Your traditions, your culture, your food

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “How am I made?’ Not in the sense of conception but how are you made from your parents, grandparents and your ancestral lineage?

If we look at who made us, where they came from, who made them and where they come from, a pattern starts to appear of our cellular heritage. Let me explain. Where did your parents come from and where were you born? Where did your grandparents come from and where did they have your parents? Are you an expat that has children born in a different county or countries from where you were born?

My personal belief is we are all born equal except for our digestive systems and that is what makes us different. Take a couple from the Maasai tribe in Kenya and send them off to live in London, England. After one year they are expecting their first child and the child will be born in London. What have the parents been eating and what do they feed their child after it is weened?

The Maasai diet is traditionally meat, milk, and blood from cattle. The blood is used as part of their protein and caloric needs. They have one of the highest levels of cholesterol in the world due to their high fat diet. They are not overweight or obese people, they do not run, however they walk a lot and researchers believe this moderate walking explains their good health, even with their high cholesterol. They have no heart disease or diabetes. Their digestive system has a way of breaking down the fat they eat and blood they drink. (reference Maasai Association)

I am not saying this is what everyone must be doing, far from it. It is to outline how we are made and where we live is an indication of the foods that each of us requires. Just because we go to live in another country does not mean the food in that country is the food that we should be eating all the time.

Let me explain about a mixed background. Your grandparents on your father’s side came from Japan and moved to New Zealand. Your grandparents on your mother’s side came from London, England and moved to New Zealand. Your grandfather is one hundred percent Japanese and your mother is one hundred percent English. The foods they were fed whilst growing up were different and their digestive systems formed in a way that supported their cells and their health. Now, you are born in New Zealand and are a mix of Japanese and English. What do you eat that will support your health? Many people would say you are born in New Zealand so you eat the food in New Zealand but you were not made from the people who have their ancestral line in New Zealand. Your parents were born in New Zealand and grandparents came from very different countries. They are made from their ancestral background. Who do you take after and what foods will support your health? Have they continued to eat the foods from their traditions and culture? Digestive systems do not change just because you move countries.

One more example: Let’s take a couple from Alaska, the Inuit

Indians, and move them to Thailand. Their traditional diet is seasonal. Winter season is seals, whales, and other sea mammals. They eat the meat raw, cooked or dried. When summer comes, they eat caribou, small game, fish and berries. They receive high doses of Vitamin C from the skin of the beluga whale (called muktuk). Now they have moved to Thailand, so what are they going to eat, that is consistent with what they have grown up eating – surely not Thai chicken curry.

They now have two children born in Bangkok. Being born in Bangkok does not mean those children are able to digest Thai food with all the spices and herbs that are used in the cooking process. Luckily, with world trade in foodstuffs as strong as it is in modern times, they will be able to find the food they require to build healthy cells just in case the day to day diet of Thailand may not agree with their digestive system. I’m not saying that Thai chicken curry is not absolutely delicious, I’m asking you to think about what would be the best for them and don’t forget to ask yourself the same question. What is the food that your body needs?

Our world has become ever smaller as we move around from country to country. We marry people from different countries and are tempted by food from countries in supermarkets and restaurants.The ability to have these experiences is so special and wonderful for everyone but we must take the time to consider who made us and who did we make? How does this combination work for you?

In my own family, I take after my father and grandfather. There is no doubt in my mind I also take after that side of the family with my digestive system. When I eat the food they grew up with, the foods they could digest, I feel very energised and happy. I have been an expat for a long time and know the food I have eaten in some of those countries does not agree with me and it is best I avoid it. When I am in Thailand, I love the food and the spices but, if the food is spicy and hot, my body is not happy. Therefore I choose the very mild foods, still with wonderful flavour that not only

I enjoy but choose foods to support my health. Once you know what you can and cannot eat given the unique digestive system you have, the world once again becomes your “oyster” so to speak. Learn about your culture and traditions and rejoice in foods that make your digestive system sing.

Karla Walter has completed extensive studies in homeopathy, nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine, macrobiotics, Shiatsu massage, vegetarian cooking, human bio science. Karla has been changing lives through private counselling, public lecturing and teaching. www.living557.com I [email protected]