Exploring Bio-individuality

You may have heard the phrase “one size does not fit all.” In other words, bio-individuality identifies who you are at the core and what it means to nurture and take care of that person.

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What helps you to be successful? What works and what doesn’t work?​ We can apply this concept in all areas of our life. What makes you happy can be unpacked and explored. Thinking about our health and wellness from a holistic point of view can help us be successful with our choices and lifestyle changes.

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Bio-individuality is not an exact science. It's more of a process of elimination or crowding out areas in our lives that do not serve us positively. Certain foods, for example, may not agree with our digestive system or different types of exercise that may not feel good on our joints or other parts of our body. 

What type of healthy practices will you be able to put in place that feels good and will also help you achieve long-term goals? How do we determine what habits will work best for me?

Sometimes this is learning more about yourself, tapping into what has worked in the past and what has not worked. 

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How is Bio-Individuality Determined?

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Determining how bio-individuality works for you is a process of elimination and what brings you joy. Let's look at several areas:

• Eating Habits – Determining what foods agree with your body can be fun and exciting! Here are a few ways we can explore your foodie bio-individuality:

  • Are there any medical conditions that require treatment by a healthcare provider?

  • Exploring new and creative ways to cook, embracing culture and community.

  • Determining which foods help you to feel energized.

  • Being self-aware and mindful in determining if foods bring on feelings of fatigue or sluggishness?

  • Are there stressors or feelings that may cause cravings for one type of food over another?

  • What types of foods do you get excited about enjoying with your loved ones?

  • Working with busy schedules 

  • It is also important to have an understanding of reading food labels and interpreting the food industry

Food is love. It brings us comfort joy and a sense of belonging. There are foods that may facilitate chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Figuring out which foods are best for you, may help to prevent chronic disease as we age. 

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• Finances – Talking about our finances can be both challenging and extremely private. By understanding our financial health and well-being, we can understand how we feel about how our finances may impact our relationships and our physical health.

  • Are there goals or ambitions for your financial health?

  • Do we want to grow your financial platform? What steps have your explored in achieving those goals? 

  • Are you financially struggling, and is part of that due to working in a job that you're just not happy with?

  • Bio individuality can apply to this in that do you feel satisfied, and do you have that job satisfaction that brings you comfort and joy in the area of your personal finances?

  • Does it mean or could it be that you could learn a new skill or a new trade and change careers?

Financial health isn't only about being wealthy. it's about being at peace and being joyful about where you are and if you're not, what does that mean and how do you change that?

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• Relationships – When discussing relationships and bio-individuality, we can explore areas such as, how we receive love and how we give or express love. How is your communication with your partner, family members, or friends? Sometimes relationships can be healthy or unhealthy. We may feel stuck or haven't been able to allow those relationships to influence us in one way or another, positive or negative. Taking a look at how we interact with the people in our lives can affect our emotional and physical health. For example:

  • We all have people in our lives who at times present challenges. Do we endure those relationships at the cost of our own health? 

  • Bio-individuality may also mean that there are incredibly positive people in our life. Perhaps spending more time cultivating and nurturing those relationships is where we need to begin.

  • Support at home is tremendously important when venturing out on a health and wellness journey. Change can be challenging for everyone. Having those conversations will be helpful and encouraging.

Fostering and cultivating relationships in our life is essential to our health. Challenges in our relationships can cause emotional stress, possibly leading to bouts of overeating, or creating other setbacks. 

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• Education - Education is another area to be explored. We all come from various levels of education and background. How does impact our understanding, and our goals? We can look at how this impacts our health and apply bio-individuality in several areas.

  • How does this impact our finances? Financial health and education are important both from a short-term, everyday living perspective, to a long-term, “I’m going to retire in 7 years, perspective”. Therefore, asking ourselves, would acquiring another skill or degree improve financial health or cause increased debt? 

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• Spirituality - spirituality, and bio-individuality mean different things for different people. What does it mean to be spiritual? What does it mean to have a personal connection with God? This can be a personal and introspective area that can be explored in a very quiet space or it may be something that needs to be explored with someone that you love and trust.​

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To summarize, bio-individuality is what fits best for you as an individual and what brings you joy, not just in the areas of nutrition or physical activity, but in all areas of your life. Food, healthy relationships, finances, spirituality, career, and education. At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Joshua Rosenthal refers to these as primary foods. Secondary foods are what you put in your body. Primary foods or where we really can take a deep dive and look at bio-individuality may have an impact on how you feel physically, and emotionally. Exploring bio-individuality can provide clarity, self-efficacy, and balance. If you want to know more or if you want to learn to develop long-term lifestyle changes, please email or give me a call I'd love to work with you.