The word “diet” may have some negative connotations because it implies a restrictive or regulated way of eating. This is due to the simple fact that so many people eat poor diets, gain weight, and then struggle to shed the pounds. The modern diet is one that is prone to making people gain weight and/or feel poorly because it is full of processed ingredients, chemical preservatives, and too much of harmful substances like sugar, sodium, and fat.
Obviously, making positive changes in the diet should be a good thing, but it is the difficulty of sticking to a new (and often restrictive) diet that makes many people groan at the mere mention of the word. With a holistic approach to eating, however, the entire process of transitioning to a healthier way of life is easier than with most diets.
Understanding Holistic Healing
A holistic approach to anything (diet, exercise, medicine, etc.) is going to begin on the basis of the whole person. In other words, everything is going to be balanced – the body, spirit, mind, and emotions. So, unlike the typical approach to dieting that looks strictly at the foods you eat and the amount of exercise you are supposed to do each day, the switch to a holistic diet would be one that would become your lifestyle .
Here is what we mean: Let’s say you decide that you are tired of feeling fatigued, sluggish, and overweight. You have tried a few diets, but they have all failed you because you just didn’t like the foods or you hated exercising.
A holistic healer would not command you to just stick with this program. Instead, they would look at you – all of you. They would speak with you about your eating habits, how they’ve developed over your lifetime, how you feel about exercise, what sort of health issues you have that might affect your metabolism, and so much more.
You might be someone who is an emotional eater, and yet you might not realize that it is this behavior that has continually sabotaged your health. You may be in poor health because you have made a habit of eating only processed or packaged foods. These will have gotten your palette (taste buds) used to highly salty or overly seasoned foods, and this could be why you are finding it hard to eat a healthier diet.
In both examples, the holistic healer would be able to work with the patient to understand what is causing problems with the diet. They would then create a plan that would help the patient to overcome the causes. The emotional eater would receive counseling and find ways of handling emotions in healthy ways. The person used to a modern diet might go through a cleanse or learn about whole foods that pack just as much flavor without the chemicals. They would get their body used to a whole food, unprocessed diet (which is the basis of holistic eating) and enjoy the reduction in the many medical complaints that such eating habits cause.
A holistic diet is not a bland or boring way of eating, and it involves an assessment of all parts of life. It becomes your life long roadmap to optimal health, but you will need to discuss the matter fully with a holistic healer for the best outcome.