Part 3: Conclusion of Your Ancestral Diet and Digestive Harmony with Dr. Ananda Kramer

What happens next?

MMS: Glad to have you back from your trip, Dr. Ananda. On this quest for finding Digestive Harmony and our Ancestral Diet, we left off with the importance of knowing if there are any foods for which we are genetically intolerant. You use a simple test, which can be done at home, to find that out. What happens next?

AK: What happens next is the work begins! Almost everyone says to me, after I tell them what their food intolerance is, “Now what can I eat”? I customize my dietary recommendations according to each individual’s needs.

In general, we all need to begin to cook our own foods. Cook from scratch!  Avoid using soups and sauces as bases for a meal and cook whole foods that are fresh, organic, locally grown and in season (which I have been saying for many years, long before it became popular.)

For example, cook a chicken or a roast and have left over meat for sandwiches rather than buying lunchmeat. Cook fresh salmon instead of buying canned. Reduce carbohydrate consumption, especially bread, crackers and pasta. Cook whole grains instead. Have a variety of fresh vegetables and salads. Eat fruit for dessert.

Good digestion is the foundation of your house, your body.

Good digestion is the foundation of your house, your body. I believe that without good digestion it is very difficult to improve health. But just like a foundation is not the building, more than good diet is involved in creating a strong body. The building materials of our body should be top notch and we want to buy the best quality food and prepare it carefully.

We also need to consider other things. If we continue with the building analogy, what about the design of the building? The design is as important as the foundation. We need a comprehensive plan to build good health that includes physical movement, drinking plenty of fresh clean water and sleeping eight hours a night.

MMS: I know from my practice that most people do not fully recognize the importance of physical movement, clean air and clean water. What kind of results do patients get when they, or you and they, figure out their harmonious food plan?

Some Remarkable Results

AK: When people change their diet based on the Food Intolerance Test they report some remarkable results. One would expect that digestive complaints would improve and that is true. But I also have reports that long-standing skin conditions have healed. One woman reported to me that after five years of avoiding eggs, her intolerance, her Lupus and Chronic Fatigue were in remission. We were both very impressed.

Going from perfect food to the best diet for them

Actually, any and all imbalances in a person’s health will improve with the right diet but how much is dependent on the individual’s vitality and overall health. I have observed over the past nine years of working with Food Intolerances that for some individuals diet alone is not enough to restore their health. It is definitely a good foundation but other therapies need to be added to bring the desired result. [Look for more on this in our second series of interviews in a few months.]

In general, the younger the person is when the intolerance is identified the better the result. Children heal quickly if given good nutrition. Fortunate is the child who starts life with breast milk and then transitions to solids based on their ancestral diet. In my book they are going from perfect food to the best diet for them.

She even lost two or three dress sizes

MMS: I remember hearing about a member of your family who had nausea and digestive problems since childhood. Once you discovered her Ancestral Diet and she eliminated her food intolerance, potato, her digestive complaints disappeared. She even lost two or three dress sizes. I’m not sure which is more impressive!

I can attest to the fact that, as an aging boomer, my health changed dramatically after I followed your advice, including eliminating dairy products. This certainly contributes to aging with ease. Thank you Dr. Ananda; I appreciate all the time you’ve given to our interview for this blog’s readers.

Focused on helping people get better

AK: Thank you for this opportunity to let more people know about this simple yet powerfully effective way of identifying an individual’s personal diet plan. The doctor who created this test in the 1920’s was interested in helping people recover their health. He did not write a book, go on a lecture tour or in any way publicize his work. He focused on helping people get better.  Today a small number of Naturopathic doctors in the Pacific Northwest carry on this work because we have not found a better way to restore digestive harmony to our patients.

MMS: In a few months I’ll post a second series of interviews with Dr. Ananda about Transformational Healing. To learn more about Dr. Kramer’s work, go to http://www.doctorananda.com

Thanks for coming by; please leave your comments.

Questions for You:  Does your way of eating make you feel healthy and energized in a good way (versus a caffeine or sugar induced temporary high?) Do you have food cravings, swelling, joint stiffness, congestion, bloating and other symptoms whose cause is unidentified? Do you have a chronic condition?

Ever Noticed How Much We Don’t Notice?

Have you ever noticed how much we don’t notice? We don’t notice when we hoist a shoulder to an earlobe when reaching for an object. We don’t notice when we clamp our arms to our sides when we walk, or that we lead with our heads (maybe the mind can’t wait for the rest of the body to get to its destination.) How can we care about, let alone change, something we don’t notice?

We move on automatic pilot, relying on unconscious habit patterns that are programmed and maintained through neural signals. To make a difference in these unconscious patterns of movement, or lack of movement, we go back to our first three steps described in earlier blogs. We make a conscious decision to do so (Step 1) and then set an intention (Step 2). To change these patterns we need to begin to discern how we move or where we don’t move. To create such awareness (Step 3) we use movement.

Step 4:  Movement

Movement – subtle, mindful and rhythmical – can begin to ‘speak’ to, or access, the central nervous system, a non-intellectual part of the brain that affects neural signals – like those that help keep self-limiting patterns in place. We want to create new neural signals that support our intention to, say, loosen tight muscles and ease joint mobility.

We perform mindful (you could say meditative) movements, in a particular manner, on one side of the body. We notice how that side feels in contrast to how the other side feels. This allows the non-intellectual brain to begin to notice the difference between the two sides. The effect is similar to inputting data into a computer. Once the data ‘registers’, it becomes the basis for the brain, nervous system etc. to begin to help us create new neural signals that help reprogram old patterns.

Simultaneously, we kinesthetically begin to feel how we actually (vs what we assumed) use our bodies and the effect of that usage. That kinesthetic awareness informs subsequent movement, which increases awareness, which guides further movement, which expands awareness . . . a spiral of symbiotic relationships emerge, working from within and without.

The nature of the movement is important, but not conveniently described here. Among the essential tools are attitudes of healing as well as visualization, breathing, self-massage and a lot of repetition. In my opinion and experience these mindbody methods, combined with Intention, Awareness, Movement (I AM) create a powerful process that supports transformation of self-limiting patterns, whether physical, emotional or behavioral.

The resources are inside us. We just need a road map to find and use what we already have; once we do, it’s ours for life. For we boomers, it makes for graceful aging with ease. This doesn’t mean we won’t ever need to seek help from other professionals. I receive therapeutic massage and chiropractic in addition to my personal movement practice.

Share your comments; they are appreciated. This is a huge topic and I am only glancing the surface. To learn more about the fascinating internal communication network click on Articles (on the right). I also recommend the book Molecules of Emotion by the brilliant researcher Candace Pert, PhD.  See you next week.

Question for You:  How do you address unwanted patterns?