From the Ground Up: Nourishing Nutrients
Beyond minerals and vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, the way food is grown, prepared, and consumed has an impact. Food has the power to affect how our bodies and minds feel, work, think, love, create, and do.
At Valentines Farm, we believe that individual choice and free will are always priority. Each person has particular needs, and preferences. Emotions and desires play a role too, as well as how our body assimilates food differently. That being said, we also see a difference with biodynamic food; from salad greens, fruits and veggies, to eggs, meats, and dairy, the produce stands out in some beautiful way. Whether it be for its vibrant color, its delicate texture, and its incredible taste, it carries a vitality that strengthens the body and supports mental clarity whereas other foods (highly processed, chemically-grown) don’t quite have the same effect. Our customers are often surprised at how well our veggies hold up in their fridge! Eating food grown close to home, in soil that is treated as a living being, fed, and cared for biodynamically, with heart and intention, undoubtedly translates into our own health and well-being.
Graphic from EduCareDo, a resource of the biodynamic training program for our farm crew.
One super interesting idea to consider is that of the human body viewed upside down in relation to the plant world. If you think about this with an open mind, you my find many fascinating connections. Root vegetables have a particularly positive relationship with our nerves, brain, and sense organs. Leaves and greens correlate to, and support our cardiovascular and respiratory systems, including the heart and lungs; and seeds and fruits aid the digestive, metabolic, and reproductive systems. Beyond vegetables, we are able to see that our physical body is not directly what we eat, that our salad for lunch goes through a process to become blood cells, new tissue, and strong bones, or even another human being! Thankfully our salad doesn’t turn us into a big bowl of greens! Through digestion, food substances are crushed and broken down in a way that releases its life forces. These forces and nutrients are then taken up by our body who builds and maintains all our organs and functions in working order. We will go deeper into the subject of life forces in food in our next blog of this series, where we’ll touch on scientific methods that can be used to analyze food quality and vitality.
Our bodies are highly intelligent, far more than our minds, and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we know about how our mind and gut biome functions are intimately linked. We take it for granted unless something is awry, but have you imagined having to be in charge of all the metabolic and vital functions of our body yourself? It’d be our one and only job and many of us wouldn’t last a minute!
The food we eat connects us to our unique environment and brings us into harmony with the season and place, wherever we are. We are proud to provide our high-quality vegetables and products to help others not only build healthy bodies and minds, but also to build community — something we all need a little more of these days!
Come find us at Deep Roots Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 am to 1:00 pm through November, rain or shine! And stay tuned to the blog for more, all year long. How does biodynamic food feel to you?
