#108: Nutrition Is a Confusing Topic. No Wonder We Feel Lost
“Health is a relationship between you and your body.”
Nutrition is a fascinating subject. And yet, over the past thirty years it has also become deeply confusing.
Diet after diet has promised the same thing: a healthy body, a slim body, the “right” body. For many women who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the message was relentless. The model era quietly convinced us that we were not enough. Our legs were not long enough. Not slim enough. Not blonde enough. Not perfect enough.
Food slowly became something we questioned rather than something we trusted.
We were told fat was the enemy. Carbohydrates, even highly processed ones packed with sugar, became the recommended fuel. Pasta, cereals, fat-free dairy products and lean protein dominated the dietary advice of the 1990s.
Do you remember egg-white omelettes?
For a while they were everywhere.
The intention behind this advice was to reduce the high incidence of heart disease. Yet the long-term results were far more complicated. Instead of improving metabolic health, many countries saw rising rates of obesity, diabetes and, perhaps most worrying of all, diabetes appearing in children.
At the beginning of the 2000s the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. Suddenly carbohydrates were the problem. The Atkins diet promised the results the low-fat era had failed to deliver. The results were controversial, but the shift in thinking was dramatic.
Then came the Mediterranean diet with its balanced approach to fats, carbohydrates and protein. Around the same time the growing fitness culture popularised high lean-protein diets inspired by bodybuilding. Later we saw the rise of paleo, keto, vegetarian and vegan diets.
With so many approaches, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.
So let us take a step back and look at this from a wider perspective.
Many “Modern” Diets Are Not New At All
What is fascinating is that many of the diets we call modern are actually reflections of traditional eating patterns found in different parts of the world.
The Mediterranean diet mirrors traditional diets of southern Europe. Paleo attempts to recreate hunter-gatherer nutrition. Low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets resemble the diets of Arctic populations such as the Inuit. Vegetarian diets have roots in long-standing cultural traditions in India.
Each of these ways of eating developed within a specific environment and culture. They worked for the people who lived there.
And this is an important point.
A diet can be healthy and still not be right for everyone.
Our nutritional needs are influenced by many factors: genetics, climate, metabolic type, lifestyle, stress levels, age and health.
Someone whose ancestors lived for generations in colder northern climates may naturally feel better eating more protein and fat, especially in winter when historically fruits and fresh vegetables were scarce. Someone whose heritage comes from coastal regions may feel their best with more fish and seafood. Closer to the equator, where plant foods grow abundantly year-round, higher carbohydrate diets have traditionally been common and well tolerated.
Even diets associated with exceptional longevity, such as the Okinawan diet, developed within a very specific cultural and environmental context.
And something else is worth noticing. Across traditional cultures, strict vegan diets were extremely rare. There were certainly periods when people relied mainly on plant foods, often due to seasonal availability or religious fasting traditions, but animal foods were usually valued whenever they were available.
The same can be said for very low-carbohydrate diets. While they may work well for populations whose ancestors lived in Arctic environments, they may not suit everyone.
Which brings us to a simple but important conclusion.
There is no single miracle diet.
And there is no single “bad” diet either.
Context matters.
If you are curious about exploring this idea further, the book The Metabolic Typing Diet offers an interesting perspective on how different people may thrive on different nutritional balances.
Learning To Listen To The Body Again
In theory our body is very good at guiding us towards the foods we need. Hunger, cravings, satiety — these signals are designed to help us maintain balance.
The problem is that many of us have lost touch with these signals. Years of dieting, processed foods and constant stress can disconnect us from our own physiology. Rebuilding that awareness takes time and patience.
Seasonality is another important piece of the puzzle.
If, like me, you come from northern Europe, the traditional rhythm of eating often followed the seasons. Winter meals tended to be heavier, built around meat, fermented vegetables and stored foods. As spring and summer arrived and fresh fruits and vegetables became available, the balance naturally shifted.
Eating locally grown food also connects us with our environment in a deeper way. The foods produced in a particular region often contain exactly the nutrients the body needs to adapt to that climate.
The Forgotten Wisdom of Traditional Rhythms
One example of this seasonal rhythm is Lent.
In many Christian traditions, including the one I grew up with in Poland, the forty days before Easter were a period of fasting. Historically this meant eating mainly simple, plant-based foods, fermented vegetables and preserved fish such as herring.
Religion certainly played a role, but seasonality and practicality were equally important. By the end of winter, stored food supplies were often running low. Lent naturally created a period of lighter eating before the abundance of spring and summer.
There was a beautiful rhythm to it.
After a winter rich in meat and fats, the digestive system had time to rest.
Even weekly traditions reflected this pattern. In Poland Fridays were traditionally meat-free days. For many families this meant simple vegetarian meals, sometimes with fish.
Interestingly, many Christian traditions are layered over older seasonal customs and agricultural cycles. Across different regions these traditions adapted to local climates, available foods and cultural practices.
Remembering the Simplicity of Traditional Food
The more I reflect on the way I ate growing up, the more sense it makes to me.
There was no processed food. Everything was cooked at home. Cake appeared once a week, usually on Sunday. We ate raw dairy, eggs, potatoes, cabbage, sauerkraut and cucumbers fermented in brine. In the 1980s food variety in shops was limited, so most families grew their own fruit and vegetables.
There were no fast-food restaurants until the 1990s, and even then, my parents would never have driven sixty kilometres just to eat there.
Looking back, I remember myself as a strong, healthy and energetic girl.
I never experienced any PMS as a teenager, and I often wondered why some of my friends struggled so much. It was only much later, in my thirties, after years of stress and pushing my body too hard, that my health started to change.
Of course, the way I grew up eating in Poland is not a universal template. Every culture developed its own rhythm of nourishment shaped by climate, land and tradition. If you are curious about what might support your body best, it may be worth looking at what people in your region ate before processed foods and refined sugar became everyday staples. What grew locally? What foods appeared in winter and summer? What rituals shaped the year? Often these older patterns contain a quiet wisdom that modern nutrition advice tends to overlook.
The Question of How Much to Eat
One habit from childhood still influences me today: the idea that we must finish everything on our plate.
For many families this came from a very real historical memory. Our parents and grandparents lived through times when food was scarce. Just two generations after the First and Second World War, hunger and fear were not abstract concepts. During the wars themselves, they were everyday realities.
In the decades that followed, life gradually stabilised. Even though food choices were still limited in many parts of Eastern Europe, including Soviet Poland, the level of hunger and fear was not the same. But the memory of those years remained.
Experiences like these shape the way families relate to food. When previous generations lived through periods of scarcity, food becomes closely associated with safety and security. Even today, many of us may feel uneasy if we leave the table without feeling completely full.
Because of that, the idea of leaving food unfinished can still feel almost wrong.
And so many of us are still learning how to recognise true satiety.
At the moment I rely partly on science and partly on careful observation of my own body. On average, the human body requires around 2,300 calories per day simply to function properly. When calorie intake drops too low, the body can shift into survival mode. Stress hormones increase, metabolism slows, and abdominal fat often becomes more stubborn.
The body cannot distinguish between emotional stress, work stress, or nutritional stress. It simply registers stress.
Rebuilding Energy First
The approach I am currently experimenting with focuses primarily on restoring energy.
One idea I am testing is eating roughly a quarter of my daily calories in the morning — essentially having what feels like “dinner for breakfast.” It may sound unusual to eat a stew in the morning, but interestingly I remember a time when even eating breakfast at all felt strange. Our habits are surprisingly flexible.
The second change I am exploring is having a lighter dinner. If we imagine that we might still go for a walk, a run or even teach a fitness class afterwards, the evening meal naturally becomes smaller.
This approach only works if the body receives enough food earlier in the day, particularly at breakfast and lunch.
Changing these patterns is not easy. I am still working on it myself.
For me it feels like returning to the eating habits of my childhood, which makes the transition easier. For someone who grew up eating white toast with jam for breakfast, processed sandwiches for lunch and a very large dinner with a glass of wine, the shift can feel much more challenging.
Start With Energy, Not Perfection
Restoring health today often begins with small changes.
Reducing processed foods. Cooking more meals at home. Spending more time outside. Replacing some screen time with family time. Even cooking together again.
These ideas sound simple, but they are not always easy. Our brain resists too many changes at once.
So if you find yourself struggling to build a new habit, pause and ask what might be making it difficult. Perhaps you are not sleeping enough. Perhaps you are dehydrated. Perhaps your body is already under too much stress.
Change takes time.
Start with the smallest step that can restore your energy. An easy walk without your phone. Sitting outside and letting the sunlight reach your face. Walking barefoot on the grass. A few minutes of breathing practice using something like the 4-7-8 technique to calm the nervous system.
These small practices are powerful.
Nutrition plays a huge role in restoring energy and health, but habits develop gradually.
Sometimes progress begins with something very simple — replacing processed semi-skimmed milk with real milk, or having a little less chocolate or wine each day.
When energy begins to return, every other change becomes easier.
And one last reminder for tired working mums: if you are already exhausted, intense workouts are not always the answer. There are gentler ways to move the body that can help restore health without draining the little energy you have left.
Your body will thank you for them.
With love,
Karo