In most cultures, food plays a dual physical and spiritual role. In some, certain foods are forbidden while in others, certain foods bestow spiritual powers. The goal for physical nutrition and wellness is creating a healthy body. The goal for spiritual nutrition and wellness is opening the mind and psyche.
Both demonstrate that food is a powerful medicine. Oftentimes when we assess our diets and want to make changes, we look at what types of foods we should leave out, but in this post I’d like to focus on what foods we should incorporate for optimal spiritual wellness.
Spiritual wellness is about strengthening our intuition, changing our vibrational energy and awakening our divine sensibilities. When we nourish our physical bodies with spiritual foods, we’re supporting the ability of our brain and nervous system to function best and allow us to transcend into higher levels of awareness.
Wild Blueberries
This humble fruit, hiding low on leafy bushes in plain sight is the most antioxidant rich food there is. When you eat these berries, their innate intelligence literally reads your body and searches out potential disease, monitors stress and heals toxicity. This is the food you want when you’ve been through the unthinkable and need support to rise up again. Wild blueberries help us cultivate the right mindset to attract abundance, and shape our thoughts and actions to manifest the lives we want.
★ Wild blueberries are easiest to find frozen and are wonderful enjoyed in a smoothie, a frozen treat or simply thawed and enjoyed whole.
Cacao
Long used in ceremonial ritual to gain clarity, set intentions, do healing inner work and processing, cacao is an antioxidant rich elixir that increases the energetic field of our hearts. Cacao is a superfood packed with replenishing minerals like magnesium, calcium, zinc and iron. Regularly consuming cacao can have therapeutic health benefits including creating new neural pathways that change our spiritual experiences to include more love, joy and connection.
★ When purchasing cacao, ceremonial grade is best as it’s a whole food and alive in spirit. In prepared foods like chocolate, look for a minimum of 70% cacao for optimal health benefits.
Avocado
The healthy fat from avocado helps support our brain health and nervous system function. Fats are grounding and stabilizing and help connect you to your intuition and to Mother Earth. Avocados are all about nurturing. Some feel it is the closest food to breast milk and therefore can fill us spiritually with nurturing love. When we need emotional strength and connection to who we really are, avocados are fortifying and allow us to become stronger. Bringing avocados into your diet can improve your capacity for compassion not only towards yourself but to others.
★ For noticeable benefits, eat one avocado per day. Hold the avocado in your hands for 30 seconds before cutting it to connect its cells to your individual energy.
Cilantro
Cilantro, also known as coriander, is the go-to herb for heavy metal detoxification. It contains minerals and phytochemicals that remove the toxic heavy metals we’ve been exposed to through our personal care products, environments and certain foods. It helps to free up the neurons in our brains, detoxify our liver and balance our blood sugar. Just as it purges heavy metals from our physical body, cilantro helps us purge negative self-talk, beliefs or memories that no longer serve us and provides an emotional detox and higher spiritual connection.
★ Cilantro is best consumed fresh and is wonderful to incorporate into salads, soups, sprinkled on vegetables and in sauces and condiments like salsa and guacamole.
Ginger
Long used as an antispasmodic remedy for stomach ailments, ginger is an important food to get us out of a reactive state. Modern day stressors like our phones, jobs and urgent tasks put us into chronic crisis mode that requires reactivity. Ginger is a natural relaxant and helps release lactic acid from the muscles and body. Antiviral and antibacterial, ginger is also a wonderful immunity booster. Spiritually, ginger teaches us that we don’t always have to have a solution to have a breakthrough and allows us to use its antispasmodic magic on our souls, cleansing us of our wounds.
Purchase ginger that is firm to the touch for best freshness. It can be reused throughout the day and is fine to use in multiple servings of tea.
Turmeric
Nature’s anti-inflammatory, turmeric contains the compound curcumin, a highly anti-inflammatory phytochemical that’s great for healing anything in the body that’s inflamed and causing pain. Inflammation doesn’t just occur physically. We can also become inflamed mentally, emotionally and spiritually taking the form of blame, judgment, rage or perpetual dissatisfaction. Bring turmeric into your life to help you appreciate what a valuable human you are and all the positive attributes you have to offer.
★ Try juicing fresh turmeric and ginger together and periodically take small sips throughout the day. Turmeric can also be added to spice up food, as a tea or in supplement form.
LAURA COLLIS | NUTRITIOUS WELLNESS
Holistic Nutrition & Wellness Coach; Nutritious Life Certified
Laura is a nutrition and wellness coach who helps women create a way of eating and living unique to their bodies and lifestyles allowing them to achieve the health they deserve. She works with her clients to develop positive habit change to help them become the CEO’s of their health.
Using a straightforward, uncomplicated approach that’s designed to help live their healthiest lives, she teaches women how to nourish their bodies with real foods, balance their hormones, get better sleep and develop new routines that actually stick.