Holistic Nutrition: What is It and How Can it Help You?

"The content below is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition."

You want guidance in nutrition to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle, but don’t know where to start.

You’ve tried the standard approach to nutrition without success. This is because nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all.

Luckily, holistic nutrition takes a different approach that is not only customized for your body, but it actually works.

In this guide, we will discuss what holistic nutrition is and how it can optimize your health.

Holistic nutrition is not a standardized approach, but rather an approach based on the analysis of an individual person’s complete physical and mental health.

Holistic nutrition is based on an individual’s unique nutritional needs and overall health.

Different factors that can influence what an individual’s health plan will look like include:

• Deficiencies
• Allergies
• Intolerances

Holistic nutrition can not only help you live a healthier lifestyle, but also make you feel better physically and mentally.

Following a holistic nutrition plan can have a number of positive effects, including:

• Weight loss/weight management
• Improved digestive health
• Relief from constipation
• Disease prevention
• Increased energy levels and improved mood
• Sleep improvement
• Reduced blood pressure and cholesterol levels
• Balanced blood sugar levels
• Strengthened immune system
• Improved skin tone and texture

As you can see, proper nutrition is extremely important for holistic health, and holistic nutrition can make a huge impact on your overall health and wellness.

To quote the wise words of Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

The key to holistic nutrition is eating foods that will not only fuel your body, but also impact your body’s function positively.

While holistic nutrition plans can differ from person to person based on individual needs, let’s take a look at six ways anyone can apply some holistic nutrition principles to their lives for healthier living.

Go to any grocery store and you can find yourself cruising through aisle after aisle of processed food. In fact, one study shows that 60% of the American diet is composed of processed foods.

Processed foods are full of sugar, salt, and additives that may make it taste good, but provide little to no nutritional value to the body.

Additionally, research shows that processed foods can be highly addictive and lead to behavioral effects such as:

• Overeating
• Eating compulsions
• Loss of control

Staying hydrated is extremely important to your health.

Water intake helps:

• Regulate body temperature
• Keep joints lubricated
• Prevent infections
• Deliver nutrients to cells
• Maintain organ function
• Improve sleep quality, cognition, and mood

Typically, eight glasses of water a day is recommended to keep the body properly hydrated.

Next time you reach for a can of soda, consider grabbing a bottle of water instead.

Beverages like soda, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks can lead to dehydration, so it is best to avoid these beverages when you can.

Sodium intake is one of the key factors in developing high blood pressure.

A study shows that 90% of Americans over the age of two years old consume too much sodium, and more than 70% of that sodium is consumed from processed foods and foods served in restaurants.

Reducing your sodium consumption not only improves your health but can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Not all fats are created equal, and not all fats are bad for you.

Healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can:

• Benefit the heart
• Lower cholesterol
• Improve insulin levels
• Improve glucose levels

A moderate amount of these fats can greatly impact your overall health.

Too much sugar intake can affect your entire body negatively.

Additionally, consuming too much sugar can cause symptoms like:

• Lower energy levels
• Decrease in mood
• Bloating

Avoid refined and artificial sweeteners and processed foods that are high in sugar.

Too much of a good thing can also be a bad thing.

Even if you are eating healthy food, it is important to be mindful of your portions.

Portion control is key in developing a healthy, balanced diet.

Whether you are eating healthy or unhealthy food, it is important to not overeat. Overeating can cause:

• Stress on your organs
• Heartburn/discomfort
• Stress on the digestive system
• Sleep disturbances
• And more

Not only can holistic nutrition optimize your health and help balance your diet, but it can also play a role in disease prevention.

Let’s take a look at how holistic nutrition can help prevent these diseases:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• Type 2 Diabetes

Unbalanced diets or diets high in fat and cholesterol can lead to heart disease, which claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined.

Holistic nutrition helps create a balanced diet and significantly reduces fat and cholesterol intake by avoiding processed foods.

Proper nutrition can prevent certain types of cancer, such as:

• Breast cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Esophagus cancer
• Uterine cancer
• Colon cancer
• Rectum cancer

A healthy weight greatly reduces the risk of developing these types of cancers.

Obesity has become an epidemic in America.

A study by the Center for Disease and Control Prevention shows that over 40% of Americans are obese.

Holistic nutrition can help you lose weight by cutting out processed foods and creating an individualized diet for your body that ensures you are receiving all the nutrients that your body needs.

A lack of vitamin D and calcium can cause osteoporosis .

With holistic nutrition, the entire goal is to ensure your body receives proper nutrition. Any sign of deficiencies is taken into account when creating your individualized nutrition plan to optimize your health.

Holistic nutrition also ensures that you are eating foods like raw vegetables and fruits that help support bone, muscle, and joint health.

The main cause of type 2 diabetes is the over-consumption of sugar, which can throw off a person’s glucose levels. Avoiding sugary beverages, processed foods, and desserts can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Holistic nutrition helps keep sugar consumption within a healthy range by creating a balanced diet and avoiding processed foods.

When people think of going to a traditional nutritionist, they picture:

• Supplements
• Menus
• Food scales
• The food pyramid
• Etc.

This is the exact opposite of a holistic health nutritionist approach.

A holistic health nutritionist focuses on your individual body’s overall health and creates a customized nutrition plan that solely fits your needs.

Think of it like this:

A holistic health nutritionist offers holistic nutrition counseling. This involves creating an individualized diet and treatment plan for each patient’s personal needs.

Nutrition Response Testing is a form of nutritional therapy that is used to discover the root cause of health-related symptoms so your holistic health nutritionist can create a plan to alleviate them.

By analyzing the body’s state of health using Nutrition Response Testing, a holistic nutritionist can create a health plan that is designed to help your body repair itself through proper nutrition.

This is done by conducting a series of non-invasive muscle tests and recording a comprehensive health history of the patient.

This process allows your holistic health nutritionist to identify which organs are not functioning properly, which could be caused by:

• Stress
• Nutrient deficiency
• Toxic substances

Once this test is completed, your holistic health nutritionist can create a customized plan that includes:

• Nutritional guidance
• Whole food supplementation
• Lifestyle guidance

Holistic nutrition is not a diet— it is a way of life.

Unlike some fad diets that can prove to be unsustainable over time, holistic nutrition is meant to be a lifestyle change that provides you with a lifetime of healthy living and longevity

Holistic nutrition dietary guides often involve:

• Eating whole, raw, organic foods
• Drinking the recommended amount of water
• Reducing sugar, cholesterol, and sodium intake
• Avoiding processed foods

… while also implementing nutrition guidance based on your body’s individual needs.

Are you feeling unwell and aren’t sure why, dealing with health-related symptoms, or just want to live a healthier lifestyle?

HealthierU can help.

Dr. Sergi is a holistic health nutritionist in Brooklyn, New York, and one of only 300 Master Clinicians with an Advanced Training Certification in Nutrition Response Testing.

Schedule an appointment today to see if holistic nutrition is the answer to your health-related problems.