I became interested in healthier eating habits right around the age of 17 (circa. 1988 :-)), which for me started by ordering the Macdonald’s Chef salad rather than the french fries (I was certainly making a statement amongst my fellow suburban skateboarding buddies). Over time I became a full on vegetarian, vegan, and then raw food-ist growing most of my own organic food in the interior of BC. The quality of the foods I ate became of the utmost importance to me.
I have read many many books on diet and nutrition over the past 23 years. I have taken many workshops and was even the vegetarian head cook using all whole foods at the Circling Dawn Organic Foods Cafe (now no longer around unfortunately). My dietary focus has shifted from being totally unconscious, to super duper conscious yet socially isolated (an experience many raw foodists experience when trying to eat out with friends), to what I would now consider myself – conscious, yet comfortable and relaxed. I love food. I love all kinds of food, prepared in all kinds of ways and, very importantly, as a medium to enjoy good company. And no, I am not a raw foodist any longer, nor am I a vegan. I now enjoy a wide array of different foods, including meat, dairy, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, and fruits.
One of my favourite authors on healthy eating over the past couple decades has actually been Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D, who has written several books, food and healing being one of my favourites. Actually that book, which I read about 10 years ago, really helped shift my overly radical and somewhat tense, pretty much preacher like, stance on diet to this more relaxed and comfortable place it is now.
I recall a story Annemarie told of a time she was having diner, or lunch, with an old friend whom she thought was a horrible eater with his choices of overly refined, processed and de-vitalized foods, but couldn’t help take notice that her friend was in good physical health. Her friend had been eating the way he did for decades probably, was of mature age, but yet was in good health. Go figure?
I mean we probably all have relatives or friends who are the same. My Granny lived till she was in her late 80’s, was never overweight, smoked for most of her life, and ate the normal “supermarket foods” which included many of these overly process foods (she was actually afraid of fresh fruits like cherries, thinking they had worms in all of them!).
Now my personal dietary revolution was nothing to do with processed foods. My “ah ha” moment was not about this naive idea that I could eat what ever the heck I wanted, and all would be fine. In fact that is far from what I took out of this story. What Annemarie noticed was that her friend, and most probably my Granny, knew how to say no. They had this ability to push either their plate away when full (but not overly full), or to just take smaller portions right from the start. A part of my revolution to relaxed eating had to do with the art of listening – to my own body rather than some philosophical paradigm whose dietary theories seemed like a good idea at the time.
Annemarie suggested in her book to place ones hands on their belly, breathe, and ask the simple question, “what would be good for me right now?” That simple check in with oneself can be quite profound actually. I have seen anemic vegans start eating steak, junk food addicts start eating salad and more fresh veggies, and people struggling with their weight begin to shed the pounds. The first place for health to begin actually starts with self awareness, which is really just the development of self-love. Learning to listen to our body, tells it that we care and that our health is worth it.
So to be a conscious eater means to be one with awareness of their own needs. This includes the actual amount of food eaten, but also the type of food. When we start eating a large variety of foods, especially ones that are whole (Read Annemarie’s article on why we should eat whole foods), we begin to feel subtle and even profound changes in our overall health state. We begin to feel more energy, more alive, and even happier. Our skin begins to radiate! We start to develop a sensitivity to what foods work for us and what ones don’t – or at least for this moment don’t, as perhaps our bodies needs will shift later that day, or week, or whatever.
If we combine our conscious food habits with a relaxed and comfortable attitude, life shifts. We start to experience what those Italians talk about in that slow foods movement (actually there are now over 100 000 members in 153 countries celebrating this conscious contradiction to fast foods) , that back to the basics or good cooking movement, which places as much attention on the quality and preparation of food as to the social enjoyment of it. With a consciously relaxed attitude towards our food, we can realize that, even though that sprouted nut burger is not on the menu, I am in the company of very good friends, ones whose presence elevates me and makes my life more enjoyable.
A picture I took during an organic whole foods feast in Tuscany.
Wishing you good health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson