Why Your Nutritionist Should Honor Your Cultural Heritage
Why Your Nutritionist Should Honor Your Cultural Heritage
When we think of food, we think purely about its nutritional value. However, food is often so much more. In fact, food is inherently emotional and cultural! It is much more than nutritional value.
In traditional nutrition dieting advice, cultural foods and heritage is largely ignored (or even co-opted) and replaced with other foods that are deemed more ‘nutritional’. When this happens, we inadvertently place certain foods in a hierarchy—some become ‘superior’ where others become ‘inferior’.
Unfortunately, when we have eurocentric body ideals, our beloved, nostalgic, cultural foods will more often than not be deemed ‘inferior’.
So, we will often restrict ourselves from enjoying the foods that we used to once love because they are not ‘nutritious’ or ‘good for us’. And while we believe we are making this decision because it’s the ‘right’ or ‘smarter’ nutritional decision, it becomes harmful. It becomes destructive because it separates the individual from one of the most important ways to honor their multicultural background—through food. Every culture has their own food likes and dislikes that have been heavily influenced by their ancestry.
However, when we begin to restrict ourselves from our cultural foods because of diet culture and society's expectations, it can make us feel separated from a core piece of ourselves. And again, we often easily convince ourselves that we ‘should’ restrict ourselves from ‘that food’ because it is a ‘smart nutritional decision.’
It sounds pretty exhausting, right? To not only put yourself and what you enjoy in a restrictive box but always asking yourself…is this the right nutritional decision?
We can change this narrative that we have been telling ourselves! We can honor our cultural heritage and allow ourselves to eat the foods that we want!
When we change the lens that we view food through, we learn to respect and understand that food is much more than purely nutritional. And when this lens shifts, our experience with food changes as we actually get to experience food in a new and special way (as it was originally intended to be)—without the hierarchy. We get to honor our cultural foods without feeling as though we are doing something ‘wrong’ or ‘unhealthy’. We might even begin to feel…free!
It is important to not only be able to work with a nutritionist that not only honors and respects your cultural heritage and multicultural background but holds space for the fact that no foods are superior. A nutritionist that honors your heritage understands that food is food, and even more importantly, understands that you can honor your unique cultural background and identity with food.
Seeking out nutritional support that understands that your cultural background influences who you are at the core, and the foods that you will naturally be drawn to will aid in your recovery process. A nutritionist who supports your multicultural background will honor, encourage and help you work through any misconceptions you may have towards your cultural foods.
I want to support you on that journey and I understand that this is an important part of who you are and that’s why it has to be included in your nutritional guidance and support!