During my week focused on nutrition and food, I have also come across the concept of intuitive eating. This practice, that many people claim is resistant to diet culture, promotes eating when hungry and really becoming in tune with the senses, flavors, origin and reason behind your meal. This practice is especially attentive to mindfulness, as you are supposed to eat without technological distractions, away from your workspace with the focus on the quality and pure consumption of your food. While this sounds like a positive experience that can incorporate more gratitude and savoring practices into one’s life, I also explored the feasibility and accessibility of this lifestyle. So many people lead busy lives that may require them to catch lunch while they are working at their desk, or eat something at a time when they are not able to focus on the food and its worth. My general takeaway after researching intuitive eating was that even if someone doesn’t adopt this as a full blown lifestyle, taking concepts such as savoring and gratitude from this practice can be helpful, even if only maintained in small amounts.

Another one of my takeaways after exploring food this week was the power in not obsessing. One can still live a nourishing and fulfilling life, without constantly considering whether their food is the healthiest it can be. Further, the emotions, community, culture and comfort we can all feel from food is something so powerful and beneficial for our mental health that is often underestimated.