The late John D. Rockefeller, one of America’s pioneer industrialist millionaires lived in the beautiful seaside town of Daytona Beach, Florida where I lived for several years when my son was little. Rockefeller was a man obsessed with attaining and maintaining perfect health. On a path to natural well-being, he chose Daytona Beach, as his home above all other places because of its clean air and great climate. When he commissioned a team of doctors to do a survey to identify the best food on earth, they found mother’s milk to be ideal.

For me, nursing my baby at the time, this was exhilarating news because it made me aware for the first time of how nature has planned for perfection. It has ensured that a tiny infant weighing a mere few pounds, doubles his/ her weight in six months subsisting solely on mother’s milk, a feat not repeated in the life of a human being. When your child suckles, burps, gurgles and sleeps with a look of innocent bliss after being nourished, it’s a time to feel at one with the universe. You feel so full of power being capable of taking care of your infant without any external help, not even a feeding bottle.

Thus my tryst with the study of nutrition began and has persisted despite the medical world doing everything possible to make me dependent on them. However, destiny had planned otherwise.

My faith in natural nutrition was reinforced by a naturalist grandmother, a practical mother, a father who to this day hasn’t visited a doctor (not even a naturopath) and myself being brought up on a farm. Charged with the many experiences and formal study of nutrition that destiny had in store for me, I broke free of the medical profession.

Although there were umpteen teachers, schools of thought, role models and books which shaped my development as an eco-nutritionist, I will only touch upon a couple of major deviations from the norm that prompted a shift in consciousness for me. I won’t name any one person or institution since I would then want to tell you more about each one of them.

My initial experiences in nutrition made me unlearn many traditional nostrums. One of the dramatic unlearnings was of the germ and virus theory. It really blew my mind when I learned that germs and viruses are not the real cause of an illness. The root cause is lifestyles that create the conditions for them to thrive. And in any case we do need some good bacteria around. So how do we discriminate? Don’t even try. Leave it to the wonderful machine that is the human body. Listen to it, respond to its needs, and watch the magic. Given that germs and viruses are ubiquitous, why do they get to us at times and not at others? The answer is that it depends on our levels of immunity.

Therefore good health and well-being demand that we develop and strengthen our immune systems. I believe I have been able to achieve this because of a strong natural instinct which enables me to keep continually and perfectly well. To this end I keep my emotions in check; do plenty of introspection (having faith in the divine plan keeps me worry-free); get plenty of sunshine (more important to me than food); am very active (love to swim and dance besides doing most daily chores myself); lymphasise daily (more about this later); don’t ever resort to allopathy; unwind with music chants and occasional massage; foreswear refined foods in favour of organically grown fare as far as possible, and get involved in creative and productive work. I try at all times to keep my energy levels high, positive, and balanced because germs and virus proliferate at low levels.

One of the prerequisites of vibrant health is to understand that illness is a signal from the body to take charge. So when sick, we should revert to simple food and rest in order to recover naturally. However, our instinctual abilities are so depleted that even when we have an upset tummy, the natural instinct is to want to eat and take medication. But common sense should tell you to give your stomach a break, rest it a bit, give it some fresh limewater (with natural sugar and rock salt) or coconut water depending on the cause of the illness. Usually just skipping a meal or two does the trick.

Similarly when we run a fever, if we understood that fever is the body’s way of fighting germs, viruses and infections, instead of fearing it, we could assist it in doing its job. If only we drink adequate water and fluids, intake light semi-solid natural food, the fever will do its job and leave us feeling well again. Today with all the complications arising from fevers, we tend to panic. I believe it is the rampant use of antibiotics that has created and lowered peoples’ natural immunity.

Thus treating all acute problems with home remedies and following nature’s laws has been an all important part of my understanding of natural health and holistic healing. If we follow this path we don’t reach the chronic stage of an illness because we have dealt with it sensibly in its initial stage. It’s pointless to eat the best of natural foods and then pop pills when any symptom of illness surfaces. Moreover I believe that the power of the mind and our emotions can make or break us. So be it meditation, introspection, reading, quiet moments, healing hobbies, music, dance, creative activity, sports, useful work- anything that works for you to relax and be at peace with yourself and the environment, is important for your well-being.

All ailments and illnesses are body signals and besides the emotional quotient, usually a cleansing act. However, I have come to experience that one can reach a point of balance whereby the body can cleanse itself via its true check points- the liver and kidneys- to avoid colds, coughs, headaches, skin problems and the like. This awareness has been very liberating for me and has made me immune to recurrent coughs and colds, from which I used to suffer constantly. 

(Kavita Mukhi is a Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and director of Conscious Food)

Also read: Intelligent nutrition-happiness connection