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Do you want to get away from annoying diets and nutritional dictatorships? Then you should eat intuitively and pay attention to the needs of your body. We’ll explain what’s behind it and how you can do it.

Eat intuitively: That’s what it’s all about

Behind food, groceries and nutrition is a powerful lobby that influences politics, science and the media. A flood of information about healthy nutrition, unhealthy foods and fattening foods reach us every day. No wonder your head is spinning. Eating intuitively could be a way out of this vicious cycle.

Eating intuitively – or mindfully – means eating consciously. Away from the decoupling of nutrition and your own instinct, back to full body control in the sense of body awareness: When are you really full? What are you in the mood for right now? what does your body need These are probably the sticking points of the nutritional method of intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating is also traded with mental health and self-awareness. This type of diet promises a feel-good weight without dieting.

This is how you eat intuitively

Stress, commercials, frustration, depression and just the sheer overabundance of food can easily overwhelm your senses. It often doesn’t seem so easy to “simply” listen to your body and your inner voice.

To eat intuitively, you should:
build new positive patterns and discard old habits.
Observe and follow natural hunger and satiety signals.
Questioning habits/self-reflection: Ask yourself what is really good for your body.
Are you hungry or do you want to eat for other reasons (distraction, habit, environment, emotional state)?
Signals: Your stomach should not be tense, but give you a pleasant feeling of fullness.
Tips from science: switch off technical devices, collect your thoughts and focus on the meal, use your senses and taste, smell, feel. Eat slowly.
The basis for intuitive nutrition is body awareness. You can train your mindfulness in a targeted manner.

Possible difficulties and limitations of the diet

Intuitive eating initially requires discipline. In order to follow your inner voice, you must direct your attention from the outside in. Self-confidence plays a major role here – on the one hand as a prerequisite and on the other hand as a consequence of intuitive eating. This is where the limits of intuitive eating come into their own:

What about the people who suffer from eating disorders?
What about those people who suffer from other mental disorders and find it difficult to act intuitively?
How do you escape social constraints that regulate eating habits (e.g. everyday family life, work life, stress) without turning away from society?
Science, books (e.g. “Intuitive Essen” by Uwe Knop) and mental training courses deal with these questions, which want to show how you can break patterns and listen to yourself better in today’s consumer society.

Eating is a highly social and sensitive matter. In the course of individualization, everyone has to know for themselves what they like and want to eat. However, this only works in social classes that are not in precarious and starving conditions. In a way, eating intuitively is a luxury that not everyone has access to.

Intuitive eating as a recognized method?

Science also shows that eating intuitively has its limits. Studies such as “Self-compassion and intuitive eating in college women” show a direct connection between emotional or psychological state and eating habits. The above points are supported by the study. Ultimately, a stable personality and a high level of mindfulness are prerequisites for successful intuitive eating.

Nevertheless, you should not give up trying, but work on noticing your own body condition in order to feel good. At the same time, the study shows that intuitive eating made it easier for the subjects to accept themselves.

Scientifically, however, the intuitive form of nutrition has not yet been sufficiently researched. So don’t get discouraged and try it yourself. You have nothing to lose, right?

If you want to eat parsnips raw, you are faced with several questions: Is that even possible and if so, do parsnips also taste raw? We explain why you should definitely try parsnips raw and what you have to consider.

The parsnip has gone somewhat out of fashion in Germany. The root vegetable is very healthy, is in season from September to March and can be prepared in many different ways. You can prepare the parsnips in stir-fries, in the oven or in soups – or eat them raw…

Eating parsnips raw: That’s why it’s worth it

If you’ve only ever eaten parsnips cooked or fried, you should definitely try them raw. As with all vegetables, parsnips contain the most vitamins and nutrients when you eat them raw. Parsnips contain, among other things:
vitamin E and vitamin C,
Potassium,
lots of fiber,
Carbohydrates that keep you full for longer
the essential oil Apiol.
Eating parsnips raw is not only healthy, but also delicious. Even if you don’t like the unusual taste of parsnips in many dishes: Uncooked the vegetables taste more tender, milder and fresher.

Prepare raw parsnips

If you want to eat parsnips raw, look for young, small parsnips at the store. The smaller tubers are better suited to be eaten raw as they taste milder and have a thinner skin. You can also eat raw parsnips with the skin on. The leaves can also be eaten raw and, like parsley, prepared as herbs. Like carrots, parsnips don’t stay fresh for very long and quickly become limp and soft. It is best to buy them the same day you want to eat them.

Make sure that you always use organic quality parsnips and that they are locally sourced. Then they have the best ecological balance and no pesticides.

Instructions: Prepare parsnips

Scrub and wash the peel and trim off the bottom and top. Now you can use them for many dishes:
Grated in coleslaw: for example with red cabbage, cucumber, carrots and coriander.
Thinly sliced: with these delicious dips.
With a spiral cutter: as a vegan and low-calorie pasta substitute.
Tip: To prevent a dark discoloration, you can sprinkle the raw parsnips with lemon juice, which also tastes very good. Or you put the vegetables in cold water.

If you want to eat gluten-free, you have to consider a few things. In this article you will learn all about the advantages and disadvantages of a gluten-free diet.

Gluten-free diet – when it makes sense

Gluten-free nutrition seems to have become something of a trend in recent years: More and more people prefer gluten-free products because they are supposedly healthier. But is that really true?

There are people who suffer from gluten intolerance, so-called celiac disease. Your stomach cannot process the gluten found in many grains. That’s why they get sick if they eat too much of it. If you suspect that you do not tolerate gluten well, you should check with a doctor. Without a diagnosis, you shouldn’t just completely avoid gluten-containing products.

Signs of gluten intolerance can include the following:
stomach pain
gas
diarrhea or constipation
headache
drowsiness and tiredness
You also have to distinguish between a real intolerance, i.e. celiac disease, the so-called gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy. These three variants are considered to be three different clinical pictures.

Gluten and the different forms of allergies

Gluten is a protein found in many grains. When it comes into contact with water, it becomes sticky – that’s why it’s also called “glue protein”. When baking, it binds the individual ingredients into a smooth dough.

Gluten is contained, for example, in:
Wheat
rye
Spelt
barley
Oats (not in all varieties)
Anyone with true celiac disease who eats gluten suffers an autoimmune reaction that attacks the lining of the gut. The immune system reacts to the gluten with too many antibodies, which damage the small intestine and even the whole body in the long run. Therefore, sufferers of true celiac disease should make absolutely sure that they do not eat any gluten.

In the case of a gluten sensitivity, the immune system is not attacked. The body only reacts negatively to the intake with the symptoms mentioned. Those affected have to find out for themselves what types of grains and what amounts of gluten their own bodies can tolerate.

In the case of a wheat allergy, the body only reacts allergically to the protein contained in wheat. Other gluten-containing grains can usually be consumed by those affected without hesitation.

The pros and cons of a gluten-free diet

If your doctor has diagnosed you with an intolerance, then it makes sense to avoid certain foods. If you change your diet, you will feel noticeably healthier after just a few weeks of eating gluten-free.

There are now many gluten-free alternatives in the supermarkets. These are labeled as gluten free. You can also find gluten-free alternatives in many restaurants.

If you don’t have an intolerance and just want to avoid gluten, you might want to reconsider your decision. There is no evidence that eating gluten is harmful to healthy people. Gluten-free nutrition is also hardly suitable for losing weight or as a diet.

In gluten-free products, the lack of gluten is often replaced by more fat and sugar. The food therefore often contains even more calories and fewer good nutrients. So eating gluten-free is not healthier per se.

Gluten-free food – you can enjoy it without hesitation

At first, it may feel like you can’t eat anything at all if you have to give up gluten. But that’s not the case! There are many delicious alternatives that you can use to replace gluten-containing foods.

If you like to bake yourself, you can simply use gluten-free flour in the future.

In principle, you can also prepare everything that you can bake with wheat flour as a gluten-free alternative. While these alternatives taste a little different and may have an unfamiliar texture, you’ll soon find that they’re still very tasty. If you like to eat bread, you can easily bake gluten-free bread yourself.

There are also many gluten-free alternatives for your breakfast. For example, you can eat gluten-free rolls, porridge made from gluten-free oats or scrambled eggs.

After intestinal diseases it is sometimes necessary to resort to low-fiber foods. This allows the digestive system to recover more easily. Here you can find out which low-fiber products are particularly suitable.

Low-fiber foods should be the exception rather than the rule, because fiber is fundamentally the basis of any healthy diet. This is because fiber is essential for a healthy digestive system as it stimulates bowel movements.

When are low-fiber foods useful?

With certain complaints and illnesses, the gastrointestinal tract is so overwhelmed that high-fiber food can have a negative effect on digestion. This applies, for example, to gastrointestinal infections and many other diseases of the digestive tract, but also after certain operations. The digestive system is often so weak at first that you have no appetite and do not eat any solid food for a few days. Especially after such days, you should slowly get your intestines used to solid food.

In such situations, high-fiber foods would be out of place and would likely lead to bloating and stomach cramps. You should now resort to so-called “light foods”, i.e. foods that contain little fiber and are easy to digest. You should also make sure you drink enough fluids. It is best to use warm water or herbal teas.

Low-fiber foods: list

You should now avoid foods such as legumes, whole grain products and raw vegetables in particular. Suitable foods are e.g.:
White bread or rolls
mixed bread
zwieback
Noodles (not whole grain!)
white rice
Cornflakes (not whole grain)
bananas
stewed fruit
applesauce
Potatoes (without skin)
carrots (cooked)
Cucumbers (peeled, seedless)
zucchini
tomatoes
eggs
Dairy products
Vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower, olive and rapeseed oil)
butter

Animal products are low in fiber – but not recommended

In general, all animal products are very low in fiber. As part of a light diet, however, you should only include them in moderation or eliminate them completely, as they are often difficult to digest due to their fat content. In addition, meat and fish are anything but sustainable and should therefore only rarely be on the menu, if at all.

You should only use vegetable oils very sparingly and, for example, only add one or two teaspoons to your potato and carrot puree. Because fats are difficult to digest. If you would like to eat fruit, you should steam or boil it (except for bananas) in some fruit juice beforehand. Alternatively, you can use applesauce or other fruit puree – this is more digestible.