And you may be dealing with some difficult emotions and possibly working through some challenging situations on this front. disordered eating, body shaming, food shaming, fat phobia, food insecurity, they are all real and present. And so it is completely understandable if you have a complicated relationship with food and need to take breaks as you listen. And also, it's totally fine. If you'd prefer to skip this episode altogether. Please do what you need for yourself. Take tender care of yourself until we meet again. Alrighty, so let's go ahead and dive into headfirst really into the mess, aka my rant for the week, because let me tell you, I am getting very ranty today. So if you're not here for that, my friend, go ahead and pause and come on back when you are. So here in America, again, I always say I can only speak to things in America because this is the only place where I've lived. So you may live in the West, but not in America. I'm always curious if there are similarities or very, very, very, like same type of shit going on in other places as well. But here in America, there is an obsession with demonizing food and glorifying restrictive eating. Now, I need to make sure to say I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. And I am not here to tell you how to eat. And nor do I really do that with my clients. Honestly, I have to be honest, when it comes to our work together, I offer seasonal eating guidelines. But I'll be honest, I don't really offer anything beyond that. And it's always from a place of Here, take this to your health care provider and see what they say because I don't have a degree in this, I don't have enough schooling in this, I have not done all of the work on my own to be highly educated in this area. But I am here to call out the fuckery going on. That is based on all of the different roles I have had within the fitness and wellness industry over the last 20 years and seeing how truly fucked up it is. Especially or including amongst fitness professionals. As I've said in past episodes. I don't eat I don't know how many people I know it's so small. I don't know how many people I know, who don't have a complicated relationship with food. And that includes fitness professionals. So friends, when I say there's a whole lot of fuckery going on that has us and is keeping us on Well, this is not a judgment of you. This is a judgment of the systems, the oppressive systems in place, because friends, we've got to be clear, all of this shit comes back to white supremacy culture, it comes back to the patriarchy, which is based in white supremacy culture, like any of these systems that is causing this problem, or any problem is always tied back to white supremacy culture. So let's call it what it is. Now, getting back to my rant about food, I'll start with the fact that food is labeled good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, nutritious and junk or treats, etc. Right? Is this versus that. And from a young age, many of us are educated on this binary and you hear it everywhere. Where you live, at school, in the supermarket, in gym classes, sports, it's fucking everywhere. Right? dominant culture is obsessed with weight, size and health aesthetics. And as a result, eating is a supremely complicated affair. Due to all the places and ways these standards are pushed on us and upheld, including with our own family members, and trust most trusted family members, friends people. And I want to be very clear that what I'm here to talk about, you know, I'm talking about very general terms about America's relationship with food in general. I am not in any way criticizing eating a certain way or cutting out certain foods in support of a health condition that requires this of you. Okay? Also If you do any of the things I'm about to call out, please, no, I'm not judging you, or blaming you placing blame on you at all. Right? If you're doing some of the shooting, like fuck I do that. That's me know you're a victim of the system, right? And all of my judgment, and my blame is saved for that. As well as the people who are peddling the harmful toxic bullshit, especially in the name of health. And that's the thing, right? Because like, you know, some of us are forced to eat a certain way because of a health condition. Right? And there's, in that way, certain people in the industry or certain industries, certain doctors may even say, Nope, that's not right. That is unhealthy. That is incorrect. And friends, this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the shit that doesn't make any sense, right? Because when it comes to even just general guidelines, there's more confusion than anything. There's so much information and also misinformation out there that it's hard to know what to do for yourself, you could even write have a condition, let's just say have a condition or have a concern, you will go to five different doctors and get five different answers. Like what the fuck, this doesn't make any sense. And we see this all the time, one area of the health and wellness field, might be saying do this thing for sure this is the thing to do. And then another area of the same exact field to be like, Nope, don't do that. strike it down. Unfortunately, even when it comes to doctors, and I want to be very clear, especially if this is your first time to my show, please understand, I believe in western medicine. Right. I believe in western education. However, I do believe that there are biases in place. I have towards Of course, European culture. Right. I also believe that there is some stuff that's left to be desired when it comes to Western medicine and Western wellness. There's some shit it gets right and some shit it does not. And so please know that I am not coming from a place of anti Western anything. No, that's not the case, I'm calling out the shit that is not right. And so unfortunately, even some doctors do not have a lot to offer in the way of eating advice. And unfortunately, so much of the nutrition industry is based on European standards that either demonizes or takes away the significance of so many other cultural foods and norms. Not to mention the whole superfood thing. Oh my gosh, help me please. Beyond that caloric intake guidelines are a mass. The fact that so many places within the Health, Wellness fitness industry are using BMI body mass index, as an indicator of health as well as even just like weight in general, as a big consideration of health is fucking ridiculous. I could spend a whole 10,000 episodes probably this is a gross exaggeration, by the way, if you don't know me very well yet, but I feel like I could just even just this last little bit, these last five sentences could just be so many future podcast episodes. Like there's just so much to unpack here, but I'm just kind of dropping my rant here. One thing I really can't stand is the way that people are shamed for enjoying eating certain foods that are deemed unsafe or less than healthy, unhealthy or less than healthy right. And often we're made to feel we some of us are made to feel that we have to earn those quote unquote treats, via running ourselves into the ground smashing our to do list, or after a punishing workout where we've listened to me here where we've earned the calories. And it's also quite common for the only time it's like okay to have these treats or junk quote unquote, is when we need to soothe ourselves when we're upset or when we're sick. I also cannot stand that people feel the need to criticize others for eating too much of anything even foods that are character categorized as healthy. I'm sick of all fucking sick of all of it. More things I'm sick of our people eating the fewest amount of calories to keep their bodies running, criticizing and shaming themselves for eating or not eating something or forcing themselves to eat things they don't really want to in the name of being healthy, thin, attractive, et cetera. Oh my gosh, the diets the fat it's not working it is a never ending cycle of not working. Because if it were working friends, we would not be obsessed constantly like let me ask you a question.
This might be you this might be somebody you know, you may know you know this person or you may know this person but actually not realize that this is what goes on in their head. How often are you doing something completely unrelated to food and you're obsessing over the last meal you had or the meal you had three, three days ago, that quote unquote, was not right or whatever, like it was unhealthy, or it was too many treats or when am I going to get the cheat day? Oh, my gosh, what a fucking cheat day? No, no, if this were working, if if our way of eating here in America was working, we would not avoid parties or avoid certain things because of having to restrict ourselves, or have to avoid the people who are going to shame us for eating or not eating whatever it is like either way, right? Because we, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. Right, we're shamed. If we eat too much, we're shamed. If we eat too little, we're shamed. If we eat this, we're shamed. If we eat that, there is shame everywhere, and we are constantly so many of us, I shouldn't say we as an all of us, but so many of us are constantly in thought and agony about what we've eat and what we're going to eat in terms of the decision about food. And whether or not it is healthy. I do not mean in agony and worry about whether or not there's access to food, that is a different story and a whole other complete fucked up thing that is happening in this in this country in this world. If you're still here, amidst this rant, bless you. Here's the thing, friend. I used to be the person that was doing these things. I was the professional that was offering these thoughts and these directions and this guidance wielding my certifications and education as the reason it was okay for me to make comments whether it was while I was teaching a class or personal invitation, right. And the reality is food, none of it is wrong or bad or has to be earned. Food is just food. It is okay to like what you like. And enjoy those foods without guilt or shame. Yes, we as a society should have a basic understanding of nutrition so that we can keep our organs and vessels healthy. Yes, of course. Right. But it doesn't have to be at the expense of our happiness or autonomy. It doesn't have to be rigidity, or restrictive. There's a reason why moderation works for a lot of people. There's a reason why I are Veta this is what I love about iron Veta is it offers the the this rule 8020 80% of the time we do what we know will be supportive for ourselves, we make the decision based on supporting ourselves and the other 20% We get to do whatever the fuck we want, whether it's supportive or not. And there's no guilt. So there is not as rigid, I got to do the right thing, quote, unquote, I've got to make the right decision 100% of the time and ignore because here's the thing, you have cravings for a reason you lean toward or you have an affinity for this type of food or whatever, for so many reasons, whether it is an emotional reason, or a social reason or anything. I mean, there's so many ties to the things that we eat and why we eat them, and the ritual with it, and the cultural ties and memories and ties to childhood, that there's no shame in reaching for that. As long as obviously it's not going to make you sick, right. Like, it's just, I that invitation that I have to offer is of 8020 80% of the time you are not shutting yourself, you are supporting yourself, right. This is what I'm going to do in support of myself. And the 20 other percent of the time your life bucket I get to do whatever the heck I want. And and you know what? There's no guilt about it. There's no shame, right? You didn't have to earn it. This is not cheating. It's just understanding the balance is not 100% this one way and 0% this other way, because that's just not life. We are not meant to do that
are you still here? I have been following two accounts on Instagram that I really love. And both of these people are licensed registered dieticians doing their damnedest to interrupt all the bullshit that is out there in the nutrition world and the first is at nutrition tea. Shawna Spence and at your dot Latina dot, nutritionist de Lena Soto, both who are anti diet, weight inclusive and supporters of eating food as an all food period. So if you've got a complicated relationship with food I encourage you to just to check them out. Right? See what their vibe is see what their messages and maybe, maybe what they have to say might be of support to you. I know for me, it's helped me kind of let go of so much of the bullshit. And so maybe I thought I'd offer it. And if you seek the help of a health professional, I encourage you to work with someone like them. Who comes from a place of eating without guilt, I encourage you to work with someone, maybe who has a degree in this field who has gotten to be in the here's the thing, I don't always put a degree on it. Right? Because I know like here in America, education is just placed at such high of a standard and it's not I don't think is always necessary. But here's the thing, when it comes to people who are registered dieticians, the the education, the classes that they take, and the understanding that they have of the way the food is processed in the body. It is necessary information like they only they have that understanding. And so I'm uh, I venture to say that I would put my trust in a registered dietitian who comes from a place of, you know, anti capitalist, anti white supremacy. You know, as I said, anti diet weight inclusive supporters of eating food without guilt or shame. That's who I would look for. In the realm of iron betta food is looked at as nourishment. And the act of eating is one of self love, ritual and connection with community. And as I said before, like this is one of the greatest gifts I or betta has given to me because since I was 22 years old, nearly for 20 years, I've been obsessed with, you know, what I was or wasn't eating and worried over food, it was constantly on my mind. And it was a constant internal struggle, it was torture. And here's my thing. Right, since I've been working with iron betta studying it in the last four years or so, what I've come to the understanding of is and what I really believe is, we should be emotional eaters. Now, I don't mean, as in like what we say in America as like an emotional eater. So like when I'm feeling sad, I reach for this when I'm feeling angry, or reach for that, or when I need to be soothed, right? Because a lot of people say, Oh, well, I only eat sweets, when I'm sad. I only write like, I only eat chips and stuff when I'm sad. And I'm not shaming any of that. Right? But that's what we've labeled, labeled as an emotional eater, as in the other times of my life, I'm not emotional. And therefore eat healthy. Like, I don't understand that anyway. But I what I'm saying is we shouldn't be emotional eaters as in like, checking in with ourselves, checking in with our emotions, and what energy is present. Not high or low energy, but like, are we feeling even keeled? Or is the anxious is the energy more of like an anxious or unsettled nature? Is that angry? Or or, or feeling fiery? Or is the energy kind of lethargic, slow moving, right? Why are we feeling the way we are and choosing what to eat based on how we are experiencing life, because the reality is food and drinks have the ability to keep us in harmony, or put us out of harmony, or if we are already not in balance, exacerbating that, because remember, food is energy that we eat it. So we have energy. And when we ingest food, there's an energetic exchange, as it's metabolized and digested, digested. So if you think about it, it's actually not weird at all to consider that energy, that the energy that is created by the process of eating and metabolizing and digestion, that that energy that we're left with, has qualities that can either leave us feeling unsettled, heated or lethargic. I have so much more to say on this but I want to leave this just leave this put a period on it for a moment and come back to it in another episode. Because that often if when it's somebody's first time hearing that often just as like whoa, wait what and this is something I talk about in every single Ayurvedic workshop I offer. Now, in Ayurveda, the act of eating is comprised of more than just the moment of consuming the food the process of eating is multi step like it is like a ritual, it is an activity it is just a part of life. It is not how American culture like is just like something fast. You know, not thinking about it, just like what is there, what is available, and here's the thing, right? Sometimes we do need that sometimes we're busy sometimes like we just didn't plan. Sometimes life is fucking happening and the reality because we just need to eat whatever is there that is true, right? But also, can we agree that the way that we're living life in America is obviously not helping us? Right? The gogogo the disconnected from ourselves all the shit, right? And so what I avetta is calling us to do is to have more of a presence with eating. And so, considering what season are we in what foods are? Is nature offering us? How am I feeling? What is my emotional and, and mental status? What do I need? What would be supportive? What time of day? Is it right? Because I read a also offers us to have the bigger meal at lunch than dinner, American culture typically eats the bigger meal at at dinner, and sometimes even skip lunch, right? How often do you see people or maybe you do do that? Right? That's kind of normal here. Right. And so I avetta also encourages us to plan meals in advance or have some provisions available in the pantry for easy grabbing on busy days. Also, there's nothing wrong with takeout. There's nothing wrong with canned food. Right? It doesn't always have to be fresh, like from the fucking ground, it can be frozen, like I read a does have some stipulations on that. But let's also remember that this is a science that is, you know, 1000s of years old shits changed. And so and when we talk about American culture, you can't get further away on the spectrum than what I read it is. And so I always say these things like take that part with a grain of salt, because we have to consider where we are what our life is like. Right? And I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that you need to buy organic or that you have to shop at former farmers markets, because the reality is food insecurity is real. Access is real, like the inability to access is real, whether it's from a monetary aspect or food deserts like I mean, it is not it's not easy out there. Right. And sometimes we just got to eat whatever is available. It's true. Again, I Aveda is calling us to try to have a relationship with us try to have a presence with this. And it's so much more than just simply eating grilled chicken and broccoli every day or salad every day in the name of being healthy like we do in America. Right? Rather than like, what would be supportive for me, what do I feel like eating? Right, I also need to make sure to say that I or Veta doesn't have a diet plan or promote severe restriction, or strict elimination of foods in terms of a self care aspect. Now there are some there are Ira medic doctors that practice and they may, but it may be based on what you've got going on, and how to restore balance a little while, right, but it's not forever. And it's on an individual basis. It's not like this is the way and the way is restrictive. Not at all. I are Veta supports an intuitive approach to food choices that balances the qualities of the season that align with your nature and your energy and are also guided by your needs, whether that is your energetic needs, or the needs of your day, and how busy you are or whatever health concern you might have. I mean, everything is considered. So when it comes to general guidelines for Ayurveda, I'm going to offer them here, you're welcome to take what you want from the conversation and leave the rest. And I also want to reiterate that these are general guidelines, is not meant to be a be all or end all. It obviously cannot consider any health things you've got going on, right. And it's not meant for you to just throw out whatever recommendations your health team has given you. Also, remember that the goal of Iveta is to decrease inflammation within your body improve digestion of all things and balance your energy so you are more at ease. And I'll be honest with you, when it comes to the eating. This is just a piece of the puzzle. This the goal of decreasing inflammation, improving digestion, and balancing your energy so that you're more at ease does not lie solely or even in the majority of what we eat. Remembering that the daily rhythm, the way the pace of our day, the things we choose to do with ourselves. I mean, all of those things matter. And so there are so many other factors
to consider besides just eating so I want to be very clear that when it comes to iron Veta the eating is just a piece of the puzzle when it comes to well being and being at ease. And so isn't that interesting, right? Because if you talk about American culture, fuck, eating is always the first thing. It's the thing we want to talk to the least about. But it's the thing we obsess most over, isn't it? Right so first thing anybody's doctor will talk about. Anyway, here we go. General guidelines prior beta cooked food. Warmth and room temperature always is the most favorite and the reason is, I know that there are raw diets out there. I know so much of American Culture eating is raw. But raw foods are actually difficult to digest for quite a, you know, for a lot of people, and can cause a lot of inflammation within the gut. And so cooked food that's warm or room temperature is best. Well spiced as in like using herbs and spices and things like that for flavor. As well, because it aids in digestion, it aids in the way that the nutrition is taken up by the body, it calms the nervous system, so offers also mental health support. And reaching for seasonal foods is going to be your best bet when it comes to offering ease and less inflammation and ease and digestion and best digestion as well. And when it comes to seasonal support, you could shift the foods that you eat, as well as the way that you prepare them based on the season. So when it comes to the summer, and let me let me talk about actually I want to talk about I'm gonna pause, let me let me keep going with what I'm saying. And then I'll get to what I was going to interrupt myself with in a second. So when it comes to the summer, there's a natural inclination towards light foods because and smaller meals, because of the heat that we're filling outside. And our digestive fire is circulating pretty high to keep us it's working pretty hard to keep us well circulating and cool. And so what's going to be really important is that mindful or present minded eating as in being present with your meals, not as in like what we're seeing in the fitness and health industry of like this mindful eating that's really actually diet oriented, but being present with your meal. So that way you're not over eating right when we're just kind of eating because we're multitasking or we're doing something else or we're not really there with our meal. Sometimes we can over eat and then just feel completely uncomfortable afterward. Right. So just being present. And when you're noticing that you're feeling awful, then you stop eating small quantities of salads, raw veggies, especially at lunchtime. So if you're gonna have a salad let it be like a side salad size. raw veggies eat at lunch. That way you have the time to digest all the way through before you get to your sleep at night. cold dishes, small quantities. This is a time where you can indulge in like sweet dairy products, including ice cream, occasionally leaning for when it comes to drink room temperature waters and teas. flavored with Mint Mint is very cooling. You can sip coconut water between meals to diffuse the heat and infuse electrolytes and hydration. And occasionally, you might have cold water or cool water, teas and beer. Now here's the thing, right? You can eat an eye or better really does not either, but it goes from a favor and a limit place not a do and don't do, right favor and limit. Because limit, right? Right? It's like okay, limit this. But you don't have to cut it all together. Right? There's one thing that I or better really doesn't love. And kind of cautions you against is iced drinks or frozen things and like eating it like out of the freezer, like ice cream and things like that. And here's the reason why. If you think of a campfire, and if you were to extinguish that campfire by tossing cold water on it, what would happen? I heard this analogy I didn't come up with it myself. I heard this analogy from somebody and I really loved it. I can't remember who I heard it from. So my apologies. Hopefully you are saying you might see smoke, right come up from the fire being extinguished by cold water. And essentially, when we eat cold things, or iced things, that's what we are doing to our internal digestive fire. We are extinguishing it. Right? The toxins come out, just like that steam comes out, like you know that we see from the fire when it's distinguished by water. And that's within us, right and then the body has to work even harder to get our body temperature, body temperature and digestive fire back up to where it needs to be to function. So we're actually inadvertently overheating ourselves. And it's funny, because now thinking back to when I was growing up, my grandmother in Trinidad, my parents even when they were living them since they you know I always lived here with them. My dad is from Jamaica, my mom is from Trinidad. And so my my mom makes this dish called dal, which is basically like a split pea soup but it's used with instead of green split peas, which is customary in America, they use yellow split peas, and it's seasoned with garlic and onion and you know tumeric and curry leaves and things and it's just so delicious, but they eat it hot even on the hottest day and I remember my grandma They're in Trinidad, which is, you know, just miles away from the equator right? Short miles away from the equator, and she would just sit there in the heat drinking her doll. And I'm like, What are you doing? Give me iced everything. But the reason you know, there should be sweating, but not uncomfortably. And so when we are eating something warm or hot, and it's not, you know, adding to the fire, it's not extinguishing the fire and causing us to have to work even harder. Right to end because if you think about it, when once you start drinking something cold, or, or, or cool, you constantly want it. Right, you constantly feel like you need more and more and more. That's the indicator that Oh shit. Yeah. It's setting me out of balance here. So just think about that. For the summertime, here are some foods to favor berries, cherries, mangoes, pineapple, Plum lime. Also if you are a person who likes to have lemon in your water, awesome. Do me a favor and switch to lime during the summer months because that is lime is more cooling than what I just say lemon. Switch back to lemon once you get into the cooler time of the fall and you can keep that all the way through to the springtime. Anyway getting back to foods, green beans, kale, okra, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus in terms of grains you might have barley basmati rice, wheat, in terms of legumes, beans, black beans, chickpeas, mung beans, split peas, soy products if you eat them in terms of oils, coconut, olive oil, sunflower oil again, choose what you want. In terms of herbs and spices, basil, cardamom, cardamom is the gold standard. You could use that anytime of the year. Cilantro, coriander, dill, fennel, mint, parsley, and in terms of meats, you're going to want to especially if you live in a warmer place, you're going to want to kind of go towards freshwater fish, white meats, white poultry, poultry, shrimp, things like that. Limiting then the things that you're probably not reaching for heavy foods. Dark meat is kind of like that winter vibe that we have in here in America. Spicy foods. Now I know that this goes against American chili standards. I understand that in Mexican food also, or like like Latin food, even a lot of Indian foods so deeply spiced right? But just limiting it a little bit. Because again, if it's hot as hell do you want to add all that heat to yourself? I don't know. It's a question. Right? Limiting honey and molasses, sour on or on right foods aged cheese's heating vegetables and spices like carrots, beets, radishes, you know, using fewer bits of onion and garlic, even
a little less ginger or mustard seeds. And we're not saying you know, avoid it all together. But limiting and if you're feeling quite hot one day, maybe that's not the day to reach for these, you know, hotter or heat inducing foods. Again, avoiding ice drinks, but you can have a once in a while are on a very hot day, right? My friends, keep in mind, I am not a registered dietician. All right, I keep my guidance on foods very general, for that reason, and simple, right with even with one on one clients. So if you need more guidance than what I am offering, again, look for someone who is a registered dietician who works on the place of no guilt or shame, and the non diet approach. Now when it comes to food prep, I know a lot of people who find cooking daily or weekly meals to be a bit of child, I get that completely, I'll be honest, I find it to be a daunting task to but since eating nourishing meals is such a big part of what I need to establish harmony within myself, I have to make it a priority. So to make life easier for myself, I batch cook, so I make a large quantity of two meals each week. And we have leftovers one for lunch and one for dinner most days. And this currently works for us as a family of four with two small humans, right. But I know that that might not work for every family dynamic or for those who live alone or with other or you know who people who live together that have different nutritional needs or restrictions. Like I understand that. And so this is not the be all end all. I just wanted to offer that in case it might be helpful for you. So my friends, what happens now, I encourage you to pause after listening and create space for all the things you're thinking and feeling all the things that are coming up, write them down, get curious with them. And in terms of what's coming up for you notice where are your biases? Where are your areas of discomfort based on what I've offered in terms of perspective that might be different from what dominant culture has told you? And is there something from what I've offered calling to you that you'd like to explore? Most importantly, consider what is your relationship with food Are you happy with it? If not, what's your relationship with food based on? And is there a way for you to heal your relationship and begin to rebuild a different relationship that's based on self love and acceptance of not demonizing or glorifying food or restricting yourself based on good foods versus bad. And also considering what is one microscopically small step you can take in creating a sustainable shift. And the focus is on microscopically small step is especially important if you have a complicated relationship with food. Because remember, sitting in inquiry is an actual step. And if we've got a complicated relationship with something, we can't make big sweeping changes, it's just not sustainable, and it could be harmful. So, recognize if this is a difficult place on your journey, name that and be compassionate and slow going, definitely reach out with any questions. I'm always happy to say I'm not the person for you. You know, look for this, or here's somebody I might recommend. As always, my friends as we come to the end of our conversation, here are some points of reflection. How can you use these teachings or what comes up for you in from this episode to human more easily, and to support and uplift those in your community, especially those who are different from or hold identities more marginalized than your own? How can you use it to connect more authentically and deeply to your community to begin to move toward mass mutual reliance in a way from Western cultures individualism society, until next time, my friend please be kind and gentle to yourself just as you would to those who are most precious to you? Whether that is a human animal, baby or a plant. I would love to hear from you. I love to hear your thoughts. I love to hear your aha I love to hear anything that comes up for you. So please feel free to reach out and share and if you've been loving the show, please share it with your nearest and dearest and leave a review you're reading my friend remember you are a badass and you are enough now go be your favorite self and be well
