Oct 10, 2024
Registered dietitian and author Shana Minei Spence
joins us to discuss how a career in fashion affected her
relationship with food and her body, her experience with a holistic
provider who recommended elimination diets, how values and social
norms influenced her use of alternative medicine, her disordered
motivations for becoming a dietitian, and more. Behind the paywall,
we get into how she recovered from her eating disorder, why she
takes an anti-diet approach to nutrition, her experience working in
the public-health field, cultural appropriation in wellness, and
where she stands on wellness culture and alternative medicine
now.
Shana is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist based in
Brooklyn, New York. She currently works in public health for the
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, doing community nutrition
lessons, and also owns her own company, The Nutrition Tea ®. She
describes herself as an “all foods fit” dietitian. and creates a
platform for open discussion on nutrition and wellness topics that
are inclusive, non-diet, and weight-neutral, all with an
intersectionality of social justice. She also writes frequently for
publications such as Self, Shape, Outside, and Well + Good
Magazines. Her debut book came out in August 2024,
titled Live Nourished: Make
Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy
(Bookshop affiliate link). Speaking engagements include Peloton,
NEDA, Eating Recovery Center, The Rose Retreats, Food Fluence, Eat
Well Global, and NBC. She can be seen in media such as NPR, Shape
Magazine, GQ, SELF Magazine, Women’s Health Magazine, Outside
Magazine, ABC Good Morning America, and Healthline.
Check out Christy’s three books,
Anti-Diet, The Wellness
Trap, and The
Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating & Body Image
Workbook for a deeper dive into the topics covered on the
pod.
If you’re ready to break free from diet culture and
make peace with food, come check out Christy’s Intuitive
Eating Fundamentals online course.
For more critical thinking and compassionate
skepticism about wellness and diet culture, check out
Christy’s Rethinking Wellness
podcast! You can also sign up to get it in your inbox every week at
rethinkingwellness.substack.com.
Ask a question about
diet and wellness culture, disordered-eating recovery, and the
anti-diet approach for a chance to have it answered on Rethinking
Wellness. You can also subscribe to the Food
Psych Weekly newsletter to check out previous
answers!
