Gear Reviews

REVIEW: Nourishing Wisdom

As a multisport athlete I have discovered that there is no shortage of people giving me nutritional advice against my will. Gossipy co-workers, well-meaning relatives and bike shop loiterers all have a mental archive of nutritional lectures they feel obligated to share with you once they find out you’re an athlete.

Some of you newer readers may not know that I’m going back to college as a pre-med major (I turn 40 today). One of the students in my chemistry class was a sports nutrition major and part-time personal trainer. He kept offering free training and nutrition programs to the women in our class. My question was why would anyone take nutritional advice from someone who eats Spicey Doritos and drinks Arizona Ice Tea Fruit Punch every single night as his dinner? True story.

Then there’s my biology professor who’s lecturing everyone about the fallacies of organic food and what kind of healthy peanut butter to buy, yet can barely keep her act together until she can run out of the room to have a cigarette or two.

Be wary of your nutritional advisors.

I had this caution in mind when someone suggested I read a book called “Nourishing Wisdom: A Mind-Body Approach to Nutrition and Well-Being” by Marc David. Out of politeness, I bought the book and it sat on my nightstand for a few weeks before I finally forced myself to start reading it. Expecting another fad diet book, I was blown away by the simple beauty of David’s words. Rather than recommend a specific ratio of carbs, proteins and fats, or a daily calorie limit, the author challenges you to become aware of your relationship with food.

David, a nutritional psychologist, dispels the myth of the standard dietary system. He takes a closer look at the dynamics of nourishment and how food plays a role in our overall health. He also invites us to explore how we eat our foods, what environment we eat in as well as what company we keep. He even covers how digestion and the assimilation of foods are affected by our meal-time body posture. All of these elements are part of the nourishing experience.

This book made me think about my food choices. It’s not a how-to manual by any stretch of the imagination. If you’re looking for that, go pick up one of Rachel Ray’s latest 20-minute meal crap books and prepare to pack on the fat. This book made me more aware of my own eating habits and how important our environment is to our food choice. When I lived in Rhode Island, I craved heavier, starchy foods. In San Diego, I couldn’t get enough fruit, fish (and I don’t usually care for fish) and water. Move me back to Ohio in the winter and it’s carbs, carbs and more carbs. Here in Las Vegas, I crave water and fruit during the warm months. In fact, one of the exercises listed in the book is to have you listen for body feedback. This allows our body’s intuitive wisdom to determine which foods would be most nourishing at a given time. These ideas are beautifully covered in the chapter “You Eat What You Are.”

Perhaps an excerpt puts the book in perspective:

Food is not something we merely eat. It is a ceaseless reminder that we are mortal, earthbound, hungry, and in need. We are bound by a biological imperative that forever keeps us returning to the soil, plants, animals, and running waters for replenishment. Eating is life. Each time we eat, the soul continues its earthly journey. With every morsel of food swallowed a voice within says, “I choose life. I choose to eat, for I yearn for something more.”

But what is that something more?

For that answer, my friends, I suggest you invest $10 and read the book.

Find your edge and dance upon it.

hak

© 2007 The Outdoor Journey.