Food is only half the equation when it comes to creating health. It can fill you, but it cannot fulfill you. ~ Joshua Rosenthal
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What are Primary Foods?

The following Primary Foods concept and text is excerpted from and provided courtesy of Integrative Nutrition: The Future of Nutrition, by Joshua Rosenthal.

Everything is food. We take in the experiences of life in thousands of ways that affect us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We hunger for play, fun, touch, romance, intimacy, love, achievement, success, art, music, self-expression, leadership, excitement, adventure and spirit. All of these are essential forms of nourishment. They determine the extent to which our lives feels enjoyable, fulfilling and worthwhile.

Primary Food is more than what is your plate. Healthy relationships, regular activity, a desired career and a spiritual practice fill our soul and satisfy our hunger for living. If we are not physically starving, other dimensions of the human experience are much more important than what we put in our mouths, and these dimensions are what The Institute of Integrative Nutrition refers to as Primary Food.

When Primary Food is balanced and fulfilling, our lives feed us, making what we eat secondary.

What is currently considered nutrition today is really just one source of nourishment, what IIN calls Secondary Food.

Secondary Foods don't come close to giving us the joy, meaning and fulfillment Primary Food provides. When we use Secondary Food as a way to alleviate or suppress our hunger for Primary Food, the body and mind suffer. Weight gain is just one of the consequences.


Disorders such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes are national epidemics today, and one of the main reasons is because we are stuffing ourselves with Secondary Foods when we are really starving for Primary Food.


Relationships. Over the course of a lifetime, we have many relationships - with parents, families, friends, teachers, lovers, coworkers and acquaintances. Just as there is no one diet that is right for everyone, there is no perfect way of relating that works for all people. What's important is to cultivate relationships that support your individuals needs, wants and desires.

Spirituality. Spiritual nutrition is incredibly healing and powerful. Whether or not we feel we have a meaningful life plays an important role in wellness. Having a sense of belonging, a spiritual practice or something that gives us an underlying reason to be makes all the difference in our health.

Career. No matter what food we're eating, if we dislike our job, it drains us our health and vitality. Somehow we don't realize the extent to which our lives would improve if we were doing work we loved. We have little to no understanding of our capacity to walk away from a particular job or career and begin a new one. We have the luxury of creating work that nourishes us and makes us want to get out of bed every day. Remember, we are spiritual beings living in a material world. We came to this world to accomplish something, which is probably not working in the office of a large corporation. We need to nourish ourselves by finding work we love and being paid fairly for it. Doesn't it make sense to work on something you are passionate about?

Physical Activity. People need to exercise. Bodies thrive on it, and quickly degenerate without it. The challenge is to find the types of exercise you enjoy most, and then do them often. It's good to find something you can do every day without altering your schedule too much. Making physical activity a simple, daily habit greatly increases your chances of staying active.


The Integrative Nutrition Food Pyramid illustrates the powerful synergy of Primary and Secondary Foods. A symbol of their unique nutrition philosophy, it emphasizes the importance of high quality vegetables, fruits, complex carbohydrates, proteins and health fats.

At the same time, the pyramid is surrounded with what is really vital in creating health - relationships, career, physical activity and spirituality. Secondary Food, the food we eat, plays a critical role in our health and happiness, and discovering the food that is right for us is of utmost importance.

But it's the four forms of Primary Food that truly nourish us and make life extraordinary.