History of Nutrition
'Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food', often ascribed to Hippocrates -400 BC. As popular as this phrase is, surprisingly there is no evidence of it actually been quoted by Hippocrates!
What is helpful to learn from the history of nutrition, is that it has always been integral in its role to prevent, manage or cure many diseases. As years went by and modern day living demanded more from us, our pace to achieve results hastened too - most commonly in the area of weight management. As the change in our psyche shifted to immediate, quick, prompt success, so did the world of nutrition to meet those needs. Various diets started to gain popularity - media started to play a role, commercials were geared around quick wins. What did not shift though, is the importance of nutrition: how and what we eat makes a difference in our health.
As your care team, we understand each person with diabetes has unique nutrition needs.
Philosophy of Nutrition Care
Our philosophy of nutrition embraces the age old belief that Food can be Medicine, and incorporates evidence-based nutrition guidelines for managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease as well as weight management. Interestingly, as many studies have shown over time, there is no one miraculous diet that’s best when it comes to managing diabetes. Amongst many diets, the Mediterranean meal plan does rank higher, primarily due to its inclusion of all food groups while also focusing on the quality of nutrients.
Success = personalization + sustainable eating habits
Our Program Believes...
- One size does not fit all
- There are many different types of meal plans to choose from along with different lifestyles. It’s only natural to be curious and to experiment how a diet might work. We welcome these learnings
- Nonjudgmental approach to the perception of eating
- Mind over Matter
- Eating well is more than what's on our plate, it stems from a sense of hunger cues
- Learnings include grass root levels of nutrition by focusing on all Pillars of Nutrition
- Reuse not reinvent
- We start with what’s in your kitchen, your current habits and use those as a baseline to understand where exactly a shift in nutrition is needed
- Inclusive of all cultural and religious eating habits
- Food preferences and choices vary from culture to culture. We are knowledgable in culturally tailored recommendations to improve sustainability and success
- Majority of foods CAN be included in a diabetes friendly meal plan
- Knowledge is power. Learn from your CGM data
- Carbohydrates are not the culprit. Quality and Quantity of carbs matter
- It’s all about food experiments!
- A fruit at breakfast might raise glucose levels, yet a serving with a cheese stick might work!
- Sustainability trumps perfection
- Food is occasionally more than food
- Social needs, celebrations - humans enjoy gathering around food
- Eating well CAN be therapeutic and enjoyable
Our goal as your care team is to help you find that fine balance between choosing a meal plan that works for your health as well as your palette, budget and preference.
Connect with your care team to build a sustainable meal plan for long term success towards living well with diabetes.