Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
Goethe
As someone who admittedly has a loving yet complicated relationship with food, it has been an enormous relief for me in my last year of dedication to Ayurveda to stop fearing gluten and dairy.
When we fear food, we energetically reject it, leading our bodies to develop issues around digestion and nutrient distribution. There are also foods that are generally challenging on the gut, especially if they are highly processed or contain harmful pesticides.
Avoiding and creating stress or judgement around foods that are not necessarily harmful [and that could in fact be nutritious] for the rest of our lives, however, may wind up creating more harm than allowing ourselves to eat those foods occasionally.
When I dove deeper into my nutrition studies – even before the health coach training program at Integrative Nutrition – I learned how gluten and dairy could potentially wreck havoc on weak digestion. For the past several years I anxiously avoided gluten and dairy except for when I traveled to Europe; I often judged myself when I consumed them, even if they had little to no effect on my own digestion [which of course depended on where and when I ate them].
After meeting Divya, I began to seek ancient truth in relationship to current wellness trends. It is true that these foods can be challenging to digest for people with sensitive guts, but are gluten and dairy truly unhealthy or “bad” for us?
My friend and mentor Divya Alter worked closely with Dr. Teitelbaum, who said in one of her lectures, “It’s not the food that’s the problem – it’s the gut and the liver rejecting the food.”
I am learning from my own sessions with Divya and Dr. Teitelbaum that the gut becomes compromised over time when exposed to things like antibiotics, steroids, pesticides, and other toxins found in processed foods or medications. If not properly paired with remedies to help mitigate their side effects, they can destroy the gut lining and even affect the blood, organs, bones, and bodies as a whole on a cellular level.
How are our bodies supposed to digest and distribute nutrients effectively if they are being exposed to dangerous toxins without taking preventative measures against them?
This is not to harp on Western medicine – although it saves lives and produces incredible cures, however, it is also a fairly young practice in comparison to old-world healing techniques [i.e. pumping patients with antibiotics to wipe out all gut bacteria without also prescribing probiotics to help rebuild the friendly bacteria that help make up a strong digestion].
And so in today’s news and vegan trends, we are told that dairy could be the cause of many modern-day ailments – which it certainly could, especially for those with weak digestion. In contrast, Dr. T explains how, in ancient India, milk was consumed at almost every meal – not the animal itself – and was cooked in ways that promoted whole body health. The cow is still a sacred motherly symbol in India.
Milk was cooked with grains [oats!], boiled into cheese [paneer!], and/or simmered with spices for a soothing beverage [divine nighttime rose milk!]. Divya recommends consuming non-homogenized, organic, local milk if and when possible with helpful digestive spices like turmeric and coriander, or cinnamon and cardamom.
When combined and consumed thoughtfully, milk provides optimal nourishment for the body.
In regards to the carbon footprint, Divya says in her cookbook that an “effective and lasting solution would be to promote cow protection though positive education… compassionate farms do exist all over the world… they set a wonderful example of sustainable agriculture and of treating our friends the animals and mother earth with love and care.”
Here are a few reasons why I am making simple homemade soft cheese, cooking milk into my oatmeal, and occasionally boiling warm milk at night for my health as advised by Divya [recipes and more information can be found in her Ayurvedic cookbook] and her mentor Dr. Teitelbaum, both of whom studied closely with Ayurvedic practitioner [from a lineage of Ayurvedic doctors] Vaidya Mishra:
- When consumed properly, organic whole unhomogenized milk [ideally raw and/or unpasteurized] nourishes the body’s 7 tissues – plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone marrow, nerve – within 24 hours, whereas other food takes a month to do so.
- Our cell walls are made of cholesterol [which is also needed to make vitamin D – which helps prevent autoimmune disease] – our hormones need the good cholesterol found in organic whole milk in order to function property and absorb nutrients from food.
- Its fatty properties are great for airy and fiery types, and is rich in calcium, vitamin B12, and omega fatty acids – all important ingredients in a vegetarian diet.
- For centuries cows were considered sacred and cow’s milk was part of what the Vedas stated as “an enlightened diet” along with grains, fruits, and vegetables [info from Divya’s cookbook].
I understand this is not for everyone and of course am conscious of environmental impacts, and people who are allergic or sensitive may not be as capable of experimenting with this.
That being said, I have suffered from some uncomfortable health issues for years and so I am willing to test the proper consumption of milk from organic farmers to help mitigate them – as many of Dr Teitelbaum’s vegan and non-vegan patients have done – and will hopefully experience relief.
If someone is sensitive like me, Dr. T recommends incorporating organic milk into the diet in this order:
- Boiling milk into soft cheese for a few weeks.
- Experimenting with cooking a little bit at a time into grains [upping the ratio of milk to water over time].
- Simmering milk with spices like cinnamon and cardamom before bed.
I’ve spent the last few months eating a small amount of fresh cheese [best with lunch], and have loved cooking it into oats for breakfast.
So far, I have found eats like Divya’s magical einkorn barley biscuits and paneer, Jovial Foods’ einkorn pasta, and my own homemade fresh cheese a non-issue for my digestion. In fact I personally have more of a problem with garlic and onion, cruciferous veggies and nightshades than I do with these forms of gluten and dairy.
I realize this is partly based on my own unique digestion, however this does not discount the fact that I have a highly sensitive gut and have been doing well with what the wellness industry has dubbed foods to avoid.
Although I have yet to notice dramatic shifts, I have noticed that I am more satiated and have less of an inclination for sweets after eating cheese and hearty whole grains. And if you know me, you also know my sweet tooth…
In regards to the infamous gluten: Divya’s cookbook explains that because wheat has been hybridized to “increase yield, pest resistance, and elasticity in baked goods… today’s wheat has a much more complex genetic makeup, making it very hard to digest.” She introduces einkorn – one of the first foods planted as agriculture initially developed ten thousand years ago – as “a pure form of wheat… more nutritious and tastes and digests in the body the way nature intended.”
Einkorn translates as “single grain.” Not only does einkorn have 30% more protein than commercial wheat, it is also the world’s most ancient wheat, the only wheat never to have been hybridized, and is therefore easier to digest especially for those with gluten sensitivities. Like Dr Teitelbaum said: it is often the gut that has the issues, not necessarily the foods.
You can find more fun facts on Jovial Foods’ website, purchase einkorn flour on Amazon, and you will most definitely want to try my dear friend Paige’s savory apple einkorn loaf recipe.
In Ayurveda, barley – among others – is also considered a cleansing ancient grain known for supporting a variety of ailments including weakness, ulcers, and sore throat or voice loss. It is cooling, sweet, balancing, produces friendly bacteria in the gut, regulates blood sugar, supports weight loss, contains fiber, and helps to lower cholesterol [information from Divya’s cookbook].
Dr. John Douillard has also done a significant amount of research on gluten. Through various studies he shares that we are more genetically able to digest wheat than we are meat, alongside other interesting findings on how things like pesticides and processed food are what are ultimately destroying the gut – not wheat.
Similar to Dr. Teitelbaum’s theory, Dr. Douillard says, “Eating wheat is not a requirement for good health, but addressing the underlying cause of your food intolerance is – especially in a toxic world loaded with digestion-affecting processed foods.”
My intention is not to convince people to over-consume milk or gluten every single day – although ghee may be highly nutritious on a daily basis. As my studies in yoga and Ayurveda are continually teaching me, I believe in everything in moderation based on our personal needs.
I also believe in ancient practices and whole body health – topics which may get convoluted as they cross paths in today’s wellness trends – and the ways in which they can support newfound issues as they evolve in our modern-day life. So if foods like organic dairy or ancient grains can nourish our bodies [when consumed properly], then I am willing to take their current bad rep with a grain of salt.
If we decide to include dairy and gluten in our diets, and if we choose to pay more attention to where we spend our dollars and support the small, organic farms who respect the animals and plants that nourish us, we may be able to bring more of a collective awareness to around ethical farming practices and potentially bring relief to our own bodies in the process.
What are your thoughts on organic dairy and gluten, and how do they make you feel when you eat them? I welcome all insight.
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Photo by Grant Henry Media.
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