The internet is a wonderful tool.  I often wonder how in the world we were able to survive without it 20 odd years ago.  It provides a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, and we can find the answer to almost any question with the stroke of a key.  Unfortunately, while the web has a lot of solid information about various topics, it also has a vast amount of bogus information.  This is markedly evident when looking for answers to nutrition questions.  I can’t tell you how many clients (as well as many of my friends and family), tell me about the latest diet or miracle food that they found out about online. Inevitably, there is very little truth to these food myths.

Here are some examples of the misinformation one can find online:

• Carbohydrates make you fat/gain weight.
• Bananas are not as nutritious as other fruits.
• Foods that are high in dietary cholesterol cause high blood cholesterol.
• Foods that contain fat will make you fat.

Given our thirst for immediate information, many of us turn to the web to help us figure out what is true and false.  The problem is that these diet myths are almost always written by individuals who are not nutrition professionals.  What is truly scary is that nutrition information is not policed on the internet.  Anyone can write almost anything and call it truth, and then millions of people can read it and be misinformed.

The moral of the story?  Don’t believe everything you read online about nutrition!  Unless the person writing it is a registered dietitian and has peer-reviewed, valid research to back it up, it is very likely that this nutrition information is false.  If you have questions about what foods will make you healthier, talk to your friendly registered dietitian, as he or she has been trained in nutrition and is qualified to answer your questions.  Be a savvy internet-user, and don’t believe the hype!

Intuitive eating, the practice of eating when you are hungry, stopping when you are satiated, and honoring your body’s innate wisdom, seems like such a simple concept, but it can be very difficult for many of us to practice.  When we were little, we knew when we were hungry. As babies and toddlers, when we would feel physical hunger, we would ask for food.  Likewise, when we had had enough food, we would push it away.

But somewhere along the way, many of us began to tune out our bodies’ hunger and fullness signals. Maybe your parents insisted that you “clean your plate” at dinner, pushing you past your feelings of fullness or perhaps you learned to ignore your hunger cues and skipped a meal because it wasn’t “time to eat” yet.  Or maybe you’ve been bombarded by the media’s messages about dieting and how eating less and especially not eating even if you are hungry are the keys to weight loss. Over time, as we continue to ignore our bodies’ signals, we begin to not recognize them anymore.

The majority of my patients look at me with complete disbelief that they would ever be able to regain their hunger and fullness cues again and trust their bodies to tell them when and how much to eat.  But, with practice, many of my patients soon realize that they recognize what it feels like to be hungry before a meal and how much food it takes them to feel physically satisfied.  It takes time and patience, but eventually you can begin to trust your body to tell you what it needs.

Intuitive eating does not happen overnight, and it takes a lot of time to “unlearn” certain habits and behaviors, such as skipping meals or cleaning one’s plate regardless of hunger or fullness. But when you learn to trust your body’s innate wisdom and be kind to yourself, you will be amazed at the progress you make.