Upgrade Your Biology with Functional Nutrition: Why Food is More Than Just Calories

Are you aware that every time you eat, you are upgrading or downgrading your biology?

The food you consume sends signals to your body. Turning on or off genetic expression and instructing your cells on how to function. That’s why not all calories are created equal.

According to the Institute for Functional Medicine, food is more than just fuel. It’s also energy, information, and connection.

Food is energy:

Food provides energy to fuel our bodily functions, thanks to its diverse components, such as macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytonutrients. Poor-quality food can lead to disease, while high-quality food can reverse it and sustain good health.

Food is information:

Each bite sends signals to our cells, instructing them on when and how to behave. If we consume processed foods, it can turn on inflammation and lead to negative health outcomes.

Food is connection:

Food connects us to ourselves and the people around us, and we eat for many different reasons, including community, connection, and trying to recreate old memories.

For me, it’s the smell of a toasted sourdough bread with extra virgin olive oil and olives that transports me back to my hometown at the Aegean Sea.

As Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Functional Nutrition is about finding the right way for each of us to eat — using food to maximize the potential for our health and reverse disease.

Once I understood the purpose of food and how it affects my body, I began to make more mindful choices about what I eat. So, what kind of information are you sending to your cells? What does food mean to you?