Today we begin Part I of a series of interviews with Dr. Ananda Kramer of Portland, Oregon and Chicago, Illinois on Transformational Healing and Digestive Harmony. I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Ananda professionally and personally for many years.
MMS: Welcome, Dr. Ananda. Please tell us about you.
AK: I am both a Naturopathic Physician as well as a classical homeopath. I have been licensed in Oregon as a Naturopathic Physician since 2001 and have been studying and practicing homeopathy for over 20 years. I chose to become a doctor to further my education in medicine and chose Naturopathy because it has a philosophy compatible with homeopathy. They share the understanding that the human body has an innate ability to heal itself.
I see myself more as a healer than as a doctor; there’s a difference for me. As a doctor I am, of course, interested in relieving pain, for example, but as a healer, I’m concerned with more than that. I am interested in individuals reaching their true potential. This would include living a creative, joyful and purposeful life.
MMS: How do you work with the body’s innate ability to heal itself?
AK: From the naturopathic side, I reduce stress on the body so it is freer to heal itself. I consider improper diet as creating stress – just like overwork would, or lack of sleep. Stress blocks the body’s ability to heal itself.
MMS: There is an abundance of information on what foods to eat and not eat in the media. What’s your perspective on it?
AK: We need to discover the foods that create disharmony in the body in order to have digestive health. I’ve come to understand that people have an individual diet that is right for them.
MMS: Can you explain?
AK: As a homeopath I select one medicine that fits each person and I have found that it works best to do this with diet also. I call this finding our Ancestral Diet, looking for the diet that is consistent with our particular genetic background. Digestive problems are a problem today because: [1] we have migrated from where our ancestors came from; [2] we also have, for generations, intermarried with those from different genetic backgrounds; [3] we eat foods flown in from around the world, not local food; and [4] foods are processed with many additives. So in the modern world it is a challenge to know what diet is right for us.
MMS: If we look at the diets of people native to, say, Asia, Europe, Africa, they are very different. Are you saying people have a genetic predisposition to digest certain foods rather than other foods, the foods their ancestors ate for centuries?
AK: That’s right.
MMS: Thank you, Dr. Ananda. This is valuable information. So many of us are looking for the foods that will make and keep us healthy, especially we aging boomers.
We’ll continue in Part II as Dr. Ananda explains the mystery of digestive harmony and how to find the foods that suit our own nature. Dr. Ananda can also be found at http://www.doctorananda.com See you next week, meantime share your questions and comments.
Joint Ventures in Health 
04/15/2010 at 9:30 pm |
I’ve read a bit on this topic and have found the information very helpful. The idea of choosing a diet according to our genetic inheritance seems the most sensible way to eat. I look forward to reading Part II of the interview.
04/15/2010 at 9:52 pm |
Thanks, Kathy. It’s worked for me and many others for whom nothing else worked.
04/20/2010 at 9:01 am |
This is so interesting. I am looking forward to hearing more about this.
04/20/2010 at 10:41 am |
Thanks, Judy. It is a fascinating and effective approach. I used to have symptoms of leaky gut syndrome. Following Dr. Ananda’s approach is the only thing, of all that I tried, that has worked.