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How to Be Healthier with Intuitive Eating

Published on: April 30, 2025

When you’re surrounded by diet culture and buzzy food trends, outside sources might seem to know more about what to eat than you do. But ultimately, your body is the expert in what kind of nourishment you uniquely need. With intuitive eating, you’ll learn to listen to your body’s signals.

What is intuitive eating?

“Intuitive eating focuses on trusting your own body by honoring hunger and fullness cues to guide what and how much you eat, rather than following strict food rules. In my experience, patients often feel relieved and liberated when they’re encouraged to remove strict food rules and instead focus on how foods impact their mental, physical, and emotional health,” said Natalie Smith, MS, RDN, CSO, an oncology dietitian at Yale New Haven Health.

Intuitive eating discourages thinking of foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, it emphasizes getting in touch with your body’s cues to find what truly nourishes you. When you practice intuitive eating, you pay attention to signs that you’re hungry or full. Those signs can also guide you toward foods that will best sustain you. This practice can be particularly helpful for people experiencing drinking and eating changes, such as those caused by cancer treatment.

Intuitive eating also teaches you to avoid judging your food choices. “Rather than villainizing specific foods or food groups, intuitive eating helps reduce the guilt and shame sometimes associated with eating,” Smith said.

Becoming an intuitive eater means focusing on your body and your food choices, said Tara Sanft, MD, an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) expert and Associate Professor of Medicine in Medical Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine.

She recommends these intuitive eating practices:

  • Be mindful about hunger
  • Consider what you eat and how it makes you feel
  • Stop eating when you feel comfortably full
  • Pay attention to your how you feel after you eat

How intuitive eating can help during cancer

People with cancer frequently experience side effects from treatment, including appetite loss, nausea, and changes in taste. These side effects can impact what they want to or are able to eat. “If you think of a time in your life when you’ve been sick, you might relate to how feeling ill can change the foods you find comforting or tolerable,” said Dr. Sanft.

Intuitive eating is used in cancer care to help patients continue getting the nutrition they need. “Patients are forced to listen closely to their body’s desires and aversions to better manage side effects, ensure adequate nutrition and hydration, and better tolerate their cancer therapy,” Smith said.

People can practice intuitive eating in small ways during cancer. For example, they might eat 4 to 6 smaller meals a day to cope with decreased appetite. They might choose foods that don’t have strong smells to avoid triggering nausea. “As an oncology dietitian, I often work with patients to create grocery lists and brainstorm meal ideas based on foods that sound appealing and won’t worsen their symptoms,” said Smith.

Intuitive eating can also be a good way for people with cancer to find enjoyment in food again. “This practice can help patients pay attention to the simple pleasures that food offers beyond nourishment, including connection to loved ones and offering a sense of comfort,” said Smith.

If you’re interested in intuitive eating, talk with your cancer care team. They can refer you to a registered dietitian who’s trained in helping people learn and practice intuitive eating.

Learn more about healthy eating from the American Cancer Society:

Dr. Sanft is a member of ASCO’s Patient Information Editorial Board

 

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