Many times we believe that feeding well is just choosing better what we put on the plate. But what about everything that nourishes us beyond food?
There is something that I learned and that I like to share: not everything that holds us comes from the kitchen. There are two types of food: primary and secondary.
The so -called primary foods are those experiences, links and activities that fill our souls, make us feel alive and in peace. When we are well with that, we eat differently. With more love, with more presence.
Within these primary foods, there are four pillars that are key to me:
Have a profession that inspires us.
Are you doing something that connects you with your passion? Do you feel full with your work or there is something you would like to change? Our energy is renewed when what we do makes sense.
Cultivate honest and loving relationships.
I do not speak only of relations with others, also about the relationship with oneself. How do you talk to yourself? Do you listen to? Are you friendly with you?
Move the body consciously and constantly.
It doesn’t matter if it’s walking, doing yoga, dance or practicing a sport … The important thing is to move in a way that you enjoy, connect with your vital energy.
Have a spiritual practice. It can be to pray, look at the stars, breathe deep, meditate, write, thank. What returns you to the center, to the present, to your essence.
When these aspects are nourished, food passes to the background. We no longer eat for anxiety, to fill a vacuum or to evade. We feed more awareness and less compulsion.
And vice versa too: when these pillars are careless, we often seek to compensate them eating, looking for refuge in the so -called secondary foods. And there the excesses appear, ultraprocessed foods, pecking without real hunger.
“We were all naturally wise in this.”
Let’s think about childhood. Do you remember when you were playing with your friends and did not want to stop or eat? Your mom called you and you answered: “I’m not hungry!” Because you were nourished for play, connection, joy. That is primary food.
Or when we fell in love … it seems that we could live only with hugs, looks, of that feeling of being full of love. We eat less because we are feeding from another place.
It can also happen when you do something you love: a project that you are passionate about, an activity that absorbs you. You spend time, and just hours later you realize that you did not eat.
But of course, there are also those other moments … where there is sadness, loneliness, anguish. And there, no matter how much we eat, nothing seems to achieve. Because what is missing is not food, but love, support and connection with ourselves.
That is why I invite you to stop, breathe and recognize, what do you nourish day by day?
Mariela Cavagnaro / Instagram: @mariela_cavagnaro
Nutritionist Mat.325, Comprehensive Psychological Coach, Lic. In Conscious Food and Ayurveda