Each of us has a unique function in life. This function changes as we change through the seasons. When I say function, I’m simply speaking of the dominant activity we engage in on a daily basis. This is more obvious when we talk about athletes and their specific activities for their training, but it also applies to each and everyone of us who live busy and proactive lives. This is why it’s irresponsible to simply generalize a set diet for any group of people. Each dietary and health strategy must be specific to the individual, the stage of life they are in, and what they need to get out of it for their specific activities or goals.
Understand your function in life and you will better understand the mechanics behind what you need to eat. Remember, food is fuel, and your function is your life. If you study and discover what you need to support the demands of your activity then your diet will begin to simplify over time. If you are a busy business CEO, you will most likely require foods that insulate nerve fibers, calm the heart, feed the brain, and relax the lungs. If you are a full time athlete (or weekend warrior) you will need foods that oxygenate the blood, hydrate the cells, feed glycogen (sugar) to the myoglobin (muscle-cells), and repair torn tissues.
We are dynamic individuals that do better experimenting with a wide set of options than pigeonholing ourselves in one set of rules and restrictions. When we are in a stage of detoxification, we must remove dense food options to allow the passages of the body to eliminate accumulated obstructions. When we are in a stage of anabolism (building) we must consume foods that activate growth hormone secretions and nerve insulation. By identifying which stage you are in, or desire to be in, you will have a much clearer blueprint of what nutrition is required. Study different dietary concepts without becoming attached to any one for too long. Understand that each school of thought was created based on the functionality that its particular diet proposed to enhance. Extract what is useful for you now, take notes on what may benefit you later, and leave the nonessentials for someone else to review.
Consider this excerpt from my book The Life Food Peak Performance System:
“Without a central purpose for why you eat the way you do long lasting change cannot be guaranteed. The results of your life are based on the rituals you perform. The habits you ingrain determine the results you obtain. When we move into a space of eating for your function opposed to functioning to eat a whole new world opens to us. This lesson is about precision, specification, and dialing in your focus for pin point accuracy. Diets operate within the disguise of accuracy, but based on the generalized market of information, intended to reach masses of individuals, it is a clever illusion at best.”
