Integrative Nutrition Theories: Discovering Primary Food and Bio-Individuality

BHC-02 IIN Unique Theories, Bio-Individuality, Circle of Life

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[00:00:00] Megan J. McCrory: Hello, hello, and welcome to the podcast all about becoming a health coach. I'm Megan McCrory, an aspiring health coach and an expat living in Switzerland. If you are just joining me for the first time, welcome. I am so glad that you found me. Um, you might want to go back and start from the beginning so you can hear the whole story, just a suggestion.

[00:00:23] Um, if you are in a health coaching program currently, And please contact me, let me know and let's see if we can get you on to the podcast so we can do an episode where we can compare and contrast the different schools. I think that would be a really awesome thing to do. If you are not in school yet, but you want to be, um, just drop me a line at becoming a health coach at gmail.

[00:00:50] com and let me know and see if you have any questions. Let me ask the questions, because if you have questions, I can answer them in the next week's podcast. Uh, I don't know much yet, or let's say, uh, I'm only in week two, so let's see. Um, okay, so let's dive into week two, module two. Um, Module two was a little bit slower for me, even than module one.

[00:01:17] Um, as I mentioned in the, in the last episode, I was kind of a little disappointed. We didn't like hop right into some coaching stuff. Um, but okay. We have a whole year and I did know beforehand, uh, some people had said that there's probably some stuff that they could have been skipped and maybe they could have condensed the class, um, a little bit more.

[00:01:39] So, I was expecting it, but I know the syllabus now for at least the ten, first ten modules, so I know some, some other good stuff is coming. So, what did we do? So in the first module, or sorry, in module two, um, our objectives, we went through the integrative nutrition's unique theories. So I'm in the school for institute, the institute for integrative nutrition, IIN.

[00:02:07] Um, so we went through their unique theories on primary food, Uh, bio individuality, uh, geographic proximity and fitting out. So we talked about that. Um, there's also a tool that they use called the circle of life. And this is 10 different areas of your life. Um, and you kind of go through and, and analyze how you're doing in each of these areas and see, okay, is it balanced or is there something, uh, that needs to be worked on?

[00:02:36] We also, uh, went through and did the, um, talked about the effect that food has on health. And this is, for me, after reading several books, uh, a very interesting topic. Um, to talk about considering most medical doctors do not have any kind of nutrition training, which when a lay person hears that you're like, no, no, no, they know everything about the body.

[00:03:00] Not so much with nutrition. Nutrition is not really part of the main, uh, medical, uh, fields curricula. So we talked about that. Um, then there was a little bit on, uh, modern versus postmodern nutrition. And again, this is. The IIN take on this, or Joshua Rosenthal's take on, on what that means. And then, uh, also they have, uh, I mentioned it, uh, just briefly, the primary food.

[00:03:29] So, primary food and how that works, and I'll, I'll get into what primary food is in just a minute. Um, how primary food affects, uh, That's our health and happiness and whatnot. And then also really, you know, my journey, as I mentioned in the first two podcasts, and I'll probably keep mentioning it, um, this is not just about me learning how to be a health coach, but also, uh, you know, a year of self discovery for me, a year of learning and, and, you know, It's, it's all about me.

[00:04:01] No, it's not, but I mean, this is a good, good thing for me and, and, and I like that the program, uh, incorporates that you learn more about yourself and then, uh, and how dietary and lifestyles can shift and, and, you know, giving yourself self care. So I do appreciate that about the school. So let's dive in a little bit more about each of these topics.

[00:04:24] And just to note that there was no guest speakers in Module 2. These were all from Joshua or from the, what they call the education department. So other people in IIN talking. Um, but no, um, let's say highlighted guest speakers this week. So the integrative nutrition. Theory, they have a lot of good theories.

[00:04:45] Um, I think they're great. I think some of them are better than others, but I think they're all pretty good. So one of the things that they do is they do teach all the different dietary theories. There's a library that you have access to that kind of just gives you a very quick summary snapshot of about, they say over a hundred different dietary theories, everything from Atkins Breatharian Where you just breathe So, yeah, so that's really cool Um, and they say that they're the only school in the world that really does that So that's really cool Um, they Also, their theory is the primary food overrides secondary food.

[00:05:28] And so, what primary food is, is all the things in your life that are not what you put in your body through food. So, secondary food is really food. Primary food is your relationships, your career, your spirituality, and your exercise, or your, your movement. So, um, if you are not good in any of those areas, it doesn't really matter what you're putting in your body.

[00:05:55] It's, you're not going to feel health, uh, the full level of healthy, um, that you could feel. So again, I think that that's a good way to look at things because there's some, somebody could be, uh, having a personal trainer and eating all the right foods, uh, but be completely stressed out at work. Okay. Or be in a horrible relationship and they're not going to feel 100%.

[00:06:20] So, um, yeah, I think that's a good theory. Um, the next theory was the diet should be based really on the individual. So this is this bio individuality, which they get into a little bit more, and I agree also with this, because, um, I was reading a couple of these books by Gary Taubes, uh, Why We Get Fat, which is a really great book, uh, to understand, why, why we get fat, and The Case Against Sugar, which is also by Gary Taubes, and he goes into really, um, You know, each person and hormone levels and their genetics and all of these things are so complicated.

[00:07:01] It's, it's really interesting how anybody could think that any, that, you know, all, all one type of food could work for everybody. You know, dairy, for example, it's not there. You know, some people are going to handle dairy better than other people. Some people are going to be, you know, I mean, it's just like a food allergy, right?

[00:07:19] It's, But it's not as hard as a food allergy. So really understanding each person and that you really need to know more about that person and tailor for this person. And that's it. You can only ever have like a steady case of one because there's only one you. So that's interesting as well. Um, another good theory, actually I really like all their theories to tell you the truth.

[00:07:45] Another good theory is called crowding out. So this is where you add good things in that eventually crowd out the bad things. Or let's just say in the way, if they're deficient in something, let's add it in before let's, before trying to actually remove something that's bad. Uh, so, crowding out. Um, Alright.

[00:08:07] Another theory they have is called, it's basically given, given half a chance the body will heal itself by itself. So I think that's an interesting theory as well. Um, I think you see this mostly when people don't slow down when they get sick. And then they're sick for three weeks. Whereas if they just took two or three days to bed and just really let their body have that time, they would be over it much faster.

[00:08:37] Um, I see it in myself personally and I know through trial and error, So, uh, what works for me when I get a sinus infection? What do I need to do? I have a routine. Um, if you get sick in general, what can I do to allow my body to heal itself? I think that's really, really great. And a lot of people don't allow themselves enough time, uh, when they get sick, but also they don't allow themselves enough time to heal by, by not sleeping enough.

[00:09:09] By not resting enough. So there's a lot of different ways that the body can heal itself. Um, if you let it, so, um, the next theory, uh, that the integrative nutrition, um, school has is to listen to your body's messages about cravings. So if you're craving something, why? So I'm hoping that they do a lot more on this later because, um, When they say just like deconstruct the cravings because I don't really understand how to do that yet So I'm very very curious how they will teach us to understand if you're craving Uh, you know, a doughnut, what are you actually, what is your body actually deficient in that you're craving a doughnut other than the sugar?

[00:10:01] Like you know, so how to, how to say, you know, is it a sugar addiction that we're looking at or is it where the body's deficient in some mineral somewhere? So I'm curious about this one. Um, I don't understand really, like, uh, the de evolution is natural. What goes up must come down. I think I might have to go back and look at the video again.

[00:10:23] Um, because I, I can't really remember what this was about. And then the last one was the same diet and lifestyle changes will help everyone, which seems counterintuitive to the first, uh, to the one, um, of their theories based on individuality. But I see how they're saying it is basically If all you do is move more and eat more whole foods, it will help everyone.

[00:10:50] Now, what exercise and which whole foods depends on the person. So not every person is going to have that same thing going on. So, but their point is, is that if you incorporate certain things into your lifestyle, those certain things will help everybody regardless. So I think that's also interesting. So after they reviewed the, the theory, which I would be very interested, anybody who's listening or watching.

[00:11:19] If you have any thoughts on those theories, please let me know. Uh, you can email me at becoming a health coach at gmail. com and let me know what you think. Or I think you can even put some comments at my website where the, the, the podcast is hosted. It's my best self dot fit and leave me a comment there about the theories.

[00:11:42] If you have any. I'd like to hear your thoughts. So, um, some of the other things I just touched on was the bio individuality, so one person's food is another person's poison. And, you know, we do, we don't eat the same all the time. You eat lighter in the summer, you eat heavier in the winter, you eat different foods when you're older versus when you're young, and, and, you know, If you're sitting at a desk all day, you eat different than when, if you're working in a factory all day.

[00:12:11] So it's, you eat differently all the time, depending on, on your, on what's going on. So, um, One of the big things that I've learned in the past year, you're no more probably more than that is really how to listen to my body. And so that's where the bioindividuality thing comes in is if you're working with someone as a health coach, you know, teaching them how to listen to their bodies.

[00:12:36] So, I ate this food and now I have, I have, later in the evening I have a headache. So how do we make the connection between the food and what you're feeling in your body and, and really understanding what's going on and, and, you know, uh, you know, my hair seems shinier. Okay, did I change something in my diet?

[00:12:59] For example, I just, I quit caffeine two weeks ago for as a, an experiment for my, myself. And I didn't have any cramps in my period this week. Are they connected? I think so. Cause I typically have cramps. So it's one of those things. It's like. Hmm. Okay. Maybe I would have to do a little bit more studying or maybe, you know, let's see next month if this, if this was a fluke, but that's exactly what I think people should be doing with their, with their own body is to do these little mini experiments and then that will help them listen to their body.

[00:13:35] Um, if they're actively thinking about what's going on, what are they putting in their mouths? What are they, you know, how is their work life? Are they stressed out? Um, at work, you know, or did you have a stressful day at work? So if you had a day, stressful day at work, and two days later you get sick, could it be that the amount of stress that you had that one day just lowered your immune system enough?

[00:14:03] That something floating around got you sick, you know, so there's a lot of a lot of ways that you can look at that So I think that's really interesting Another thing that we're learning is really about food and I'm hearing this from a lot of different angles not just the school, but really the connection between food and your mood and How your food affects your brain and your body chemistry and everything else and how everything is just tied together So I'm really hoping we get more on that.

[00:14:36] Um, soon. That would be good.

[00:14:43] So the next thing that they talked about, and Joshua is doing most of these, is modern versus postmodern nutrition. And I wasn't prepared for that. Really? Yeah, okay, I get it. It's basically modern, modern nutrition is the sad diet, standard American diet or modern American diet or whatever. And, and what you hear, and he's talking about postmodern nutrition, which is really like, Let's get past that to the point where we're talking about the bioindividuality and how not all, you know, it's really hard for like a, like a American Health Association to put out something that's a blanket statement for everyone.

[00:15:30] I think that's the point, you know, I think these, big places want to say, yes, nobody should be eating red meat. Well, okay. That's not necessarily true. Um, some people, you know, or, or whatnot, but maybe, maybe that's not a good example at any rate. So I'm a little curious and more about modern versus postmodern nutrition, but, um, or let's just say, I'm curious to see what else he has to offer for that.

[00:15:59] Um, He talked a little bit about the Law of Geographic Proximity, which is, again, something like, you know, you might have a tendency, like, all your ailments are in one part of your body, or one side of your body. I, uh, I didn't really He talked about Chakra, and I know that this is Something Indian, forgive me for my ignorance because I don't know, but I do have a note in my notes that I need to research more about chakra.

[00:16:30] So I know it has something to do with the energy flow in the body. Um, but again, I'm not very familiar with that. So I did point out to, I should look at that. And he talked about fitting out. This is another part of their theory. Fitting out basically, I mean. I guess that's basically be yourself, be authentic, be true.

[00:16:52] Um, don't try to fit in because trying to fit in is going to take more energy than just accepting who you are and shining like the bright little unique star that you are because everyone is a bright unique star. And, um, yeah, so just Don't make yourself crazy trying to fit into something that you're not supposed to fit into.

[00:17:16] It just, uh, fit out, apparently. The last one is primary food, and we talked specifically about health and self care. And what, uh, What is self care and what does it mean to me and, you know, how am I, am I satisfied with my, with my version of self care? I think I'm about 50%. I have some self care. I take care of myself in a way that I allow myself time and, but I think I could probably do a little bit more.

[00:17:51] You know, it's one of those things. Maybe I just tried to do something a little bit more like, you know, a massage once a month. That would be nice. Uh, I did look at, I thought about looking into Thai massages on the German side of the border, but I haven't done that yet. Maybe that's something I should put on my list.

[00:18:09] So those were all the topics that we talked about in the course or that were presented in the course. Um, and as always, there is some assignments at the end. Um, the assignments this week were about the circle of life. I mentioned that, uh, in the podcast already, which is kind of looks like a little pie chart where there's, uh, different parts of, um, 10 different areas of the circle of life.

[00:18:34] And you want to, you know, Put where you are in those areas. Now, we did that already in the pre course material, but now they want you to create like a vision board inspired by your circle of life. I have yet to do that. Um, That might be something I do tomorrow. Again, it's one of those things it's like, no, I like the circle of life.

[00:18:59] I'm not sure if I really need a vision board. I do have it on my monthly things to do. So every month go to the circle of life. And, you know, do a fresh one, uh, without looking at my previous one to see, okay, how do I feel about each areas of this life? And, and, and then I can compare it to the previous month and see, did I grow somewhere?

[00:19:24] Did I fall somewhere? So that's how I'm going to reflect on the circle of life. I think it's a really great tool. Um, so that's going to be a monthly thing for me. The next assignment was really to explore our own bio individuality. Which, you know, basically, what do you need? All right, so they want you to take a couple minutes and write down how I could adjust what my primary and secondary foods are to support what I need.

[00:19:54] I'm a little struggling with this because Um, I think I'm, I think I'm pretty clean, I could be more clean. You know, every once in a while I, I buy a bag of tortilla chips and I just devour the whole bag. And I'm not talking a US size, US size bag. It's like a US size small bag, which is a European large bag.

[00:20:14] So it's not like the end of the world. Um, but like, for example, they said, like, if you drink several cups of coffee each day, maybe you should feel better with less caffeine. Well, So let's see. Um, but I do like the idea of thinking outside the box. Um, they talked about like if you do a certain exercises all the time, maybe try doing a new exercise.

[00:20:35] So I think I will, um, again, I will do this in my journal, uh, and, and, and try new things every, every week. Uh, the last assignment that we had was observe how food changes everything. So, um, you know what you eat, you are what you eat, right? Really, literally. So basically they want you to track and journal what you're doing.

[00:21:04] So like when you eat, how much you eat, what you ate, how did you feel right after eating it? How did you feel a couple hours after eating it? So I'm, I'm already tracking my food. Um, with my app, lose it, love it. I love the app, lose it. Um, and then they want you after three days to answer, you know, how did you sleep?

[00:21:25] What were your energy levels? So I think this is actually a really great exercise to do. And I will do this, uh, next week. So starting on Monday. And so during. Week three or module three, I will be doing, uh, this exercise on, um, much more detailed about mealtimes and I need to set something up in my journal so I can track this.

[00:21:51] And I'm really actually excited about this assignment to see, uh, what comes out of it. Um, so yeah, excited about that one. I will let you know how it works in module three or four, depending on when I get done with that. And when I. do, uh, the next, uh, podcast when I record. So that's about it for this week.

[00:22:14] Those are the things that we learned. Um, personally, again, I was, I still had to, uh, was still watching the, uh, broken brain series by Dr. Mark Hyman this week. And also, uh, uh, still watching the essential oils by Dr. Eric Z. Dr. Eric Zielinski. So watching those two things on the side. Yeah, I still had too much to do in the evenings this week.

[00:22:43] And next weekend, I already have too much to do in the evening. So I am trying hard to structure and be way more structured about when I do things. I mean typically, I would just come home and do it because I don't have very many obligations in the evenings. Um, but now I think, you know, for next week, I really did a lot of blocking out in my calendar to prepare like, okay, I really have to sit down and do it there.

[00:23:12] I do use a kind of a bullet journal, uh, for my personal stuff, but I do have a passion planner as well, um, which I purchased for this project for the year. And, um, my passion planner is, you know, like everybody else's, but, you know, Blocking some time out and next week I have some better blocks here. So that's um, Yeah, that's how i'm doing it blocking really blocking so I can get my exercise in And, um, also the side hustle school.

[00:23:54] Um, so those are the courses that I'm taking right now. So in the IIN for health coaching and a side hustle school society by Chris Gillibeau, I get another podcast. If you're listening to podcasts and you want to see about a side hustle, love it. Uh, and one of the other favorite podcasts that I listened to is happier by Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Kraft.

[00:24:16] So those are some of the places that I go, uh, to get information. And, uh, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of gleaning information. The one thing this week that I, or I should say the last two weeks that I learned most about myself is I just need to. Uh, the, the, the phrase production over perfection and, you know, just to do it, uh, like, like the pod, this podcast.

[00:24:46] So I had another podcast and I had lots of production value. I did, you know, uh, I did lots of editing and it was really good. I love it. But it took so long to make one podcast, I would get kind of bogged down with it. So now for these, I'm far less, um, editing a lot less and hopefully keeping them a little shorter.

[00:25:11] Although so far, I was hoping a 10 minute podcast. So far, they're only, they're always about 25 minutes. So, um, yeah, let's see. Maybe it, maybe it is a longer one. But I'm not going to edit it. So I apologize for any editing mistakes and whatnot, but I need to get this out. I need to record and get it out. So.

[00:25:34] With that said, um, thank you for listening today. If you have any questions, please email me at becomingahealthcoach at gmail. com. Give me some questions. If you have questions, I'd love to answer some during the podcast. Um, If you are, like I said, interested in becoming a health coach, please email me. Or if you are in health coach training, uh, specifically right now, I would really love to have you on the show so we could compare and contrast, um, the different styles of the schools.

[00:26:08] Yeah? Okay, so until next week, uh, thank you and live a healthy life.