Food & Nutrition
How and what we eat reflect how we see ourselves and what we value. Naturally, as we peel away the layers of conditioned behavior and begin to pay attention to the web of life, we are drawn to healing, organic foods. We crave foods that support not only our own well-being, but the planet’s, as well. We have been deeply inspired by the seemingly endless cures nature offers, and the ability of plant medicines to heal even “untreatable” or chronic diseases.
Underneath all addictive habits are unaddressed needs for love, safety, & comfort. With iboga and therapy as catalysts, it is possible to address this underlying longing for connection and love, investigate and let go of harmful habits that no longer serve you, and develop new ways of nourishing and caring for yourself. The diet and lifestyle you determine will best support this path of self-love is encouraged.
The goal is to replenish and repair all the body’s systems concurrently, so we serve an organic, plant- based, nutrient-dense diet with as much locally sourced produce as possible. This is an opportunity to totally redesign your body to support vibrancy and happiness. Having meals lovingly prepared with the highest quality whole foods is paramount.
Our food is created to maximize nutrients and flavor profiles, so fresh, unrefined, unprocessed ingredients are used, and the most nutritive cooking techniques applied. We use whole grains, plant proteins, & unrefined sweeteners to reinvent traditional comfort foods as well as turn out international vegan and vegetarian dishes, and balance the more sophisticated fare with simple combinations that are easy for anyone to prepare at home. We specialize in gluten-free recipes, and source free-range ranch eggs and local organic cheeses and yoghurt when desired. We will offer nutritional resources and refrain from proselytizing, letting the food and the body’s favorable reaction to it speak for itself.
The Ingredients
Local, Organically Sourced
We source the majority of our vegetables from a local farm and rely on local organic importers for grains and superfoods. The meals we serve are all at least 90% organic.
Plant Based Foods
The term plant medicine applies to blueberries and kale as much as it does to iboga and ayahuasca.
As what’s good for the individual is good for the planet, we serve exclusively vegan and vegetarian food. Consuming animal products is directly linked to heart disease, certain cancers, and many other degenerative diseases. Factory farming is responsible for more greenhouse emissions than all other industry combined, forest clearing, soil degradation, and species extinction.
By eliminating highly acidic animal products, and replacing them with delicious plant-based options, we appeal to the instinctive desire for wholesome food that tastes amazing, with a clear conscience. This increases the body’s alkalinity, reduces the toxic load on all of the organs, and helps to cleanse the high concentrations of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics stored in the body from animal products.
A Focus on Gut Health
The biggest recent discovery in holistic health is the microbiome: 10 to 100 trillion microorganisms that reside in the human gut.1 With more neurons than the spinal column, the gut has been dubbed the “second brain,”2 and it’s role in modulating overall health is immense.
95% of the body’s serotonin receptors originate in the gut3, demonstrating the profound link between food and emotion. Emotional events that take place in early childhood can actually be imprinted on gut flora, and have lasting effects throughout life.4 Later on, the microbiome, the body’s internal ecosystem, has been shown to play a role in behavioral and neurological disorders, auto-immune diseases, arthritis5, and even heart disease6.
Live, enzyme and probiotic-rich foods in your diet, such as kim chee, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kefir, yoghurt and sprouts, are all delicious ways of restoring balance to the microbiome, as evidence for supplemental probiotics is sparse. Daily juicing and smoothies, fresh fruit, and incorporating greens with each meal are other essential ways of boosting sorely needed enzymes and prebiotics.
pH Balanced Diet
Acidosis, or excess acid in the body, is the underlying cause of many chronic degenerative diseases, including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, fibromyalgia and even cancer. Consuming too many acidic foods such as refined sugar and flour, coffee, and animal products, causes the body to “steal” essential minerals directly from the bones and muscles to maintain the blood’s ideal PH level. Minerals taken from the heart muscle can cause weakening, arrhythmia, and angina. The body’s attempts to eliminate accumulated acid can lead to asthma, colitis, crohn’s disease and more.
To reverse this acceleration of aging and decline, we replace highly acid-forming foods with tasty, balanced alkaline leaning meals, and supplement with green powerhouses such as chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, barley grass and kelp.
Simply adding lime to water is another efficient way of restoring minerals and harmony to an overtaxed, acidic body.
Metagenomic Analysis of the Human Distal Gut Microbiome. Gill, Steven R., et al. Science 2 June 2006: 312 (5778), 1355-1359. Link ↩
“A brain in the head, and one in the gut.” Brown, Harriet. New York Times. August, 2005. Link ↩
ibid. ↩
The Effect of Neurohormonal Factors, Epigenetic Factors, and Gut Microbiota on Risk of Obesity. Haemer, Matthew A. et al. Prevention of Chronic Disease. July, 2009; 6(3): A96. Link ↩
Expansion of intestinal Prevotella copri correlates with enhanced susceptibility to arthritis. Scher , Jose U, et al. New York University School of Medicine and Hospital for Joint Diseases. November, 2013. Link ↩
Red Meat-Heart Disease Link Involves Gut Microbes. Carol Torgan, Ph.D. National Institute of Health. April, 2013. Link ↩
