#007 - Nutrition and emotion
For years, I believed I wasn't trying hard enough.
Despite having a degree in Nutrition, I found myself struggling. I knew the science and could write a perfect meal plan, but following it was a different story. There was always something stronger: a craving, a stress, a need. For a long time, I believed this meant I was weak and undisciplined.
I also carried beliefs that I now see were part of the problem. Like many people, I thought that to lose weight or eat "better," I had to cut out everything I enjoyed. Healthy eating meant saying goodbye to bread, pasta, rice—anything that looked like a carbohydrate. Pleasure had to be sacrificed in the name of discipline. The more I restricted, the "healthier" I was being.
But over time, I've come to understand something profoundly liberating:
There is no single definition of a "healthy food."
What makes food healthy is its nutrient profile, its context, intention, and our relationship with it. Carbohydrates, for example, have been demonised in so many diets. But they are our body's preferred source of energy. Wholegrains, fruits, legumes — even that slice of toast you love in the morning — can be part of a balanced life. What harms is not the food itself, but the rigidity, guilt, and fear that often surround it.
When we label food as either "good" or "bad," we inevitably start labelling ourselves that way too. For instance, we might feel virtuous after eating a salad and guilty after indulging in a piece of cake. And that's where the real damage begins. We swing between extremes — restrict, binge, shame, repeat — and we call it willpower, when really, it's a cycle of disconnection.
Proper nutrition education helps break that cycle. It teaches us that a healthy diet nourishes both body and mind—one that leaves space for flexibility, culture, social moments, and pleasure. It reminds us that food is not just fuel; it's also memory, emotion, and expression.
Knowledge is only part of the equation. The rest is about behaviour, emotions, and self-awareness.
Nutrition education is often misunderstood as simply teaching people what's "healthy" or "unhealthy." But real education goes deeper. Contento (2011) states that effective nutrition education must combine knowledge with strategies influencing motivation, habits, and beliefs. It's not just about what's on the plate — it's about our relationship with that plate.
We don't eat nutrients. We eat stories.
We eat childhood memories to soothe stress and respond to loneliness, joy, boredom, or guilt. But often, we also eat because—consciously or not—food has become the main (or only) source of comfort in a life that feels disconnected from joy in other areas.
Food can easily take center stage when we don't feel fulfilled in our relationships, work, creativity, or sense of purpose. It becomes nourishment, escape, reward, entertainment, and even company. And eating can be joyful—there's no shame in that. The problem begins when it becomes our only joy—when food is the only break in a day, the only thing we look forward to, the only thing that offers relief.
That's why nutrition education must also be about life education — supporting people to create a life that feels worth living, where pleasure can come from many places, not just from what's on the plate. Sometimes, the real work isn't just choosing the right snack. It's asking:
– What else do I enjoy, or could enjoy, beyond eating?
– Where can I find satisfaction that isn't tied to food?
– Am I allowing myself to dream, move, connect, play?
Eating well isn't just about self-control. It's about self-connection, fostering a sense of belonging, and reducing feelings of isolation.
The British Nutrition Foundation (2019) emphasises empowering individuals to make informed, balanced choices that suit their lives and values. But making those choices becomes easier when we move away from a one-size-fits-all model and invite people to explore what truly works for them, in body, mind, and context.
And yes, eating fruits and vegetables matters, drinking enough water, including fibre and wholegrains, and staying physically active. These are essential pillars of health. Variety, colour, and balance on the plate contribute to wellbeing. But it's equally important to understand why we struggle to maintain those habits in the first place.
Because often, the difficulty is not knowing what's good for us—it's about managing what's going on inside us.
When we eat ultra-processed foods or sugar frequently or feel we "deserve" a treat after a tough day at work, it's worth pausing and asking: Why is food playing this role in my life? There's nothing wrong with enjoying sweets or snacks. The issue isn't in the food itself—it's when that food becomes a need for emotional survival.
When chocolate becomes a reward for coping, takeaways become a routine escape, and food not only nourishes your body but also regulates your emotions, education needs to expand beyond the plate.
If you constantly feel like you "need" certain foods to feel okay, chances are you're not just hungry—you're using food to fill an emotional space.
Sometimes, that space is stress, sometimes it's sadness, and quite often, it's just plain boredom. When life feels repetitive, uninspiring, or disconnected from joy, food can become the most accessible source of stimulation.
Once we recognise that, we can begin to untangle the real needs behind eating—the ones that no amount of chocolate or crisps can truly satisfy. That's not about shame. It's about clarity, awareness, and offering yourself new tools—not just new diets.
In my journey, I learned that controlling food often meant controlling emotions I hadn't yet learned to face. Everything shifted when I started meeting those emotions with compassion, not with rules. I didn't need to eat "perfectly." I needed to eat consciously. That's where proper education lies. Not in prescribing the "ideal" meal, but in supporting people to:
– Tune into hunger and satiety signals
– Identify emotional vs physical hunger
– Navigate environments that promote overconsumption
– Unlearn the shame often attached to food and body
– Choose foods that nourish without restricting joy
So yes, we still talk about fibre, protein, sugar, and fats. But we do it through the lens of real life. Of self-compassion. Of long-term change, not short-term control. And that, for me, is the true power of education:
It is important to teach what to eat and how to care for yourself through eating.
In the end, health isn't built from perfect plates. It's built from presence, awareness, and the courage to listen—even when it's uncomfortable. That's when transformation begins.
And maybe the first step is simply asking yourself:
Am I eating to nourish my body, or to soothe something else? What is it that I'm hungry for?
Mari Giuseppe
Article references
Contento, I. R. (2011). Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory, and Practice.
British Nutrition Foundation. (2019). Nutrition and Health Resources.
Public Health England. (2016). The Eatwell Guide.
Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB). Guidelines for Effective Nutrition Education Programmes