Dietary Traditions -- What's Right for Us? by Karen Robinson

When I talk about what's "right" for people, I don't mean to do another version of the round-peg/square-hole scenario that has worn us thin. Many of us are coming from some rather unpleasant experiences with conventional diagnoses that have misjudged and misunderstood us. We feel that much of modern medicine and dietary conventions don't seek to understand our individual needs but wants to fit us into their little boxes that more conveniently fit their boxy protocols. So we're seeking different forms of support from different systems that are capable of understanding the paradoxes and contradictions of who we are.

I've immersed myself in many systems that made my feel more understood, that met me where I am instead of my being required to meet them. But in all the detailed differentiation, I came to sense that some of the broader patterns were being overlooked. For me it was a distinctly new step in my evolution of healing, to move slightly to the side of, if not away from, the highly individualized approach.

In my effort to be understood personally, I was missing what was relevant universally, what makes me part of the human family. Seeking to be so exquisitely understood in my uniqueness, I had separated myself in a way that was keeping me from understanding what was the same about me and every other human on the planet.

The roots of that need to separate can be long and deep. We've all had

someone, a person or institution in our past that told us what to think,

what to feel, how to behave, slapping generic rules on us that neglected

and dishonored our various needs as individuals. I know that for me, the

rebellious and defiant urge still motivates a lot of what I do. But I

also don't want to be looking so closely at myself that I miss the

larger view of what I have in common with all others.

"What works for me" can be a slippery slope. If someone is truly

happy with their health over the long run, that's what I call "working".

But we each get to assess for ourselves what we can live with, what

kinds of compromises we feel comfortable making; these are all very

personal and sometimes delicate decisions that can easily be

insensitively bulldozed over when dietary or other health dogmas are

being spouted. In describing and trying to define more clearly what an

optimal human diet is, I don't mean to discount those personal

considerations. I just want to bring a different perspective to the

discussion.

It's been said that health is nature unimpeded. There's something there to be obeyed not in a rigid way but something in our original, primal nature that supercedes individual choice.

As we reattune ourselves to a more natural way of living, I trust that

our choices will become more aligned with the natural order of things,

so that there's less conflict between them. Then our lives will consist

less of imposed rules about what we're "supposed" to be eating, and more of

trustworthy instinct guiding us to our best choices.

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BIO:

Karen Robinson is a health writer for the Rumor Mill News and a Natural Health Coach. Read about her educational services at www.naturalhealthcoach.net.

Some Aditional Articles you may enjoy

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A Healthy Diet Plan by Renee Kennedy

The Low Carb Craze and Other Dieting Mistakes by Bill Belfert

Protein Supplement by Rolf Rasmusson

Should I Have A Face Lift? by Wendy Owen

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