One Size Fits All Approach to Nutrition
True or False, John and Jane can eat the same exact diet and attain the same results?
If you said False, because John is male and Jane is female, let’s try this one…
True or False, Jane and Jill can eat the same exact diet and attain the same results?
Hmmm, part of you wants to say True. Is there a part of you that wants to say False? Oh, I see a hand up… yes ma’am, “Yes, I say False because I AM Jill and I ate exactly what Jane ate and I definitely do NOT look like her!”
While I know some of you are LOLing about this, let’s be real, we’ve all been there, we’ve tried Paleo, we’ve tried Keto, we’ve tried high protein low carb, we’ve tried high carb low protein, we’ve been a vegetarian, pescatarian, egg-atarian and whatever “terian” we could think of, we even went Vegan and still don’t look or feel anything like the John’s and Jane’s of this world. What gives?
Let me introduce you to a concept called Bioindividuality. You and John or Jane are bioindivduals. You have your own unique genetic makeup, have grown up and lived in varying environments and live very unique lifestyles.
Speaking of which, lifestyle has the most impact on whether or not a person’s diet will be a good fit for them. Did you know that? Some people carb-load and they have no intent of running a marathon the next day. Some people eat high protein diets because they “lift” but do not hydrate properly #hellokidneydamage. Some people take things very seriously and count every calorie paying close attention to how many calories a candy bar has compared to the donut they had for breakfast just to see if they can squeeze in a burger and fries for dinner (and yay, diet pop has ZERO calories!)… #cuenutrientdensitylecture
Now some of you might be thinking, ok, well, what if Jane/John or Jill are identical twins.
Believe it or not, even “identical twins” are bioindividuals, too. According to an article in Scientific American, “Identical Twin Genes are Not Identical”
“[O]ne twin in Bruder’s study was missing some genes on particular chromosomes that indicated a risk of leukemia, which he indeed suffered. The other twin did not.”
“Charles Lee, a geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, agrees. Genetic variations can arise after a double strand of DNA breaks when exposed to ionizing radiation or carcinogens. “It reminds us to be careful about our environment because our environment can help to change our genome,” he says.”
So even if you tried to eliminate lifestyle and just went to the bare bones of genetics, no two people are the same.
But of course, we know we’re not going to follow Jane/John or Jill around everywhere they go, so… lifestyle, environment, stress, relationships, should I go on? They all play such an important role in our overall health, so why do we believe ONE diet will work for everyone?
I’ll let you linger on that.
In the meantime, if you believe there is no one-size-fits-all diet out there, let’s chat about the ONE diet that is perfect for you and only you.
I’ll meet you at AcuCare Total Health for a consultation.
Just let me know when you’ll be there! AcuCare Total Health 847-888-3131
Holly Ruge
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
e: coachholly@nourishwithholly.com | AcuCare Total Health 847-888-3131