Have you noticed that an extra large portion of our collective conversation around nutrition is driven by our love for the exaggerated excitement of “what’s new” – the latest miraculous supplement for limitless energy, the hottest diet that guarantees fat-free glamour, or the next breakthrough food that defies disease and attracts your perfect mate? We expect quite a bit from food, and perhaps rightly so. But is there really anything new worth getting excited over? Are any of the breakthrough pills, foods or gizmos truly delivering on their promise? If we gaze honestly and compassionately at the illness, obesity and unhappiness surrounding us, the answer appears to be a poignant “no.” We’ve looked to the science of nutrition to lead us into the promised land of milk and honey, but upon arrival we’ve been told “don’t drink the milk” and “don’t eat the honey.” And to make things more confusing for eaters everywhere, our nutrition experts are ceaselessly engaged in a war over who holds the key to the kingdom called “The Right Way to Eat.”

Fortunately, things are changing. There really is something new in nutrition. In fact, a quiet revolution has rolled onto the landscape of the nutrition field, the kind of which is born of an honesty and light of truth that simply can’t be stopped. It’s causing a transformation in the way we nourish ourselves. This “something new” is simply this:

A deep understanding of the psychology of eating.

Meaning, an approach to food and health that embraces all of who we are as eaters – body, mind, heart, soul, spirit and planet.

Such a model of nutrition affirms that each of us is emotionally AND biochemically unique, that there’s no “one size fits all” in the diet business, and that every nutritional system or expert has at least one nugget of wisdom to offer us. In other words, what’s good for the Okinawans, the French, the Mediterraneans, the Hunzas, the Paleolithics, or the bikini-clad inhabitants of South Beach isn’t necessarily what’s good for us. Just take the nugget of truth that works for you, and that works for the people you love and serve.

Most importantly perhaps, the psychology of eating acknowledges what we’ve known all along and deep inside – that human beings are more than just a collection of chemicals, and food is more than the sum total of its’ vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients. When it comes to eating, we are creatures of life, love, pleasure, community and celebration. And our metabolism is driven not only by the chemistry of our cells, but by the depth of our psyche, the stories of our heart, and our dreams for the world.

The Institute for the Psychology of Eating is the nesting ground for this new paradigm of nutritional and emotional health. It’s the power spot where a fresh vision of our relationship with food is being birthed into practical, real world manifestation. The Institute is filling a huge void. The results are seen in students and graduates who are inspired about their work and fueled by the inner knowing that they are nutritional innovators sharing a special gift with the world.

Eating Psychology is the future of nutrition, and the future is now.

If this speaks to you, then consider yourself a vital, irreplaceable part of it. Each one of us holds a nutritional secret that’s never been seen before. Are you ready to discover and share it?

The Institute for the Psychology of Eating has faced head-on the greatest challenge in the field of nutrition today – the severe, long-term deficiency of vitamin L – love, and vitamin S – soul. For too many years, the psychological and spiritual dimensions of eating have been banished from the table. As a result, we’ve suffered from simplistic and ineffective nutritional strategies such as “eat less and exercise more” or “eat this, don’t eat that.” We’ve given our power away to outside authorities, to punishing forms of diet and fitness, and to impossible standards of health and beauty. It’s time for the kind of nutrition education that truly nourishes.

So let’s continue to discover the cellular mysteries of the body. Let’s move forward and identify the nutrients that heal, the foods that nourish, and the chemistry that kills. Let’s make functional foods, nutraceuticals, and standardized botanical concentrates. But let’s also leave lots of room for a hearty meal. For pleasure and relaxed fare. For quality, and not just mass-produced bottom line quantity. Let’s leave as much room for the cake as we do for the carrot juice. Let’s look with as much concern to the soil as we do to the ingredient label on our cereal box. And for those in our charge, let’s look to help them gain life before we coax them to lose weight.

If you’re any type of health or helping professional, you’ve chosen a beautiful and special path.

Congratulations. And if you’re interested in the unique education that the Institute for the Psychology of Eating offers, please learn more about us. Either way, it’s now your task to liberate yourself from the kind of negative inner dialogue where you judge your own health, weight, and way of eating and living in the world. By embarking on such a journey, you’ll learn how to help others even more.

Please remember to honor your inner knowing. Respect your gift. Stop feeding your imperfections so much time and energy. You don’t need to be perfect to help people. Your task is not to learn to fix anyone. Just be real, be honest, be compassionate, and be you. Accept where you are with graceful loving courage, and your success is assured. Your gift to the world is your own journey in all its’ fullness. Go out and share it as if it were the best meal on Earth.

I would love to hear from you. Do you see the field of nutrition headed in a new or nourishing direction? Feel free to share your thoughts.

My warmest regards,

Marc David

Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating , www.thepsychologyofeating.com