Food is far more than just fuel; it is joy, and identity, and culture. In today's episode we talk about how a sustainable approach to our nutrition includes enjoying of foods we love, especially when those foods have cultural significance.

1:17 Food is more than fuel. When we only break down food into functional components (macros, micros) without recognizing the enjoyment of food beyond these components, we miss out on all it has to offer.

4:42 Emotional eating is a normal human experience because food is comfort; it’s just not the only tool we want in our toolbox.

7:45 Research suggests that eating with others is associated with better dietary intake and overall well-being.

11:17 The whitewashing of cultural foods can lead to the erasure of culinary traditions and contribute to a narrow, Western-centric view of what's considered healthy food. Kate shares some of her personal experience when following a strict Paleo diet that encouraged the elimination of corn and other grains.

14:52 Food should not be labeled as "good" or "bad"; it has no inherent morality. Unfortunately, cultural foods are often deemed as "unhealthy" or "fattening" simply because they don't fit the stereotypical idea of health food.

16:27 Diet trends and fads often promote the exclusion of specific food groups or ingredients, inadvertently leading to the elimination of culturally important foods and an idea of a limited amount of foods that “own” the space of what is “healthy.”

19:50 The oversimplification of cultural and traditional foods also contributes to this narrow view of health and eroding of cultural diversity within the ideal of healthful foods. Fast food chains have modified traditional foods to inaccurately represent a entire cuisine as a whole.

23:19 Feeling like the foods we love are “off limits” when working towards our nutrition can leave us feeling really defeated in how we can work towards our health goals. This stress is not just about food choices; it's also about the struggle between maintaining cultural identity and adhering to societal expectations about diet and health.

26:01 If we think about the theory of cognitive dissonance, humans strive for consistency in their beliefs, values, and behaviors. When there's a conflict – like when one's dietary behavior (following a fad diet) is at odds with their cultural values (traditional food practices) – it creates a state of mental discomfort or dissonance.

29:40 The 'clean eating' trend tends to present a whitewashed version of health that doesn't take into account the economic and cultural accessibility of these promoted foods. Marginalized communities often bear the brunt of these restrictive dietary trends.

31:46 We must strip away the “good/bad” dichotomy around foods. Doing so gives us permission to enjoy the foods we love, which is a sustainable approach to our nutrition.

35:15 Michael shares some of his culturally important foods and we discuss our mission to improve our cultural sensitivity around different food traditions.

We are not experts in the topic of cultural competency in nutrition but want to be better as professionals in our field and learning more about these complex topics is part of that process. Here are some experts in the field that I (Kate) have enjoyed f

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🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram: @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!