What Is Holistic Nutrition?

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By: Tonya Papanikolov 

I often overestimate the amount of people who are familiar with the term ‘holistic nutritionist’. For me, these words go through my head and out my mouth various times a day but it was recently brought to my attention that, well, people don’t really know what we do.

First, I’ll break it down by going over the broader definitions of the words. The term holistic relates to Holism, from the Greek word holos meaning “all, whole, entire.” In philosophy, it is characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected to the whole.

The definition of nutrition is, the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health, growth and nourishment.

Combining the two from a healing perspective, holistic nutrition is characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account physical, mental, emotional, environmental, spiritual and lifestyle factors, rather than just physical symptoms.

Physical symptoms are just one part of the very big picture. A holistic nutritionist works to find and treat the root cause. For example, one’s eczema could be due to an essential fatty acid deficiency. And so, a holistic nutritionist would provide one with a healing diet, supplements and herbs to correct this nutritional deficiency.

We look at both the big picture and the smaller, subtler one. Both the macrocosm and the microcosm. We look at the whole person as a unit, their mind, body and soul interacting with their whole. It’s all connected, after all.

There is a growing awareness into the ever-expanding field of alternative medicine. We’re collectively waking up and reconnecting to the intuitive healing powers of our bodies and taking responsibility for both our wellbeing and that of the planets. It’s an interesting time in the field of natural medicine. Every single day I wake up feeling so grateful for my conscious commitment to ethical wellness. Both my own and that of others. Every day it forces my self-reflection which isn’t always easy but always promises growth. Maybe that’s all we’re doing as holistic practitioners, we’re just fostering your growth towards unabridged wellness.