Arianne Bozarth
December 11, 2023
–
10
min read
What if I told you that as a clinical nutritionist, I don't work with diets… how shocking would that sound? Well, it makes complete sense when you understand the bio-individual approach to nutrition. What it reveals is that by their nature all diets fail.
Here is why. Diets are not designed for YOUR biology. They are designed to control a generalized aspect of biology. The issue is that this doesn’t take into account the system as a whole and it certainly doesn't take into account your bio-individuality. If you alter a metabolic pathway through a specific diet, then the body is forced to take an alternate route. Will this route serve you in the long run? Does it align to your specific genetic needs?
To answer that question and to understand what you need to sustain life, energy, health, function, and form (i.e. the figure you desire) - you, your body, and your biology matters. Your genes, and all the variants that make you unique determine what nutrients are required to make your metabolic pathways run smoothly. They all come together to define whether a food or nutrient will strengthen health or create problems.
Although generalized diet changes may temporarily alter the course of biology, most often it is not addressing what caused the biology to shift in the first place. There are many metabolic pathways that can contribute to any one symptom, so solving for the symptom alone without understanding the reason for the body’s shift, in the long term, will likely will lead to more imbalance instead of resolving the primary cause for the shift.
That’s why diets fail.
Failure is Built into the Word Itself
The Latin roots of the word 'diet' translates to "conquer you". As we know from history, any form of conquering never lasts and eventually leads to a revolt. As with history, body-conquering diets may work temporarily, but by their nature they can create further imbalances in your biology and become unsustainable. The body will revolt.
Your biology doesn't need to be overcome; it needs to be nourished based on its design. The Latin roots of the word nourish translates to "food that becomes you". This is what food is, it is a way to build our body and provide the resources, like lines of code, that keep all our body's programs running smoothly.
It Starts With "Know Thyself"
Often, instead of listening to the body and its brilliance, we look to someone else for the answers. We outsource our body’s knowledge to someone outside ourselves. This could include experts in the medical industry, experts in the nutrition industry, or gurus in the health and fitness industry. It could also mean following influencers and celebrities, or looking to friends or family.
But have you ever stopped to ask, how could any of these people tell you what you need to make your body function properly if they don't know about your digestion, your metabolic high priorities, or what genes are most susceptible to your diet and lifestyle? How can they know what will work for you if they know nothing about your body's current nutrient status or toxin load? How can they be your guide if they know nothing about how well your microbiome is processing, absorbing and creating nutrients that to convert the food you take in into energy? How do they know if a high protein diet is going to turn into toxic side products in the microbiome that lead to inflammation? How do they know if that beautiful kale smoothie that helped a famous influencer get fit is going to lead to gas and bloating in your system. How can they know if that full fat keto bar is going to contribute to pathogens and weight gain for you?
Without this knowledge, any nutrition or diet recommendation alone could lead you down the wrong path. You could end up chasing solutions that aren’t a good fit and make your original symptoms worse, leaving you feeling completely frustrated and not knowing where to start.
The reason starting with the solution doesn't work is a list of perfect foods, even when completely balanced in macronutrients and micronutrients and with the highest quality sourcing and processing may not be a fit for you if it isn’t aligned to your biology. Your body may not be able to take it in and absorb all it has to offer, which could lead to greater insult and hinder you from reaching your health goals… and causing you to think that food can’t help you when it comes to health.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is the right food is and nutrition is exactly what you need to restore health and keep it each and every day. The problem is those outside you do not know exactly what your unique, bio-individual needs are, but your body does! It is conducting over one million reactions every minute and it knows exactly what is lacking and what is in excess making its job much harder. Your brilliant biochemistry is most likely signaling to you all day, every day often in 5-12 different ways just what you need to do to restore balance.
We just forgot how to listen.
We lost our ability to tune in and translate the language of the body into feedback for what we need to restore balance.
The Secret to Your Success: Relearning the Language of Your Body
There is a language between you and your body that our culture has taught you to disregard, to silence, or to numb. So it’s no wonder we are where we are now: the fattest, sickest, and most clueless we have ever been on what we need to eat to restore health.
We forgot the most important piece of the equation - the body. How is it we never pay attention until it starts shouting (i.e. symptoms)? We disregard all the communication leading up to that point.
The statistics show the one out of four adults and more than one third of children have a diagnosed condition. What is a condition? It is a cluster of signs and symptoms. This diagnosis is feedback on what the body is missing, it is the body shouting its needs. This is the body communicating in a way that we can no longer ignore.
We also have forgotten that we too are communicating with the body daily with the food we take in. Any areas where we are in excess or in lack is impacting our ability to nourish the body towards its fullest expression of health.
What if we added in this critical missing piece? What if we started to relearn how OUR specific body is operating and what it needs? What if we started actively getting involved in this daily communication, carefully selecting the inputs and observing the body’s feedback? What if we started shifting how we nourished our body based on where it’s leading us? How would this shift our physiology? What would happen to our symptoms in the process?
You know why diets fail. Now what?
If you start to learn the language of your body and what it needs, it will reveal the codes that determine your physiology. It will reveal the exact nutrients and foods required, as a form of information and guidance, for you to take to achieve the health you desire.
This knowledge allows you to choose the tools, or nutrients, that are best for you at this moment. It eliminates the chasing after solutions and instead starts at the source, your body. It is from this place that the symptoms go back from shouting to whispering. From this place of knowledge, the moment the body raises a need, you know exactly what is required to restore balance and can provide it through nutrition.
This way requires not only knowledge of this internal language, but it requires attention and observation. It requires care for the best inputs through food and nourishment to get the best outputs in body performance.
At Aceso Nutrition, we partner with individuals who are ready to relearn this lost language. We are interested in helping individuals who have a passion for health and are eager to learn and expand their knowledge of self-discovery through the lens of the body.
If you are one of those individuals looking to take your body-food knowledge to the next level, join the January 2024 Body Food IQ Masterclass for a hands-on journey of guided body food nutrition exercises aimed at unlocking your body's brilliance in what it needs to thrive. Doors open January 7th. Click here to take advantage of holiday savings and reserve your seat today!
Not ready for a hands-on exploration, but still wanting to learn more? I invite you to join the discussion @ A Nutri-Geek's Guide to Nutrition Podcast (now available on Spotify) where we challenge the way you see the link between food and your body. Join us as we explore your body’s bio-individual needs to finally put an end to the frustrating cycles of trial and error. Nutrition isn’t a one-size-fits all, but you do have a biologically designed perfect fit.
It’s time to unlock your body’s brilliance.
Also be sure to check out Arianne’s book Skinny Genes: The Surprising Truth About Every Body’s Capacity to Settle at A Natural Weight, Even When Diets Have Failed. Learn how to unlock tailor made nutrition based on the body’s design. Available on Amazon.
If you want to talk to someone about your options to partner with Aceso Nutrition reach out at info@theaceso.com or schedule a free discovery call.