Two years ago, starting at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition opened up a new direction and perspective in my life. The concept of Integrative Nutrition, or Holistic Nutrition in Turkish, became central to my diet.

When we think of healthy eating, we often think of common things: not eating sugar, cutting out rice, pasta, and refined processed products, avoiding packaged foods, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, consuming good legumes and grains, etc. While there are many different dietary trends, they all generally share a common denominator: tangible, visible nutrients – the food we consume. But what about the other sources that nourish us?

Actually, the food on our plate is our second-tier nutrient. Our first-tier nutrients are the elements I will explain below. If our primary and secondary nutrients aren’t in complete harmony, it’s unfortunately very difficult to stay healthy, lose weight, and be energetic. You sometimes hear, or perhaps experience firsthand, someone say, “I eat very healthily and balancedly, but I can’t lose weight.” Unfortunately, there’s a point everyone misses here. What is the state of our primary sources of nourishment?

What are these primary sources of nourishment?

Enjoyment of life

Spirituality

Finance

Career

Education

Health

Physical Activity

Home Environment

Relationships

Social Life

In fact, deficiencies in these areas often lead to unhealthy eating habits. I want to give an example of the most common occurrence I experience with my clients. Generally, the most difficult thing is dealing with nighttime snacking cravings. If you’ve had a balanced intake of vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats throughout the day, the appearance of nighttime food cravings indicates only one thing: “Emotional hunger,” which surfaces within us when everyone goes home after a quiet day. We try to satisfy this emotional hunger with physical food. At that moment, what you need is most likely not a bar of chocolate. Perhaps it’s a kiss from your spouse, a hug from a loved one, dancing and having fun with a friend, or perhaps 10 minutes of meditation or prayer…

No matter how healthy our diet is throughout the day, if there are deficiencies in our primary nutrients, it becomes very difficult to stay healthy. Think about it, isn’t everything created by our minds and brains? Even in many serious illnesses, doesn’t healing begin with the power of thought? It’s the same thing here.

Of course, it’s impossible for everything to be perfect in any of our lives, but recognizing these nutrients and prioritizing them will help us take not just one, but five extra steps forward. We need to ask ourselves, “What do I need right now?” What we need isn’t always food, chips, or pastries. Often, what we need is rest, peace of mind, socialization, and time for self-care.

Sometimes, simply gazing at the myriad shades within a single leaf and filling our minds with its beauty can be more effective than the benefits of a kilogram of broccoli. Becoming aware of the life we ​​live, observing our surroundings, and waking up from autopilot shapes our relationship with nutrition because it relaxes our nervous system. You can start trying this. Believe me, it will be very beneficial.