Learning to Nourish: Body & Brain

From early on, food wasn’t neutral in my life. It has often been either medicine or poison. Recently I’ve been exploring my relationship with food again—a spiraling pattern in my life that returns and expands, again and again, to nourishment as a place of repair, reconnection and learning.

A few of the books I have read recently on brain and gut repair and the deeply nourishing necessity of healthy fats.

A short story: at six years old, I began blacking out. The first time I remember, I was standing in the bathroom while my mom braided my hair—and then I woke up on the floor. This began in the shadow of my older brother’s sudden death just a year earlier. What followed were a couple of years of illness, multiple food reactions, and heightened sensory sensitivities (especially to sound)—my body communicating long before I had the knowledge and language to understand it. Deep thanks to my ever-curious mom who took me to specialists, got my blood tested, and learned I had chronic mononucleosis - for two years - and then adjusted my diet to only include foods that did not cause reactivity. 

What we often call burnout (a theme to be explored more here soon) has been a recurring theme in my life, always accompanied by returning and sometimes new health issues. And when I’ve been able to listen rather than override the signals, those moments have become portals for inquiry, healing, and growth. I’m beginning to share more of this journey now—slowly. 

Most recently, after two years of chronic stress from overworking, a difficult passage through perimenopause, a body expressing unfamiliar symptoms, and a painful relational trauma, my brain became deeply disorganized. I couldn’t will myself out of it. Despite years of study and practice in somatics, neurobiology and nervous system care, none of my usual tools were working.

Local grass-finished marrow bones roasted with cauliflower mash and oregano pesto.

Then one day a few months back, I had a simple realization: my brain needed nourishment.

I returned to what I had learned about ketosis during a major burnout nearly a decade ago, when it helped heal many of my symptoms. As I revisited the research, I discovered an emerging field called nutritional psychiatry and began reading everything I could find (happy to share if anyone is interested). Within three days of eating to reach nutritional ketosis, my brain came back online. My familiar clarity and sharp, organized thinking returned.

That moment marked the beginning of another dive down the nutrition rabbit hole.

Asparagus, leek and ginger coconut soup - sources of prebiotic fiber to feed healthy bacteria in our gut.

If you know me, you know I love to cook. It brings me deep pleasure to honor the gifts the earth offers us and to nourish others—and myself. I’ve been quietly working on a brain and gut health–focused menu, and I’ll be sharing more of this exploration as it continues, starting with pictures of nourishing fats for brain health and gut repair recipes and my experiments with trying to photograph food. 

A gentle note: Conversations about food can be activating for many of us, especially given our emotional histories, cultural contexts, and lived experiences. I’m sharing my personal journey—not advice or a one-size-fits-all approach—with care and respect for how complex our relationships with food can be.