what are ancestral superfoods?
ALL ABOUT ANCESTRAL SUPERFOODS
Those of you who know me hear me talk about eating in accordance with our ancestry.
But what does it really look like to eat our ancestral superfoods?
Healing diets from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurveda, Macrobiotics, African Functional Foods and the Mediterranean Diet can be therapeutically appropriate for a period of convalescence. Once you are well, though, the best way to eat is the way your great-great grandparents ate while living on their indigenous lands.
Here is a bit more information about these these therapeutic diets.
IFA / YORUBA FOODS
Tomi Makanjoula’s website is an incredible resource for African functional foods and food as medicine recipes.
Esosa Edosomwan is a raw foods nutritionist who focuses on longevity and works with African superfoods for hormonal health and balanced weight.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
This is an overview of the Five Element Theory of TCM.
Learn more about the nine body constitutions of TCM here.
AYURVEDA
Here is a Dosha Quiz from the Ayurvedic tradition to help you understand your constitution. Once you know about your dominant dosha(s), you can eat in accordance with them.
Here is an excellent resource about what we can learn from the chakras.
THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET
Oldways is a wonderful resource for learning more about the Mediterranean Diet.
What does it look like to take charge of your food and stop letting corporate food culture choose what you eat?
ANCESTRAL EATING
What do you know about your ancestors? Please write down who your great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents were and what their ethnicity is/was. If you have time, do some research about the traditional foods consumed by those ethnic groups. These foods are programmed into your DNA to be the most nutritious and digestible choices for you.
The more we eat in accordance with our ancestors, the better we feel and the more we learn to appreciate and respect the wisdom of traditional cultures.
Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations (Food Sovereignty Alliance). In Vermont, for example, the Abenaki indigenous community has created the Seeds of Renewal project, which is a seed bank for and by native peoples.
Food sovereignty is both a way to care for yourself and your community and an act of tolerance and respect. What does it look like for you to take control over your food?
You can learn more about the international struggle for food sovereignty via the Food Sovereignty Alliance and Why Hunger.
Can you connect with a local farmer and get your food from them? Do you want to join a community garden or expand your own garden? Can you set up a seasonal food swap with friends and neighbors?