By Sarah Pugh

The Dieticians of Canada have proclaimed March as Nutrition Month, “in celebration of healthy eating”. It never hurts to set some time aside to think about nutrition but many people avoid it because they think “healthy eating” means salads, brown rice and broccoli.

It's easier, and more appealing, to think of healthy eating as eating in a way that is comfortable for your entire being. That means eating food you like, that your body functions well on, and that your soul can live with.

Few people need to be told to eat foods they like. But figuring out what foods your body functions well on is more difficult. While the Canada Food Guide's pyramid dictates that you ought to be eating 6-8 servings of grain products daily, some people find that they don't tolerate grains well. The symptoms can range from full-blown celiac disease to mild bloating or gas. If you're one of those people, don't stress – a healthy diet is completely possible without grains. In fact, up until about 10,000 years ago, it was entirely the norm and there are virtually no nutrients in grains that aren't present in equal or higher quantities in other foods. The same goes for dairy – if you find a glass of milk or a chunk of cheese gives you an upset tummy or gas, that's ok. You can get plenty of calcium from little bony fish (like anchovies or sardines), leafy greens, or broths made from animal bones.

Other foods that are generally considered healthy may cause problems in individuals, and often these are difficult to track down. This is why it's a good idea to spend some time – say, Nutrition Month – figuring out what your body likes or doesn't like. Just pay close attention to what you eat and how you feel an hour after, five hours after, a day after. If you suspect something is causing you difficulties, eliminate it from your diet for two weeks and see how you feel. Figuring out what works for your soul is easier, but requires some work. We hear a lot about how our current food production systems are unsustainable and causing environmental damage in and of themselves, or by way of their carbon footprint. Many people have ethical concerns about how the animals we consume are treated, some cannot bear that they are killed at all. Some people try very hard not to think about where their food comes from at all because the implications can be overwhelming.

It's entirely possible to make over your food to be more in line with your ethics, but the best way to do it is a little bit at a time, learning as you go. One way to do this is to move from industrialy grown vegetables, meat and dairy to organic, then to local. You may find that for every deprivation you thought you'd encounter (no tomatoes in January – how could you cope???) you'll find a joy you never knew existed – like the first bite of a juicy, real tomato after months without. (Or the delight on your child's face with the first juicy blueberry of the season.) Local foods are almost always a better environmental choice, although you might have to do some thinking about local agriculture that uses a lot of “inputs”, like hothouse operations or chickens and dairy cows kept in barns.

In Victoria, it's possible to eat almost entirely locally, although winter does involve a lot of kale and parsnips. Unfortunately, most of our chain grocery stores are unable to provide much local produce or meat because of the volumes they require from suppliers and the approval processes suppliers must go through. Smaller stores, like Ambrosio Market on Menzies St., do carry local produce, eggs, chickens and turkeys. At the moment there isn't much in the way of vegetables since most local farmers lost almost all their above-ground crops in the December snow. But come late March or early April, you'll start to see more.

Local foods can also connect you to your food on a deeper level because it's possible to meet the people and the land where they grew. Eating locally provides another level of nourishment – stories and background to your food. It's nice to feel comfortable with your dinner.

If you can't find local, it helps to ask questions about what you buy and make sure that whatever you're eating was produced in a way that you're comfortable with. Some questions to keep in mind are, if you're eating packaged food, were any of the plant ingredients from genetically modified organisms? If you're eating meat or dairy products, how were the animals treated? Were they dosed with antibiotics or hormones? Were they caged, in a barn, or pastured? What were they fed? (Contrary to what you might think from the labels on meat packages, “grain-fed” is not ideal for beef, chicken, lamb or pork – these animals are healthier and happier on pasture. Grain-fed is, however, better than being fed a mash of surplus breakfast cereal mixed with animal parts.)

When it comes right down to it, the foods that are best for our souls – organic, local pastured meat and dairy, grains and vegetables – are also best for our bodies. Organic vegetables contain more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than industrially grown produce, and grass-fed beef has less fat and less saturated fat than grain-fed. The real trade-off, unfortunately, is cost. This can be mitigated somewhat by eating more modestly, eating smaller portions of meat, more vegetables (local vegetables are frequently less costly, or no more costly, than imported ones), and eating less packaged food. When you need a wee treat – and who doesn't, now and then? - something small of high quality will be more satisfying than a huge bag of chips or doughnuts.

Eating isn't just about feeding your body. Nutrition is important, but it's only part of the story, and everything from your taste buds to your wallet to your soul needs to be given a say. This might seem like making the simple act of eating needlessly complicated but it's a complexity that we ignore at our peril. We are complex organisms living in a complex environment.

So this month, rather than focusing on adhering to the Canada Food guide or paying attention to micronutrients like specific vitamins or minerals (and buying heavily packaged, processed foods with elaborate health claims on the wrapper), concentrate on listening to your body, learning about your food, asking questions when you shop, and thinking about what it is you enjoy about eating. In the end, health is as much about happiness and contentment as it is about nutrition.