Holistic Functional Nutrition
The basic principles characterizing a functional approach to health and nutrition include the following:
- An understanding of the individual biochemical needs of each human being.
- Using a patient-centered rather than a disease-centered approach to healing.
- Striving toward vigorous health optimization rather than the suppression of disease.
- Searching for psychological, physiological and environmental causes of nutritional imbalance.
- Understanding of the web-like interconnection of factors that may precipitate disease.
A holistic approach to nutrition acknowledges the interrelationship of body, mind and spirit. In holistic nutrition, we recognize that our food choices affect all aspects of our being. For instance, the regular consumption of refined and processed foods will deplete physical and mental energy and wreak havoc with the nervous system. Natural whole foods and properly chosen food supplements, on the other hand, nourish body cells and feed glandular and nerve tissue to ensure long-term mental and emotional wellness.
Good nutrition consists of more than just consuming healthy foods. The foods we eat must be absorbed and assimilated in the body. For that to happen, we must have a properly functioning digestive system. Many of the important nutrients from foods and supplements cannot not be fully utilized until the eliminative system is functioning at its optimal level and without adequate digestive secretions, the foods will not be properly broken down in the stomach and intestines. Only when proper digestion is restored can the nourishing and rejuvenating benefits of vitamins, minerals, and other health-building substances unfold their maximum potential.
Professionals in the field of Holistic Nutrition also understand that the thoughts and emotions we entertain in our minds and hearts exert a direct influence on the body. We can choose between positive, helpful thoughts, which nourish body, mind and spirit, with love and encouragement. Negative, destructive thoughts, on the other hand, disrupt body chemistry, thus literally creating a state of disease.
When we become aware of our habitual thought patterns and our emotional disposition, we can actively substitute positive, constructive thoughts and feelings, thus transforming ourselves for the better. Change your mind, change your heart - change your body!
You can literally recreate yourself into the healthy, happy person you would like to be.