Nutrition vs. Nourishment

Whenever the seasons change, I talk a lot about the foods our bodies need to stay healthy, balanced, and ready for the weather and temperature changes headed our way. Right now, as we face fall’s rollercoaster of temperatures leading into a cold New York winter, that means choosing foods that will compensate for our area’s external chill. 

But when we talk about the foods that will help us find that balance, there’s a big difference between nutrition and nourishment. 

Nutrition is what you put in your body: It’s the foods you eat, the vitamins and minerals you consume, the calories that give you energy. And of course, those things are incredibly important. When we talk about eating a diet of oats, corn, rice, carrots, beef, garlic, ginger and other cold-weather foods, that’s your nutrition. 

But when we talk about what those foods DO to your body, that’s nourishment. And it’s a big deal! Nutrition is the building blocks, but nourishment is how you balance external cold (Yin) with your body’s need to build up and move your Qi. It’s how you prepare for how external forces will affect you—whether they’re cold, damp or dry. It’s how you consistently care for your body and build your own defenses against external forces. 

Think of this tiny example: Eating one vegetable provides nutrients. You’re giving your body a healthy food that will make it happy. But eating vegetables every day as a consistent part of your diet is nutrition. You’re regularly fulfilling your body’s needs with specific foods that will help make and keep it strong. It’s kind of like acupuncture itself that way: One appointment is a great step. But a consistent relationship with your acupuncturist is what builds real strength and balance.

How well you nourish your body also affects its ability to prevent or fight off common weather-related illnesses, like the common cold, bronchitis, sinusitis and much more. And if you think about nourishment at its broadest scale, you begin to see how it affects everything from how quickly a papercut heals all the way up to your natural defenses against serious illnesses like heart disease and some cancers. 

We talk a lot about eating well to warm up. But the next time you consider the foods in your kitchen, try to think of them as more than (very important) nutrition—think of how they nourish your body. That’s where you’ll find true balance to help you stay warm and healthy during the coming cold.

In health and wellness, 
Julie