Four Diets for Life: Why I Teach 4 Diets at Learn, Eat, & Be Well

Detoxifying, healing, building and maintaining are the four principles I teach at Learn, Eat, & Be Well – South West France, because these are the different phases in which the body functions during it’s lifecycle.  The 4 diets also represent the four seasons that should also be considered when we eat.  In this article I will introduce you to the first two diets:  detoxifying and healing.  In my next article, I will cover building and maintaining diets.

In a perfect world detoxifying shout take place in the spring and usually incorporates a vegetarian or vegan diet that includes lots of raw fruits and vegetables as well as fresh pressed fruit and vegetables juices.  I choose this type of diet because it is loaded with digestive enzymes that clean up the waste in our bodies and act as the custodians of the blood stream.  A vegetarian/vegan diet is also ideal during this time because these foods are easier to digest, thus quickening the digestive process and leaving less behind to ferment and create toxins.  Spring is the ideal time for detoxifying and eating a vegetarian/vegan diet because this is when sprouts and greens are most readily available and the outdoor temperatures are not too cold.  My favourite detox meals include a green drink and I include them, as well as other delicious raw and vegetarian foods, at my Learn, Eat, & Be Well on the first breakfast.  They are packed with nutrients, are easy to digest, will energize you, and help with jet lag.

Healing diets can be done at any time of year and work to harness the healing energy of the foods for specific body systems.  However, I find that healing diets, in this case, the macrobiotic diet, is more suitable for cooler temperatures.  This is because much of the food in a macrobiotic diet is cooked.  In macrobiotics the method of cooking should be used to balance the energy or in fact, modify the energy of a food.  This diet recognizes that each food has a specific energy and cooking can alter that energy so that you can target a specific area or purpose.  Balancing the energy of the foods on a plate gives the body the nutrients and “energy” to do its repair work.  This is why the macrobiotic diet is most famous for it’s healing properties and is often us

ed by cancer patients.  The concept behind the method of cooking in the macrobiotic diet is to change the energy of the food to balance it with the other foods on the plate.  This allows the energies to come to a place of homeostasis on the plate and give the body the balanced energies that it needs for healing.

One of the things that I love about SW France is that this is where the Black Perigord is located.  Known for its rich growing soil, the Black Perigord gives birth to foods that are live, natural, and superior quality.  Just the way I learned about in school.  Bursting with flavour and nutrients, you can eat less in the Black Perigord and feel totally satisfied and energized for a day of site seeing.

I hope you can join me for an experience of learning and site seeing.  Bon apetite!

Bianca