Diet Culture in The Dance Industry
Diet culture is a system of beliefs that idolizes weight loss. In diet culture, it’s believed that thinness equates to health, and in this pursuit of thinness (or “health,”) certain foods are either demonized or glorified. Diet culture also imposes moral value upon our food choices and as a result, we’re “good” for eating “healthy” and we’re “bad” for eating “unhealthy.” Removing the weight diet culture can help dancers flourish in physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
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The Essential Guide to Pre-Performance Fueling for Dancers
I often stress the importance of making time in your schedule to sit back, relax, and enjoy the mindful experience of a meal. However, busy days are bound to fill our schedules, especially during the summer intensive season. It’s in these instances when meal planning becomes key to a dancer’s diet. Since intense dance schedules can leave hunger cues unnoticeable, planning meals and snacks is critical for preventing energy dips and appetite surges later in the day.
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5+ Foods to Sharpen A Dancer’s Focus and Retention
We’ve all heard of “brain food,” but what does it mean? Can certain foods boost mental clarity, sharpen focus, and even improve memory retention? For dancers, the idea of enhancing brain function is particularly enticing— retaining choreography is vital not only for solid performances but also for successful auditions. In this article, we’ll explore foods that can support mental clarity, focus, and retention, especially for dancers.
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The Truth About Processed Foods
Processed foods range from minimally processed (e.g., cooked vegetables) to highly processed or ultra-processed (e.g., packaged protein bars, and frozen meals). Generally, the more processed a food is, the longer its shelf life. This often results from the addition of ingredients like sugar, sodium, and fat— three words demonized in our culture. This article unravels the confusion. If you’ve ever been told to “limit processed food” read this.
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Diet for Dancers: Are Foods High in Fat Bad?
This article will break down the confusion surrounding dietary fat, shed light on its essential role in your health, and highlight why demonizing it has far more risks than rewards. We’ll also explore the limitations of nutrition research and why the focus on food as a cause of disease often neglects the bigger picture: the damage done by stressing over what we eat.
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The Truth About Gluten and Dairy-Free Diets for Dancers
For over a decade, wellness culture has deemed gluten and dairy as the foes of “health.” When it comes to health, diet culture likes to point a finger at food as having a direct impact on various health and lifestyle outcomes. Interestingly, the obsession over gluten and dairy surfaced back in the early 2000s. But what can seem like an innocent “lifestyle change” can often be a slippery slope into disordered eating.
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