Marta Finman

Optimal physical and mental health can only be achieved when one’s digestion is functioning efficiently.

The body will only get its physical needs met through healthy digestion and metabolism. Since the brain is part of the body, and subject to the same nutritional supplies and deficiencies, our mental and emotional state, as well as our behavior, are influenced by how well our nutritional needs are met (or unmet).  There is a feedback loop whereby what we eat influences how we feel and behave, which in turn influences what we eat.  When you give in to unhealthy cravings you may experience temporary relief, but since the actual underlying health need remains unaddressed, the craving always returns in some form.  The human body has an innate drive to survive. It craves a sustained equilibrium which produces a feeling of balance. If it does not get that balance in a healthy way, in its quest to survive, it will try and get it even in an unhealthy way. Consuming unhealthy foods in order to sustain energy in the brain and body is the brain’s way of trying to find that balance that it is lacking.

The initial approach on the path towards a healthy balance is to analyze how you digest your foods, and then to make changes to optimize digestion based on your individual biology. This includes not only the absorption of nutrients, but also your ability to properly utilize your proteins, fats and carbohydrates. This process involves identifying the foods that are nourishing and healing for you, as well as identifying which foods are irritating to your system and keeping you in a dysfunctional or less than optimal state. The traditional approach to nutrition, in addition to being overly simplistic, is just plain wrong most of the time. We have been erroneously taught that anything that tastes good can only be consumed in moderation, fats are bad, and that the “right foods” are the same for everyone. You should genuinely enjoy everything you eat, and that can be achieved once your deficiencies and your needs are identified. Education and implementation of strategies tailored for you as an individual, is part of the process that can make that happen.

Before you label yourself with an ailment or chronic health issue, it’s important to be properly nourished and then see if there is truly still a health issue left to resolve. The body was designed to heal itself. By minimizing or eliminating the irritants and knowing what your body actually needs to function at peak, healing will happen automatically.  This will become obvious as your symptoms subside and your energy levels increase.

Maintaining a healthy equilibrium becomes a struggle when legitimate needs are overlooked.   When this occurs, you experience cravings and there does not seem to be enough willpower to resist them.  Your body knows what it needs, and what it is and is not getting in sufficient quantities, unfortunately most of us do not know how to listen to what the body is trying to tell us.  Cravings are the body’s attempt to communicate a need that is going unmet.  Since they can come in both healthy and unhealthy forms it is important to learn to decipher and interpret what the body is trying to communicate. 

The same feedback loop that can negatively influence how we feel and behave can also lead in a positive direction, and it is that positive feedback loop that you ultimately want to create and sustain.  Never underestimate your body’s abilities and strengths or your power to implement positive change. The truth is that a practice of good health habits achieved through proactive implementation of a personalized plan based on your own bio-individuality is far more self-sustaining than relying on, or believing that, willpower is the thing that is missing.  Willpower is overrated!  This becomes apparent when one witnesses the holistic effect which results from focusing on food, behavior and brain chemistry.

No one diet works for everyone. Finding the food, strategies, and lifestyle choices that best support you, will help you to make gradual lifelong changes which will enable you to reach your current and future health goals.

Through proper education and gaining insight into your bio-individuality, it is possible to distinguish between an unhealthy craving and its healthy counterpart.  The point is not just to provide yourself with what you need for physical and mental health now, but to help you learn to hear and respond to the needs of the body as they change over time.   This is the process of recognizing healthy instincts and developing the intuitive ability that we all have as a part of our survival mechanism.  

The goal is not only to arrive at a destination; the goal is to become an expert at the process.