1st Edition
Nourishing Dance An Essential Guide on Nutrition, Body Image, and Eating Disorders
Nourishing Dance: An Essential Guide on Nutrition, Body Image, and Eating Disorders is written with an insider’s understanding of the unique needs and pressures of the dance world and the expertise of an eating disorder specialist, dietitian, clinician, and educator. This much-needed resource provides research-based, practical approaches to help dancers fuel optimally, nourish a peaceful relationship with food, and nurture more positive and resilient body image.
Under-fueling, body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and disordered eating are far too common among dancers. Despite the prevalence of these issues in dancers across genres, and their negative impacts on dancers’ physical and mental health and performance, they have not been adequately addressed in the dance community. Improving dancers’ health and well-being is necessary for both dancers and the art form to thrive, and everyone involved in the training and care of dancers can play an important role in this mission.
Nourishing Dance provides essential information on nutrition, body image, and eating disorder prevention to help parents, teachers, staff, choreographers, leadership, athletic trainers, coaches, and healthcare professionals contribute to making the dance world a healthier and safer place for dancers.
ACT I: Setting the Stage
1. Dancing in Diet Culture
2. Dancing on Empty
3. Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating in Dancers
ACT II: Prevention, Prevention, Prevention
4. Prevention: Why, Who, What, and When?
5. Prevention: Language, Messages, and Modeling
ACT III: Nourishing the Whole Dancer
6. Gentle Nutrition for Dancers
7. Nourishing a Dancer through Injury
8. Nourishing Balanced and Resilient Body Image in Dancers
9. Whole Dancer Health
Epilogue
Biography
Monika Saigal, MS, RD, CEDS, CDN, is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, and former professional dancer specializing in nutrition for dancers and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders/disordered eating. Monika has over 15 years of experience providing nutrition counseling to dancers and performing artists in her private practice and extensive experience working with dance organizations—from small studios to world-renowned schools, conservatories, and companies. Monika regularly delivers workshops for dancers as well as specialized trainings for dance educators, staff, parents, and healthcare professionals.
I have been waiting for a book like Nourishing Dance to be written for years, to support my teaching and leadership roles in dance. An essential and compassionate guide, Saigal's new work offers value-driven, informative, and tangible tools for caring for dancers. This vital contribution to the dance industry breathes hopeful energy into our sector and will galvanize a new era of artist care.
Kerry Nicholls, Associate Artistic Director, San Francisco Ballet
This brilliant book is a must-read for dancers, parents/caregivers, dance educators, and leadership as it offers the best of modern science, social-psychological theory, and comprehensive, practical recommendations, enhanced by Saigal’s unique expertise as a dancer and celebrated dietitian for dancers.
Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS-S, FAED, author of Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders
Finally, a dance nutrition book that bravely discusses inclusion, diet culture, and the power of language. Nourishing Dance is a must-read for all dancers, teachers, parents, and health professionals who want to make the dance world a happier and healthier place.
Fumi Somehara, APD, ASD, CEDC, DDD Centre for Recovery
