January 2000
For me, all this organic business is not just about feeding our bodies. It is more about taking care of Mother Earth. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides damage the soil making it redundant for the future. Our bodies move but Mother Earth is here to stay and has to nourish the generations to come…
I learned a lot from my grandmother with whom I lived for 35 years. I watched her save scraps and recycle them each day of that time together. I saw her live a basic simple life. Only after she passed away did I appreciate the wealth of her wisdom which included unconditional love during all those years. I did not realise it, then, but subconsciously I became her.
When my son was born 18 years ago, I was given all kinds of well meant advice from family members, friends and doctors. I was young and confused. But somehow I was just not willing to believe that raising a child was a cumbersome and complicated vocation. An innate belief in nature made me look for solutions that were natural and which appealed to my common sense.
Luckily the right information and channels of communications were made available to me as part of my destiny. Not to mention all the experience and learning I acquired while being part of a stubborn society. I also went through a phase that made me hysterically obsessed with food until I received the understanding that food is simply a means to nourishing the self to achieve one’s potential.
That’s why today I am involved with organic and health foods, holistic beauty ware and earth-friendly alternative products as a result of inheriting enduring values from my grandma. My mission of course goes far beyond this: it is to get people to keep well and fit naturally.
For me, all this organic business is not just about feeding our bodies. It is more about taking care of Mother Earth. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides damage the soil making it redundant for the future. Our bodies move on but Mother Earth is here to stay and has to nourish the generations to come. Every lifestyle choice we make makes a difference to the well-being of Mother Earth (Read Ishmael by D.Quinn or go to http:// www.ishmael.com for more on this).
Increasingly nutrition is becoming a confusing subject and as I explained in my last contribution to this column, dieting is dangerous. Starving or experimenting with food fads can drive the body into a crisis situation. If body signals are not heeded, the system simply finds alternative ways of fulfilling its needs. There is always a cost, which shows up as a problem in the most vulnerable area of the particular body. Remember, hunger is a signal for nourishment. If not satisfied it will use body reserves (not necessarily fat) and then there is a deficiency and problems. It is satisfied with the wrong kinds of food, then too, there is a cause for worry. Temporarily all will seem well. But you can’t fool the body. For eventually the body will create situations which need to be looked into as an alert to correct the input.
I believe that simple changes in your kitchen can bring about a major change in your family’s health. You don’t need a cook-book to prepare health foods. Simply replace the base ingredients in your kitchen and then whatever you produce will be great for you. Eventually health can come only from your home, not from packaged formulae.
The first thing a dietician should tell you is chew your food, eat slowly and don’t eat in front of the TV. If she or he doesn’t then he or she isn’t worth listening to. Also remember that to meditate is to make friends with yourself. As my tutor and mentor Ramesh S. Balsekar says, the primary purpose of living is to be able to live without anger, envy, guilt or pride and thus to be happy.
Once you begin incorporating long term lifestyle changes, you will find you won’t be fighting with your addictions. You will become stronger than your desires. You will not need to let go of your favourite non-foods or junk foods. They will let go of you as your body acquires a natural balance. Because ultimately that’s what hunger is all about. To feed those pangs that are crying for nutrients – when they are well fed (no calorie counting necessary) with natural foods they feel happy. Or else the hunger will return sooner and with an unnatural intensity which begins the vicious cycle of malnourishment and consequential problems. Overeating and wrong eating is just another symptom of malnourishment.
The closer food is to its natural form the better. Read labels, don’t get carried away by packaging however good the marketing spiel. The influx of American foods promising the earth is frightening. I repeat: Read labels carefully and you will be unlikely to make a mistake.
And remember Indian Ayurveda has still the best tonics and supplements at good prices. Don’t be fooled by western propaganda even if it simultaneously promises to make you rich. Our Indian foods with these subtle changes are what you need. And believe me, nothing compares.
