Diet culture - it hurts both our physical and mental health.
Despite today's supposedly 'body-positive' culture, trends like Ozempic and weight loss diets still rule. This has GOT to stop.
Happy Tuesday, everyone. Welcome to the first newsletter of September!
Last week we touched base on some of the latest ‘health’ fads circulating the internet, and it really got me thinking about nutrition, especially as the summer winds down into the structured, ordered chaos of the fall season.
Despite today’s largely more ‘body-positive’ culture, we’re still staring right into the eyes of modern diet monsters, like Ozempic and drinking rice water. We all know that weight is not a one-size-fits-all situation — your body needs to function at its optimal mode for you, not for the eyes of society. Being thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy, nor does having curves.
Demonizing how we look at our bodies can be detrimental to getting the adequate nutrition we need. We all know this or have heard it before, so why are we still deep in the throes of weight loss drugs and quick fixes?
Let’s put this in relation to the Core 4. Water, nutrition, sleep, and exercise are the unsexy but tried-and-true cornerstones of caring for our health.
When we zoom in on nutrition, we see that our relationship to food impacts every single part of our health and lifestyle. It makes both intuitive and logical sense — the things you eat are the building blocks for your body to move, thrive, heal, and simply exist. If you’re looking to feel better, adding nutritious, filling, enjoyable whole foods to your diet is often one of the simplest ways. A good approach to eating can reduce inflammation, speed recovery, and be generally pretty life-changing.
The meat of today’s letter (no pun intended) is an educational essay by Dr. Erin Nitschke, one of the founding board members of The Health Navigator Group. It’s perfectly pertinent to the question, how do our thoughts about weight and image affect how we live our healthiest, best lives?
The Dangers of Diet Culture: Navigating the Health Hazards and Emotional Strain
Dr. Erin Nitschke
In today’s society, diet culture has become pervasive, relentlessly promoting an idealized body image and perpetuating the belief that thinness equates to health and happiness.
The dangers of diet culture extend beyond mere weight loss pursuits, as it poses significant risks to physical and mental well-being. This article delves into the detrimental effects of diet culture and emphasizes the importance of cultivating a positive relationship with our bodies and food.
🥗 The Vicious Cycle of Fad Diets
Diet culture thrives on fad diets promising quick fixes and dramatic weight loss results. However, these diets are often unsustainable and lacking in essential nutrients (or, frankly, just dangerous).
Such practices can lead to nutrient deficiencies, compromised immunity, and an increased risk of developing chronic health conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
🥬 Negative Body Image and Low Self-Esteem
Constant exposure to unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by diet culture can lead to negative body image and low self-esteem. People may feel ashamed of their bodies, leading to a sense of worthlessness, anxiety, and depression. This adverse impact on mental health can become a perpetual cycle, pushing individuals to resort to extreme measures to attain an elusive “perfect” body.
🍽️ Disordered Eating Patterns and Eating Disorders
Diet culture often promotes restrictive eating habits, encouraging individuals to label foods as “good” or “bad.” This mindset can pave the way for disordered eating patterns, such as binge eating, orthorexia, or anorexia nervosa. These eating disorders have severe consequences on physical health and can lead to life-threatening situations if left untreated.
🥦 Metabolic Damage and Weight Cycling
Repeated cycles of restrictive dieting (and extreme exercise) and weight loss followed by weight regain can lead to metabolic damage. This phenomenon makes it increasingly challenging for the body to lose weight over time, perpetuating the diet culture’s narrative that individuals lack willpower or discipline. Moreover, this cycle is emotionally taxing and can further perpetuate negative body image issues.
😔 Social Isolation and Disconnection
Diet culture often creates divisions between people based on body size and shape, fostering an environment of judgment and stigma. Those who do not conform to societal standards may experience social isolation and discrimination. This alienation can hinder mental well-being, hindering social interactions and overall quality of life.
Diet culture’s dangers are evident, jeopardizing not only physical health but also mental and emotional well-being. As a society, it is essential to recognize these perils and promote a shift towards body positivity, intuitive eating, and embracing health as a holistic concept.
Encouraging balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, and cultivating a compassionate relationship with our bodies will pave the way for a healthier and happier society, free from the harmful clutches of diet culture.
Remember, we are more than our appearances, and true health comes from nourishing both our bodies and our minds.
Dr. Erin Nitschke
So, what can we do do mitigate and navigate the stress and emotional toll of diet culture when it comes to our health?
There are a few key ways we can navigate this landscape.
To start, focusing on whole (unprocessed) nutrient-rich foods is a great step. Prioritize balanced meals, rather than following restrictive diets. Aim for a balance of proteins, healthy fats, fiber, and carbohydrates to support energy levels, immune function, and everything in between.
Eat for nourishment, not deprivation. Prioritize food choices that fuel your body, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, without eliminating entire food groups. Deprivation has been shown to have such an intense effect on our minds that we end up either eating foods and feeling guilty, or collapsing into “bad” foods altogether, perpetuating a crash-and-burn cycle.
It’s also key to maintain a healthy relationship to movement. Exercise for health — not punishment. Avoid using exercise solely as a tool for weight loss or “earning” your meals.
In the same vein, don’t restrict yourself to painful or repetitive exercises, find activities you enjoy. Choosing forms of movement that you’re excited about helps you create sustainable, long-term habits, and often doesn’t feel like a chore at all.
Hydrating well is also key. Drink plenty of water to support digestion, nutrient absorption, and metabolism. It can also help you feel and stay full.
The elephant in the room: addressing stress.
Chronic stress impacts our physical health. Ongoing stress can lead to elevated cortisol levels, which are linked to weight gain, sleep disruption, and even increased risk for chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Learning stress management techniques (think breathing techniques or mindfulness, for example) can be a game changer in our health journey.
It’s important to take breaks from weight-focused thinking. Stressing about weight or body shape can actually lead to physical symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, or heart palpitations. Shifting your mindset away from intense focus on weight can actually have major ripple effects elsewhere in your health journey.
And ladies, this one is a big one: extreme dieting is a major hormone disruptor. Severe caloric restriction or over-exercising can throw off hormones like cortisol, thyroid hormones, and reproductive hormones. These imbalances can lead to issues like fatigue, and fertility problems, as well as an increase in anxiety and mood swings.
Keep an eye on your blood sugar, and eat for balanced blood sugar health. Focus on balanced meals that include protein, fiber, and healthy fats, to help prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes. Stable blood sugar levels contribute to sustained energy, reduced cravings, better emotional resilience and easier adaptation to stress.
Eat enough healthy fats for hormone health as well. Hormones are made from fat, so a diet too low in fat can disrupt your hormonal balance. Healthy sources, like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, are great for optimal hormone function as well as brain function and sustained energy.
Does diet culture still pervade your thoughts around health, or have you embarked on a compassionate journey with yourself? I’m so curious to hear your thoughts. Even in a culture riddled with discussions about loving ourselves just the way we are, it’s a complicated topic that can’t simply be glossed over with a new mantra.
Before I leave you to your day, here’s an update — I’ll be presenting at the Connect2Women’s health conference next week, September 13th, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The topic? Unlocking the Secrets to Becoming Healthier Faster. No matter if you’re dealing with a chronic health condition, like osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight, or even with a terrible and scary illness like cancer or dementia, lupus, or arthritis, you can get healthier, faster, and I tell you exactly how. If you can, please say ‘hi’ afterward so I can meet you! You can get more info here!
If you liked what you heard from Dr. Erin Nitschke, you can learn more about her at her website. She’s absolutely wonderful and has a wealth of knowledge in this realm of health!
Have a great week, everyone.
— Dr. Alice
A little more about Dr. Alice Burron and The Health Navigator Group:
You can find more about The Health Navigator Group at our website: www.thehealthnavigator.org
On Instagram: @the.health.navigator
And learn more about Dr. Alice Burron at her website: draliceburron.com
Or via her personal Instagram: @dr_burron
You can even connect with her on LinkedIn, if you want to be professional about it. 👓
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