Nutrition is Bio-individual

I became a vegetarian when I was 14 years old. There was a momentous event that put me on that path. In my honors biology class, we had a field trip to the University of Wisconsin, where we saw a human cadaver disected. That was it for me. It emphasized what I had already been feeling. Human arm, chicken arm. It's not food. It was natural for me, and I never wavered from it since then.

So it was only natural that when I had kids, I would raise them the same way. My husband isn't vegetarian, but was supportive of this. I savored making my own baby food, and introducing my kids to all the fruits and vegetables. As they got older, I prided myself on the fact that they consumed a lot of healthy foods. They ate a lot more vegetables and legumes than the average kid.

Despite that, like every American kid, they have been plagued with ultra processed food in front of them everywhere. I found myself arguing and being questioned. "Why can't I have this in my lunch?" Everyone at my table has a gatorade, juice, chips etc." I taught them about nutrition and what ultra processed food does to your body, but I was still worn down. But my key takaeway was, kids may argue and push boundaries, but they are always listening and retaining information for later. I learned that I had to make a concession here and there or it would have a negative consequence and turn them off completetly. It's an adjustment when you realize your children are people, who are going to go out into this world without you to make their own choices. You only have them until they are 18. The goal is to create conscious eaters, who understand how food affects their mental and physical health.

So I had to reckon with this when my two olders boys decided they wanted to eat meat. I ruminated on it for awhile. They were both eating meat when out with friends, and it was pretty clear this was what they wanted. I had to put my money where my mouth was, and come to terms that they were old enough to make that choice. I had to embrace this reality. In some ways, I was relieved. Their appetites had grown considerably, and they were constantly in the cupboard grabbing a bar, or another processed snack. Although I had "whole food" options for them for snacks, this was not the teenaged "go to". I embraced the opportunity to fill them up with healthy protein, so they would be less apt to snack on garbage.

It was in this give and take that I started encorporating meat into some dinners, serving it with vegetables and grains. I chose seafood and chicken, focused on free range, organic and ethical choices.

People are very passionate about their diets. Beyond ethical reasons, like vegan or vegetarianism. You will find countless articles on why a specific diet is best. People are bio individual, and when one diet works for one person, it may not be the best for another. There are specific medical diets, but about the only things we know for sure is that we need to eat enought food, not too much or too little. We need to have certain vitamins and minerals, and we need to eat whole foods. In Dr. Peter Attia's book Outlive, he says " Instead of diet, we should be talking about nutritional biochemistry. That takes it out of the realm of ideaology and religion- and above all emotion-and places it firmly back into the realm of science. We can think of this approach as Nutrition 3.0: scientifically rigorous, highly personalized, and driven by feedback and data rather than idealogy and labels. It's not about telling you what to eat, it's' about figuring out what works for your body and your goals-and, just as important, what you can stick to."

I am proud of my sons. they may be eating meat, but they still eat the rainbow. I taught them to notice the colors on their plate, and strive for several. They still eat vegetarian meals 2/3 of the week and eat a plant forward diet. They feel respected in their decisions as well. They may still have a hanckoring for donuts, but still drink my customized smoothies containing kale, blueberries, hemp seed, Ceylon cinnamon, protein powder, omega 3 supplement, kefir smoothie I make for him each morning.They trust me and knows its good for them. Yes I've done my job!