One of Auroville's fields of expertise is production and preparation of food that is both health and environmentally safe. Auroville produces most of its food in a number of organic farms, some of them specialize in food supplements (Spirulina, for instance) and other market their produce to the local shops, the "Solar Kitchen" (the main dining facility for Aurovillians and guests) and self use. The "Food Lab" is yet another Auroville unit that addresses the universally growing problem, food allergies and hazardous food products (genetic engineering, use of dangerous chemicals for conservation, flavors, colors , use of pesticides and hormones, antibiotics and other additives to food products). Lorenzo, who founded and runs the Lab, developed his own system of diagnosing and treating various food allergies and other dietary regimes for people suffering various health problems.
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A visit to Auroville "Food Lab"
I met Lorenzo over a hot Idly dish in the small stand in Kuillaplayam, the Auroville neighboring village, and bugged him with some tourist questions on what to buy and what is safe to it. Lorenzo was generous with information, and went on to introduce his philosophy on food, in our age and days. Soon I forgot the Idly, for which I came, and stood there listening to a lecture on allergens, pollutants and engineered products.
A few weeks later, I stepped in Lorenzo's domain, "the Food Lab", and picked up the second half of the lecture, which was thought provoking and interesting. After that, I was ready for my diagnosis, based on the assumption that some foods are obstructing the natural processes of my body, especially the immune system.
Lorenzo can prove that our body "speaks" to us, and actually 'tells' us , which food is bad for our digestion and metabolism. Along the lines of "body awareness" philosophies of late, he combines craniosacral ideas with quantum physics and homoeopathy. To communicate with the body he uses a simple series of "yes/no" questions, while the patient is holding the suspect food component that is being testes. The body's answer comes in the form of a muscle relaxation, that indicates a spontaneous aversion to the suspect allergen. After a discussion with the body, through the fingers of the patient's hand, he comes up with the culprits, in my case dairy products, and to a lesser extent - apple.
Beside a specific individual test, Lorenzo has vast knowledge of our modern food problems, starting with the artifacts now introduced into every sort of food, and ending with genetic engineering of produce. Being a realist , he is not advocating activism, but personal responsibility with respect to how we shop, and what we ingest. He advises to stay away from any processed or canned products, in general to reduce intake of sugar, dairy and wheat and focus on fresh fruit, vegetable, and fresh meets/fish to non vegans.
I present Lorenzo with a bit of challenge, when I ask him to test radioactive residue in my body, but he does not shy from the challenge. A week later he calls me to say he has a test, and soon I let him "ask my body" what he has to say. My body, alas, sends a positive response, namely, that I am infected with some radioactive poisoning, but to offset the scare, my body communicates that it can discharge of the pollutants without medications.
The Food Lab's results appear in the form of identified forbidden foods (avoidance diet) and homeopathic recipe, to assist the process of cleansing and recovery of the natural immune systems. The Lab can also address specific known allergies which are now very common and in some case debilitating.
