When I am teaching or talking or writing, I truly want people to know that food is the fuel that gives us the ability to be, to think, to love, and to do. But equally important yet widely overlooked is for that fuel to be effective and do what it needs to do, it must be digested - and therein lies the problem.

Digesting and utilising the good food we buy and cook is far, far more involved than a simplified, mechanistic approach to good health.

There are both physical and non-physical factors that need to be present for digestion to take place, nutrients to be released and fully utilised by the body.

Most important of all, food needs to be real. Simply put, it needs the macro and micro nutrients (the known and unknown), and many of these are scarce or depleted in most conventionally farmed products today. Organic food is a far richer source of these macro and micro nutrients. If the nutrients going into your body are limited this will restrict the ability of your cells to function.

But going further, at a deeper level, real food contains lifeforce. Where lifeforce originates is a mystery as awe inspiring as the universe, but it makes life fully available, enabling the seed to grow and flourish into plants, animals and humans. Lifeforce can only flow in the presence of that which is real. It is not fully available in intensive factory farms (if at all). It is not fully available in depleted and damaged soil, rich in synthetic and fractionalised nutrients and poisons. It is certainly not at all available in foods created from fake ingredients - refined chemical flavours and colours. Realness is an interesting concept to ponder. I believe that, at its core, realness is only present when more than what is material is transferred. At the surface level, a food can impart vitamins, minerals and so forth, but to be fully real it imparts to us the mystery of lifeforce and allows us to make use of the physical. Thomas Cowan in his amazingly wonderful book The Fourfold Path to Healing (highly recommended) refers to the story of the Velveteen Rabbit:

"Real isn't how you are made" said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real".

I would say to you that when food is grown in harmony with nature, more than nutrients are available and I would call it love. When food is cooked with love that also transfers to the eater.

Secondly, food needs to be compatible with your body - not mine, not your husband's, not your child's, not your naturopath's, not the current nutritional buzz, but your's! There are many paradigms of eating, (vegetarian, vegan and others) but I would say the only one I see that consistently works and seems most relevant is Ayurveda. This ancient system known as the "Mother of all Therapies" holds that there are the elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether, and humans, as part of nature, reflect this pattern. People are described as Vata, Pitta or Kapha, or a combination. Holding to this, certain foods, cooking methods and life patterns suit different people. But beyond Ayurveda, this issue of compatibility still holds true. An issue in point would be raw food - great for some, especially those with a strong digestion and constitution, not for those with weakened systems (especially in winter).

Another aspect of compatibility is the issue of whole as distinct from refined or processed foods. Nature does not operate in a vacuum - many bits work together to enable and form the whole, and digestion is no different. Separating food from the whole, and even then rearranging it, makes digestion very, very difficult. With regard to processed foods - rice cakes are a great example here. A small bowl of brown rice, soaked overnight and cooked, sprinkled with some tamari seeds and even served cold as a snack (which let's face it, is pretty boring) will be far easier to digest and enjoy than a rice cake. A rice cake is so highly processed the nutrients no longer exist! They're very difficult to digest, and I dare anyone to write and tell me they delight in eating them.

Enjoyment is the third key factor for our food to be truly beneficial. The "healthiest" meal eaten but not fully enjoyed and delighted in will not nourish. It will not call forth the forces needed for digestion. Yes, there may be digestive enzymes which spring into action (though only real food has that ability), but not the metaphysical vibration of satisfaction and delight that ensures full digestion and absorption. May I say here, it's similar to sex. Yes, sex can satisfy, but making love is something much more. It not only satisfies, it enriches and calls forth who you are. Eating real food that you enjoy and is compatible with you does exactly that too - it enriches and enables you to call forth who you really are.

I see so many people eating what they think they should eat, what I would call politically correct health food. Yet it is not making them healthy and satisfied. It is so very important that you enjoy your food. Health is not about eating food that is totally bland and boring, leaving you unsatisfied and empty. It might have all the "health" goodies aplenty, but if it does match and delight you, it will not do what you want it to do - nourish the body and the soul. Equally, it can be delicious as, but have no nutrients and this also will fail to nourish body and soul. At least one of your food times - breakfast, lunch or dinner- must be in the form of a meal. And this means sitting down to eat something that is nourishing (has lots of nutrients) and enjoyable (delicious) and stop doing - relax a little. It is not a snack, it's not another job to rush through, it's a meal. It should be real and it should taste great. Set the table, talk, laugh and be fed - this is when you open up to the forces that
enable digestion.

And there are other aids to digestion we should look at. I would say again that, first and foremost, your food should be real, but other things help - and I'm not talking about digestive enzymes in tablet form. Think about increasing (or introducing yourself to) Lacto Fermented foods and drinks. These not only supply an abundant source of enzymes to help digestion, but the kind of good bacteria that promote a healthy environment within the digestive system. Soak your whole grains (overnight in water with a bit of yoghurt, whey or buttermilk, drain before cooking) and they become much easier to digest.

Stocks made from organic bones (including fish) are rich in gelatine, and are invaluable in this role of easing digestion and ensuring better absorption of the nutrients supplied. (Use stock liberally.)

Now you might be thinking that I have given you the green light to go ahead and eat something like Tim Tams (they delight, you love them and you want them, hey they fit the criteria!). My answer to this would be, if you are eating real food that you enjoy in a balanced way, meals rather than snacks, you shouldn't be craving the likes of Tim Tams anyway - they "hit" you with sugar, but not much else. Instead, you easily include in your day some great, enjoyable healthy treat that's also packed full of nutrients. You could say to yourself, "This path is not about deprivation, so I could have a great homemade Choc Chip cookie made with real ingredients and real chocolate". You will be eating a wealth of nutrients, enjoying it and hopefully digesting it. Give yourself a big hug and pat on the back, because in that thought, you've got what it's all about.