Nutrition and the Counseling Relationship

Nutrition and the Counseling Relationshipn In a sense, the cliché “you are what you eat” is a very true fact. Our dietary choices have a direct effect on our lives, and choosing to eat a balanced diet full of whole foods, which are rich in nutrients, is crucial to our physical and mental wellness. Our food intake does not only affect our body weight and form, but also the functioning of the brain, mood, and our behavior. Take a moment to think about how you feel when you are hungry. Now think about how your body feels after a handful of candy. You might feel full, and you might get a slight energy boost, but how does your body feel? Compare this to how you feel after eating a home-cooked meal, full of freshness. You can probably see a dramatic difference in your mood. Every human being is born with a unique structure. During our life this constitution changes due to internal and external forces. To get back to this, we can manage what we put into our bodies. It is important to realize that healthy eating is not only important for our bodies, but also for out mental well-being. For this reason, counselors should recognize and examine clients eating habits as a supplement to their psychological work.

Most diseases and disorders are treated with medication, which are used to battle the infection after it arises. However a healthy outlook and way of life should begin before we feel under the weather, and starts with what we eat, because this eventually becomes the blood that runs through our entire bodies. A counselor strives to prevent and intervene before a problem occurs through educating clients. Although counselors do not necessarily have to be trained in nutrition therapy, they can empower those they work with to look into their own lives and eating habits, identify changes that need to be made and work with and support them through these lifestyle changes. What we eat effects our brain functioning because food influences how the neurotransmitters, the biochemical messengers that help the brain make the correct connections, work. As we get older it is increasingly more important to treat the body and the brain right, in hopes of a long and healthy future.

Depression, anxiety, and negative body image can have an adverse effect on ones eating habits and nutritional decisions. It is a cycle that we can only break with good health, food and drink decisions. If an individual is suffering from depression, anxiety or another mood disorder it is more likely for them to make poor diet choices. This is because they are choosing for the moment. You had a bad day, your starving, and you pass Wendy’s on your way home. Being drained, and not in the best of moods you are more likely to stop for a bacon cheeseburger because it feels good in the moment. However, for the long term, these decisions are actually hurting our health and our mood. It is a cycle that is difficult to break, we make hasty decisions because we are not in the right mindset to make good decisions. By making these poor health decisions, we are contributing to our unhealthy mental and body state, which continues the dysfunctions and add to fluctuations in anxiety and symptoms of depression.

Stress can also be directly related to how we treat our bodies. A well balanced diet is crucial for reducing stress, especially during problem times. It is common for people to turn to food for comfort when stressed, whether it be at work, with family, our outlook on life, or our personal relationships, there are many areas one can become stressed. Excessive eating, especially of foods that are high in fats and sugar and depleted of nutrients, is the cause of some of our stress problems. On the opposite side of the spectrum, under eating, or skipping meals is another adverse effect of stress. Food is our energy source, our defense mechanism against disease, our control over blood sugar, and our fuel for proper body and brain functioning. Eating three well-balanced meals a day can help to avoid deficiencies and hunger. It is common for a hungry person to feel irritable and restless because they are lacking energy and proper immune function. When the body is deprived of energy it begins to slow and eventually shut down, which puts the body at a greater risk for malnutrition and infection. Stress is a problem in itself, but when we let stress lead us to an unhealthy lifestyle, all we are really doing is creating more stress and an unbalanced body.

Naturopathic medicine, and naturopathy is a harmonizing and alternative medicine founded on the belief that the body has the ability to heal itself, if it is treated correctly. A naturopathic practitioner seeks to treat the cause of illness rather than the effect, as a counselor seeks to treat the root of the problem, and where it is stemming from rather than just treating the problem itself. This holistic approach to healthcare uses herbs and foods as a replacement for prescription drugs and surgery. The philosophy of naturopathic practitioners includes doing no harm; recognizing, respecting and promoting the self-healing power present in every person; identify and remove the cause of illness; treat the whole person, with his/her unique health factors and influences; and promote well-being in the prevention of diseases for not only the individual but each community and effectively the entire world. Realizing the existence of this type of medicinal treatment shows the power of our body to regulate itself, however this is dependent on the value of what we put into our bodies.

With all of this in mind it is important to also remember that we are all different, our bodies will react to different foods in different ways and in order to find what works best in our bodies we experiment. What is best for one might not work for someone else. Similarly within the counseling relationship, a counselor will treat each client as an individual and understand his or her troubles, emotions, and experiences as unique. This same idea is transferred to our health decisions. Each person has different likes and dislikes, there are some individuals who suffer from food allergies and cannot eat certain foods, and each person has a unique body type. Each of these differences shows the importance of developing a personal healthy eating schedule. Studies have shown that as we age, it becomes increasingly important to not only eat well, but to eat well for our metabolism. It is up to us to determine what our body needs, and the best way to get them.

It is important to view this healthy way of living and eating as a choice we are making with the goal of living a healthy and happy life. It does not have to be seen as a restriction. When we put nutrient-rich, whole foods into our body we are helping our mind have a clear vision of those things we are presented with on a daily basis. Sometimes those obstructions, which can effect the flow of our day, can be seen from a different light, if we just give our brain the right food and nutrients to function properly and openly, with no restrictions due to mood. n