Intuitive Eating Might Not Be What You Think

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In our recent Expert Insights main features, we’ve looked at two fairly opposing schools of thought when it comes to managing what we eat.

First we looked at:

What Flexible Dieting Really Means

…and the notion of doing things imperfectly for greater sustainability, and reducing the cognitive load of dieting by measuring only the things that are necessary.

And then in opposition to that,

What Are The “Bright Lines” Of Bright Line Eating?

…and the notion of doing things perfectly so as to not go astray, and reducing the cognitive load of dieting by having hard-and-fast rules that one does not second-guess or reconsider later when hungry.

Today we’re going to look at Intuitive Eating, and what it does and doesn’t mean.

Intuitive Eating does mean paying attention to hunger signals (each way)

Intuitive Eating means listening to one’s body, and responding to hunger signals, whether those signals are saying “time to eat” or “time to stop”.

A common recommendation is to “check in” with one’s body several times per meal, reflecting on such questions as:

  • Do I have hunger pangs? Would I seek food now if I weren’t already at the table?
  • If I hadn’t made more food than I’ve already eaten so far, would that have been enough, or would I have to look for something else to eat?
  • Am I craving any of the foods that are still before me? Which one(s)?
  • How much “room” do I feel I still have, really? Am I still in the comfort zone, and/or am I about to pass into having overeaten?
  • Am I eating for pleasure only at this point? (This is not inherently bad, by the way—it’s ok to have a little more just for pleasure! But it is good to note that this is the reason we’re eating, and take it as a cue to slow down and remember to eat mindfully, and enjoy every bite)
  • Have I, in fact, passed the point of pleasure, and I’m just eating because it’s in front of me, or so as to “not be wasteful”?

See also: Interoception: Improving Our Awareness Of Body Cues

And for that matter: Mindful Eating: How To Get More Out Of What’s On Your Plate

Intuitive Eating is not “80:20”

When it comes to food, the 80:20 rule is the idea of having 80% of one’s diet healthy, and the other 20% “free”, not necessarily unhealthy, but certainly not moderated either.

Do you know what else the 80:20 food rule is?

A food rule.

Intuitive Eating doesn’t do those.

The problem with food rules is that they can get us into the sorts of problems described in the studies showing how flexible dieting generally works better than rigid dieting.

Suddenly, what should have been our free-eating 20% becomes “wait, is this still 20%, or have I now eaten so much compared to the healthy food, that I’m at 110% for my overall food consumption today?”

Then one gets into “Well, I’ve already failed to do 80:20 today, so I’ll try again tomorrow [and binge meanwhile, since today is already written off]”

See also: Eating Disorders: More Varied (And Prevalent) Than People Think

It’s not “eat anything, anytime”, either

Intuitive Eating is about listening to your body, and your brain is also part of your body.

  • If your body is saying “give me sugar”, your brain might add the information “fruit is healthier than candy”.
  • If your body is saying “give me fat”, your brain might add the information “nuts are healthier than fried food”
  • If your body is saying “give me salt”, your brain might add the information “kimchi is healthier than potato chips”

That doesn’t mean you have to swear off candy, fried food, or potato chips.

But it does mean that you might try satisfying your craving with the healthier option first, giving yourself permission to have the less healthy option afterwards if you still want it (you probably won’t).

See also:

I want to eat healthily. So why do I crave sugar, salt and carbs?

Want to know more about Intuitive Eating?

You might like this book that we reviewed previously:

Intuitive Eating – by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Enjoy!

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  • Your Brain Is Always Listening – by Dr. Daniel Amen
    Discover the unique approach of Dr. Amen’s CBT book, exploring the neurological side and using real case studies to provide tangible solutions for everyday life.

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  • Vitamin B6 is essential – but too much can be toxic. Here’s what to know to stay safe

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    In recent weeks, reports have been circulating about severe reactions in people who’ve taken over-the-counter vitamin B6 supplements.

    Vitamin B6 poisoning can injure nerves and lead to symptoms including numbness, tingling and even trouble walking and moving.

    In some cases, those affected didn’t know the product contained any vitamin B6.

    So what is vitamin B6, where is it found and how much is too much? Here’s what you need to know about this essential nutrient.

    Kim Kuperkova/Shutterstock

    What is vitamin B6?

    Vitamin B6 (also known as pyridoxine) is a group of six compounds that share a similar chemical structure.

    It is an essential nutrient, meaning we need it for normal body functions, but we can’t produce it ourselves.

    Adults aged 19–50 need 1.3mg of vitamin B6 per day. The recommended dose is lower for teens and children, and higher for those aged 51 and over (1.7mg for men and 1.5mg for women) and people who are breastfeeding or pregnant (1.9mg).

    Most of us get this in our diet – largely from animal products, including meat, dairy and eggs.

    The vitamin is also available in a range of different plant foods, including spinach, kale, bananas and potatoes, so deficiency is rare, even for vegetarians and vegans.

    The vitamin B6 we consume in the diet is inactive, meaning the body can’t use it. To activate B6, the liver transforms it into a compound called pyridoxal-5’-phosphate (PLP).

    In this form, vitamin B6 helps the body with more than 140 cellular functions, including building and breaking down proteins, producing red blood cells, regulating blood sugar and supporting brain function.

    Vitamin B6 is important for overall health and has also been associated with reduced cancer risk and inflammation.

    Despite being readily available in the diet, vitamin B6 is also widely included in various supplements, multivitamins and other products, such as Berocca and energy drinks.

    An array of vitamin-rich B6 foods including salmon, avocado, potatoes, spinach, chickpeas, banana and chicken.
    Most people get enough vitamin B6 from their diet. Tatjana Baibakova/Shutterstock

    Should we be worried about toxicity?

    Vitamin B6 toxicity is extremely rare. It almost never occurs from dietary intake alone, unless there is a genetic disorders or disease that stops nutrient absorption (such as coeliac disease).

    This is because all eight vitamins in the B group are water-soluble. If you consume more of the vitamin than your body needs, it can be excreted readily and harmlessly in your urine.

    However, in some rare cases, excessive vitamin B6 accumulates in the blood, resulting in a condition called peripheral neuropathy. We’re still not sure why this occurs in some people but not others.

    Peripheral neuropathy occurs when the sensory nerves – those outside our brain and spinal cord that send information to the central nervous system – are damaged and unable to function. This can be caused by a wide range of diseases (and is most well known in type 2 diabetes).

    The most common symptoms are numbness and tingling, though in some cases patients may experience difficulty with balance or walking.

    We don’t know exactly how excess vitamin B6 causes peripheral neuropathy, but it is thought to interfere with how the neurotransmitter GABA sends signals to the sensory nerves.

    Vitamin B6 can cause permanent damage to nerves. Studies have shown symptoms improved when the person stopped taking the supplement, although they didn’t completely resolve.

    What is considered excessive? And has this changed?

    Toxicity usually occurs only when people take supplements with high doses of B6.

    Until 2022, only products with more than 50mg of vitamin B6 were required to display a warning about peripheral neuropathy. But the Therapeutic Goods Administration lowered this and now requires any product containing more than 10mg of vitamin B6 to carry a warning.

    The Therapeutic Goods Administration has also halved the daily upper limit of vitamin B6 a product can provide – from 200mg to 100mg.

    These changes followed a review by the administration, after receiving 32 reports of peripheral neuropathy in people taking supplements. Two thirds of these people were taking less than 50mg of vitamin B6.

    The Therapeutic Goods Administration acknowledges the risk varies between individuals and a lot is unknown. Its review could not identify a minimum dose, duration of use or patient risk factors.

    But I thought B vitamins were good for me?

    Too much of anything can cause problems.

    The updated guidelines are likely to significantly lower the risk of toxicity. They also make consumers more aware of which products contain B6, and the risks.

    The Therapeutic Goods Administration will continue to monitor evidence and revise guidelines if necessary.

    While vitamin B6 toxicity remains very rare, there are still many questions about why some people get peripheral neuropathy with lower dose supplements.

    It could be that some specific vitamin B compounds have a stronger effect, or some people may have genetic vulnerabilities or diseases which put them at higher risk.

    So what should I do?

    Most people don’t need to actively seek vitamin B6 in supplements.

    However, many reports to the Therapeutic Goods Administration were of vitamin B6 being added to supplements labelled as magnesium or zinc – and some weren’t aware they were consuming it.

    It is important to always check the label if you are taking a new medicine or supplement, especially if it hasn’t been explicitly prescribed by a health-care professional.

    Be particularly cautious if you are taking multiple supplements. While one multivitamin is unlikely to cause an issue, adding a magnesium supplement for cramping, or a zinc supplement for cold and flu symptoms, may cause an excessive vitamin B6 dose over time, and increase your risk.

    Importantly, pay attention to symptoms that may indicate peripheral neuropathy, such as pins and needles, numbness, or pain in the feet or hands, if you do change or add a supplement.

    Most importantly, if you need advice, you should talk to your doctor, dietitian or pharmacist.

    Vasso Apostolopoulos, Distinguished Professor, Professor of Immunology, RMIT University and Jack Feehan, Vice Chancellors Senior Research Fellow in Immunology, RMIT University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Visceral Belly Fat & How To Lose It

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    Visceral Belly Fat & How To Lose It

    We’ve talked before about how waist circumference is a much more useful indicator of metabolic health than BMI.

    So, let’s say you’ve a bit more around the middle than you’d like, but it stubbornly stays there. What’s going on underneath what you can see, why is it going on, and how can you get it to change?

    What is visceral fat?

    First, let’s talk about subcutaneous fat. That’s the fat directly under your skin. Women usually have more than men, and that’s perfectly healthy (up to a point); it’s supposed to be that way. We (women) will tend to accumulate this mostly in places such as our breasts, hips, and butt, and work outwards from there. Men will tend to put it on more to the belly and face.

    Side-note: if you’re undergoing (untreated) menopause, the changes in your hormone levels will tend to result in more subcutaneous fat to the belly and face too. That’s normal, and/but normal is not always good, and treatment options are great (with hormone replacement therapy, HRT, topping the list).

    Visceral fat (also called visceral adipose tissue), on the other hand, is the fat of the viscera—the internal organs of the abdomen.

    So, this is fat that goes under your abdominal muscles—you can’t squeeze this (directly).

    So what can we do?

    Famously “you can’t do spot reduction” (lose fat from a particular part of your body by focusing exercises on that area), but that’s about subcutaneous fat. There are things you can do that will reduce your visceral fat in particular.

    Some of these advices you may think “that’s just good advice for losing fat in general” and it is, yes. But these are things that have the biggest impact on visceral fat.

    Cut alcohol use

    This is the biggie. By numerous mechanisms, some of which we’ve talked about before, alcohol causes weight gain in general yes, but especially for visceral fat.

    Get better sleep

    You might think that hitting the gym is most important, but this one ranks higher. Yes, you can trim visceral fat without leaving your bed (and even without getting athletic in bed, for that matter). Not convinced?

    So, the verdict is clear: you snooze, you lose (visceral fat)!

    Tweak your diet

    You don’t have to do a complete overhaul (unless you want to), but a few changes can make a big difference, especially:

    If you’d like to learn more and enjoy videos, here’s an informative one to get you going!

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

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  • The Epigenetics Revolution – by Dr. Nessa Carey

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    If you enjoyed the book “Inheritance” that we reviewed a couple of days ago, you might love this as a “next read” book. But you can also just dive straight in here, if you like!

    This one, as the title suggests, focuses entirely on epigenetics—how our life events can shape our genetic expression, and that of our descendants. Or to look at it in the other direction, how our genetic expression can be shaped by the life experiences of, for example, our grandparents.

    The style of this book is very much pop-science, but contains a lot of information from hard science throughout. We learn not just about longitudinal population studies as one might expect, but also about the intricacies of DNA methylation and histone modifications, for example.

    Depending on your outlook, you may find some of this very bleak (“great, I am shackled by what my grandparents did”) or very optimism-inducing (“oh wow, I’m not nearly so constrained by genetics as I thought; this stuff is so malleable!”). This is also the same author who wrote “Hacking The Code of Life“, by the way, but we’ll review that another day.

    Bottom line: this book is the best one-shot primer on epigenetics that this reviewer has read (you may be wondering how many that is, and the answer is… about seven or so? I’m not good at counting).

    Click here to check out The Epigenetics Revolution, and learn how dynamic you really are!

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Related Posts

  • Make Your Vegetables Work Better Nutritionally
  • If You’re Not Flexible, These Are The Only 3 Stretches You Need, To Fix That

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    If you can’t put your leg behind your head while standing, try doing the splits against a wall first, and progress from there! ← text version of an item from a “if you can’t do this yet, try this first” picture set this writer saw on Instagram once upon a time

    So, what if you’re more at the point of not quite being able to touch your toes yet?

    From zero to…

    Liv, of LivInLeggings fame, has these three starter-stretches that are actually starter-stretches:

    Stretch 1: Reverse Tabletop with Foot Tuck Variation

    1. Sit on the floor, feet slightly wider than your hips, lean back onto your hands (fingertips pointing outward).
    2. Lift your hips towards a reverse tabletop, engage your glutes, and flatten the front of your hips.
    3. Add a foot tuck variation by stepping one foot back and pressing your weight forward.

    Benefits:

    • Stretches multiple muscles, including the soles of the feet.
    • Improves foot arches, balance, and stability.
    • Loosens fascia, enhancing flexibility in subsequent stretches.

    Stretch 2: Squat to Forward Fold

    1. Start in a low squat (feet wider than your hips, toes mostly forward).
    2. Alternate between a low squat and a forward fold, keeping your hands on the floor or your toes.

    Benefits:

    • Stretches hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
    • Maintains good form and avoids overstraining.

    Stretch 3: Side Lunge with Side Body Reach

    1. Begin in a tall kneeling position, step one foot out to the side (toes pointing outward).
    2. Lunge your hips towards your front ankle, keeping your tailbone tucked.
    3. Add a side body reach by resting your forearm on your thigh and reaching the other arm overhead.
    4. For a deeper stretch, cradle the back of your head with your hand, pressing lightly for a tricep stretch.

    Benefits:

    • Stretches inner thighs, lats, and triceps.
    • Improves posture, shoulder mobility, and low squat ability.

    For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Test For Whether You Will Be Able To Achieve The Splits

    Take care!

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  • Heavy Metal Detox In A Pill?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    We have previous discussed assorted approaches to “detoxing”:

    Detox: What’s Real, What’s Not, What’s Useful, What’s Dangerous?

    Today we’re going to be looking at one we didn’t cover there, which is zeolite.

    What is zeolite?

    Zeolite is a mineral that occurs naturally and can also be synthesized, and it’s famous for absorbing other stuff from around it. Because of this property, it’s used in many things, including:

    • Petrochemical catalysis
    • Water treatment
    • Nuclear waste reprocessing
    • Cat litter
    • Supplements (for detox purposes)

    That’s, uh… An interesting list, isn’t it? So, we were curious as to whether this mineral that’s also used in fish tank filters is, in fact, overpriced gravel being sold to the gullible as a health supplement.

    We had to do some digging on this one

    Our journey didn’t start well, with this very dubious-looking paper being cited by a company selling zeolite supplements:

    MasterPeace™ Zeolite Z™ Pilot Study Found to be Safe and Effective in Removing Nano and Micro Toxic Forever Chemicals, Heavy Metals, Micro Plastics and Graphene and Aluminum Found in the Human Body Cells and Fluids

    This immediately prompted two questions:

    1. Who is eating graphene?!* That stuff does not occur in nature (or at least; it hasn’t ever been found; the universe is a big place so it might exist elsewhere), has only relatively recently been synthesized, is very difficult to produce, is two-dimensional while being hard as diamonds, and exists only in truly tiny lab-made quantities worldwide. It would be orders of magnitude easier to find and eat uranium.
    2. Is this a reputable journal? Which question was easier to answer than the former one, and the answer is “no”; we hadn’t heard of this journal (ACTA Scientific), and neither it seems had most of the Internet, but we did find it on a list of predatory journals, here.

    *The citation given in the above paper should by rights answer the question of who is eating graphene, since by rights they must have demonstrated it somehow, but it just doesn’t. Instead, it links to what it claims is a paper titled “Oxygenated Zeolite (Clinoptilite) Efficiently Removes Aluminum & Graphene Oxide”, but is in reality just someone’s blog post with a screenshot of an actual paper entitled “Novel, oxygenated clinoptilolite material efficiently removes aluminium from aluminium chloride-intoxicated rats in vivo”). Looking up this real paper in its real journal, it does not mention graphene.

    All this to say: sometimes, unscrupulous people will just plain lie to you, which is why peer review is important, as is sourcing data from reputable journals. Which is what we do for you so that you don’t have to 🙂

    It does, actually, work though (for heavy metal detox)

    Notwithstanding the aforementioned bunk, we found this from a more reputable publisher:

    ❝In this study, we have presented clinical evidence supporting the use of an activated clinoptilolite (zeolite) suspension to safely and effectively increase the urinary excretion of potentially toxic heavy metals in healthy volunteers without negatively impacting the electrolyte profiles of the participants.

    Significant increases in the urinary excretion of aluminum, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel and tin were observed in the subjects participating in the two study groups as compared to placebo controls.❞

    Source: Clinical evidence supporting the use of an activated clinoptilolite suspension as an agent to increase urinary excretion of toxic heavy metals

    Also good for the gut and against inflammation

    Specifically, it’s good for gut barrier integrity, i.e., against “leaky gut syndrome”:

    ❝Twelve weeks of zeolite supplementation exerted beneficial effects on intestinal wall integrity as indicated via decreased concentrations of the tight junction modulator zonulin.

    This was accompanied by mild anti-inflammatory effects in this cohort of aerobically trained subjects.❞

    Source: Effects of zeolite supplementation on parameters of intestinal barrier integrity, inflammation, redoxbiology and performance in aerobically trained subjects

    May also be good against neurodegenerative diseases

    If it is (which is plausible), it’ll probably because of removing heavy metals and improving gut barrier integrity—in other words, the things we just looked at in the two reputable peer-reviewed studies we examined above.

    But the science is young for this one; here’s the current state of things:

    Zeolite and Neurodegenerative Diseases

    Is it safe?

    Safety reviews have found it to be safe, for example:

    Critical Review on Zeolite Clinoptilolite Safety and Medical Applications in vivo

    However, if you are taking regular medications, we recommend checking with your pharmacist or doctor to ensure that zeolite will not also remove those medications from your system!

    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon 😎

    Enjoy!

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  • How To Reduce Cortisol Levels Naturally

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Cortisol is a hormone that is important for us (we’d struggle to get up in the morning without it, for a start), but in this modern world we often have too much of it, too much of the time. How can we rebalance it? Dr. Mindy Pelz explains:

    Lifestyle adjustments

    A note in advance: the video makes frequent reference to things that “spike cortisol levels”, but this is probably intended as a stand-in for “raise cortisol levels”. Because, unlike for some things, in the case of cortisol, spikes aren’t usually a problem (indeed, they can be beneficial, and this is a large part of why cold showers and ice baths can be healthy; it’s an artificially induced cortisol spike, and this hormesis has an assortment of healthy benefits, each related to improving our body’s ability to switch quickly between states as appropriate); rather, it’s chronically high cortisol levels that are the problem. However, the video discusses things that can increase resting cortisol levels, so where she says “spike”, we suggest to read “raise”.

    Dr. Pelz, an advocate of intermittent fasting, mentions that done incorrectly and/or for the same way for too long, fasting can raise cortisol levels and thus sabotage our efforts—so varying our fasting style can help avoid that. For example, 16:8, 5:2, longer fasts less frequently, etc.

    On the topic of food, she also warns us of the dangers of ultra-processed food, harmful oils, and foods with added sugar, as these can all raise cortisol levels.

    When it comes to exercise, she notes that intense exercise without adequate recovery can raise cortisol levels, so again it’s good to mix up one’s methods, vary one’s exercise routine, and allow each well-worked muscle-group adequate rest afterwards.

    Dr. Pelz also talks mindset, and has her own interesting way of framing the well-established science that chronic stress means chronically high stress hormone (cortisol) levels; Dr. Pelz prefers to see it as negative vs positive thoughts, environments, etc.

    Any discussion of cortisol management would be incomplete without discussing the importance of good quality sleep. Dr. Pelz doesn’t mention this at all in her video, but it’s important to bear in mind too!

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Lower Your Cortisol! (Here’s Why & How)

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

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