It has been fifteen years since I began my journey in Europe. I remember arriving in Paris, France like it was yesterday. The idea now of strutting around the "city of lights" in yoga tights and Ugg boots makes me giggle. While most of the Parisians were enjoying freshly baked croissants, foie gras, and Champagne, I was dragging my beloved Juergen all over this historical city looking for organic grocery stores. No, I’m not kidding. During this time, my yoga diet was raw foods only, which meant I was eating organic fruits, nuts, vegetables, sea vegetables and some sprouted grains—no meats, no dairy, no bread/pasta, and no fish. Juergen loved me so, he hardly noticed that my freakish food habits had made it even harder for me to adapt to my new life abroad. Since then, I have started to notice in other European countries that the people celebrate food as friends and trust each traditional dish to serve them well. Once in Germany, where the food standards (Demeter) were so reticulately high—my fear of food started to relax a bit. (I discuss this in my new book Upside Down.)
Unfortunately, high quality food is not always available in many places within the USA. Growing up on a Midwest vegetable farm, I trusted the food from my German grandfather’s garden, but once in the real world, my gut would take a hit. All I can say is thank God for yoga. Practicing yoga makes a person extremely sensitive in a good way. Yoga, for all purposes, offers a natural digestive cleanse and a way to balance the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yourself. Yoga teaches you so much, including your culinary likes and dislikes. Unless you are sensitive to food, you will most likely not have the pleasure of understanding what foods really serve you as a friend and the foods you need to stay clear of—foe. AND It doesn’t make it any easier when a country like the USA is doing the best to offer some of the lowest-quality food products on the planet. Staying healthy now becomes the problem for the people and not the government. So, I quickly learned to drift away from patented, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods and focused only on organic—pure, clean food. This realisation occurred in my late 20s, and by the mid 1990s, I was hosting yoga dinner parties out in California and teaching my students to eat only sustainable organic foods. Now almost 35 years later, people are finally starting to listen. My only concern is that most are hearing the wrong message.
Vegan, vegetarian, raw, pescatarian, nut-free, ovo-vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Recently, I was reading a blog from a favourite US café. The cafe was using the blog to advertise to their customers, old and new, that they supported all types of diets and restrictions. They would do their best to label foods and offer as many varieties as possible. The more I read the blog—the more I felt that being fearful of food (foe) and staying attached to food labels would only take us consciously backward and not forward. I call it the “Starbuck Syndrome" with so many harmful, sugar packed options. What happened to a simple, sustainable cup of coffee? Why can’t Starbucks offer at least one organic bean properly roasted and served with glass bottled mineral water (hydration), and a sustainable organic bite? Why? The rest of the world seems to be doing it quick well. Oops, sorry, I diverted. Okay, back to the blog being reviewed.
The blogger was describing the difference between food intolerances and food allergies—both are foes. Somewhere in the writing, gluten was mentioned, and the thought was that digestion problems weren’t being caused by the gluten, per se, but had more to do with the wheat. Okay, let’s stop right there. Gluten is simply the protein portion of a stalk of wheat. In the process of creating a GMO grain, the wheat is literally re-engineered or restructured, making it very hard for our guts to digest—foe. The US government allowed for GMOs years ago and I am still hard-pressed to understand why. As a sidenote, I have heard people tell me when they travel to other countries (nonGMO) they can eat the bread without any digestive issues—case in point. Also, many countries around the world are refusing to trade food products (GMO) with the USA—this again should stress the problem.
A thought— Instead of cafes trying to fit into the Starbuck Syndrome model, why not go to the root of some of these food problems—the ones creating all the labels. BUT First, the US must simply up their game in food quality—friend. Destroying the land with harmful pesticides and herbicides, adding toxic ingredients into processed foods, and re-engineering foods must stop immediately. What gain comes from genetically modified foods that our bodies can't process? And how about real healthy organic food being a priority on the menu—who cares if it is vegan, or dairy-free. If it is not organic, you are eating contaminated (toxic) food. The focus needs to change—if your café doesn’t serve organic (clean food), walk away and find one that does.
I personally have had some intolerances with nightshade vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. But the work in consciousness studies suggest that if we can heighten our reality, it can help us better understand why we suffer. Some of my best food friends are still organic fruits and vegetables and I have worked through my tomato issues. Tomatoes were served at almost every meal growing up and I have simply eaten too much for one lifetime. The more I observe food intolerances or food allergies in myself and others, I realize that cleansing the palette from time to time is critical and makes my food choices friends and not foes. As we awaken and shift our consciousness, we can take some of our food intolerances and allergies and completely clear them from our bodies. I have personally done it and have help many others clear core food issues. In the end, we may not need labels— gluten intolerant, vegan, or dairy-free. It is time to become a balanced human being that stays away from GMOs and nonorganic foods. Please note: To all my young vegan friends, there may come a time to reconsider eating an organic (BIO) piece of turkey. The body uses tryptophan from the turkey to make vitamin B which is vital for digestion, healthy nerves and skin, and the production of the brain chemical serotonin. Many extreme yogis, like myself, have over time learned the hard way that animal protein will greatly support the body as we grow older. Also, I highly suggest drinking a shot of wolfberry/goji-berry juice as an additional source of essential amino acids.
Happily, I have gotten over my fear of foods. Learn to free yourself from all labels—foes and start to celebrate all healing foods once again as friend.s
Blessings,
Jyl Auxter-Kern, PhD
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