In The Kitchen - Jessie Keener N.D. - Human Intelligence Specialist

Keener Intelligence - In The Kitchen

Ever since I met my mentor Theresa Dale in 1984, I have been hugely into food, the preparation of it, how to cook, season, combine and even how to grow it.

Dr. Dale was a great mentor in this area, turning me onto organics long before they were popular. But she went farther, showing me how to substitute more inflaming foods for better ingredients and choices. Already back then, I was instructed by her to avoid wheat, dairy (cow) soy, peanuts, yeast and mushrooms.

I learned how to make a lot of my favorite dishes with non-threatening ingredients, and I thrived.

She also trained me in proper food combining, which made a huge difference in my digestions and overall energy.

This section will be a magazine of different entries, from videos to recipes, and menu ideas, plus your contributions, over time.

Keener Intelligence - What is Your Relationship with Food?

Read this article in the Forum and be a part of the discussion: What is Your Relationship with Food?

One of the most obvious truths about our bodies, that continues to be downplayed in modern medicine, is the power of eating food that is good for us. When you examine the plethora of choices in the modern marketplace, food becomes a matter of taste and palate, not fuel for thriveability. We develop our favorite foods as children, and often unconsciously start a reward relationship regarding those favorites. I feel everyone can relate to this, and you still likely have favorite foods.

Having favorites isn’t necessarily bad or wrong; however, it does set up a "dualistic" approach to food, i.e., reward and punishment versus what we eat for sustainability and balanced energy.

Think about it: weren’t there foods you did not want to eat as a child? Didn’t it feel like a punishment when you had to "eat your peas," or whatever it was? On the other hand, for special occasions like your birthday, you likely got "favorites." So we develop this reward-punishment approach to food, and we start to become ruled by our taste buds, not by intelligence!

As we move into adulthood, our culture reinforces this unhealthy and unsustainable approach to food with tons of advertising, and millions of dollars spent on developing that "flavor burst," which literally creates an addiction to that product. As I write this, obesity in American has become a pandemic, and we have become food addicts.

I was slammed head-first into this awareness early on in my recovery with Dr. Dale. I knew I had a toxic relationship with food, very much eating what I wanted, what tasted good, but then I found out that I had these food sensitivities that helped keep me addicted. Once I pulled the offending foods out of my life (peanuts, yeast, wheat, soy, cow dairy [except butter] and mushrooms) my approach to food started to change. I could actually FEEL what was working for my body. I had more energy, and started to mentally work with the cravings that still came up.

I found that discipline was a key, and that I needed more of it. I kept at it, and despite some "cheats" I got stronger and stronger mentally and emotionally. I learned that I had been using food as a substitute for love, particularly self-love. I embarked on the sacred mission of developing that character trait, as I saw its importance. I found that I could use other forms of self-soothing instead of eating sugar, as an example. And boy, did I love sugar!

Once I found conscious breath work, it become a lot easier for me to hold to my boundaries and not cave. I would like to point out that sometimes, other people would act offended and hurt if I didn’t eat something they were serving. I tried to explain my condition, and yet I still sensed their confusion and chaos. Later, I realized that I was inadvertently bringing up their unresolved food trauma! I even learned the correct phrase for this, "Nurturing trauma," from Leonard Orr, the grandfather of the Rebirthing movement in the U.S.

You see, we are all born into this world seeking nurturing. A few of us did have amazingly available mothers who nursed, held and loved us consistently from birth. But for the rest of us, we had the mothers who were stressed, overworking and under-nurtured themselves. This meant that their ability to bond with us and nurture us might be lessened. A situation as simple as you being in a growth spurt, and waking up hungry at the wrong time for Mom who has you on a schedule (can you believe that was a thing?!).And it simply wasn’t time to feed you. So you went hungry and this begins the trauma. This sets us up for addictions and mental health issues.

I maintain that trauma is the "gateway drug," and that the only permanent resolution lies in character development and brain training. I have proven this to myself, by overcoming PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) since the age of 4 months, when my mother had a psychotic break and tried to take me out. I do not share this to be sensational, rather to demonstrate that there are intelligent ways to overcome massive trauma. I did not even learn of this incident until I was in my 40’s, but I knew I had PTSD because it had been professionally diagnosed in my early 30’s.

All of this was underneath my relationship with food! It was my relationship with my mother, my relationship with reward-punishment, my relationship with my body, so much content to breathe through and use brain training for.

Yes, it took years. Yes, it has been completely worth it. I have a freedom with food I never imagined, and am inspired by preparing meals for myself and others. I can honestly say I am developing Food Intelligence!

That is part of why I want to share food with you, it is a source of love and joy for me, and I have earned the upside by mining through enough of the negative emotions that I get lots of energy though sharing it.

Keener Intelligence - Simple Food Combining for Optimal Digestion

Read this article in the Forum and be a part of the discussion: Simple Food Combining for Optimal Digestion

One of the first things that my mentor, Dr. Theresa Dale taught me was the principles of proper food combining. As she walked me through the basic rules, my mind was truly blown. Here was a way to make sure the proteins digested well, and didn’t putrefy the liver.

I had learned in Naturopathic school that fermented animal protein created 10 different toxic gases, one of which I still recall: Cadaverine! So I knew it was important to digest cleanly. However, they did not teach food combining at that institution, so thank goodness I ended working with Theresa on my health.

The rules are simple, but fly in the face of modern eating and even modern so called "healthy" diets.

Let’s take a look at the controversy: First of all, in proper food combining we do not combine protein with starches/carbs/sugars, as they always get broken down first. The enzyme needed for protein, called protease, is a little more challenging for the pancreas, so it gets secreted later. This gives the simple sugars a chance to start fermenting our protein, which is exactly what happens. Then these toxic gases form, and go out into our bloodstreams, and our poor liver has to neutralize them before they can send it to the kidneys. This is a lot of work and when you add in the disastrous food pyramid, which emphasizes complex carbs (starches) you can imagine why there are so many people with weak and stressed livers.

The liver has over 100,000 functions that we know of so far, and this one little trick eases a great deal of those.

Let’s look further, as I am sure you want to know what to combine with your protein: Always with vegetables, and I don’t mean potatoes, as they are a starch! Always combine protein with a little healthy fat, such as virgin olive oil based salad dressing, avocado, coconut oil or grass-fed butter. Use low-sugar veggies such as greens, asparagus, broccoli, etc.

Another huge controversy, as if that wasn’t disruptive enough, is to either eat fruit alone, with no other type of food or leave it alone! So that meant a big change for me, right there, but we are not finished.

Next was to combine starches (complex carbs) with vegetables and a little healthy fat. Ok, that is not so challenging. But look at all of the “famous” American/Western meals: Burger with a bun and fries, Sandwiches with meats and breads, almost any Italian meal, Eggs, toast and Orange juice for breakfast, etc.

I could easily see lots of substituting and going without in my future. Fortunately, I was raised cooking and my Mom was a terrific cook. As Theresa also took me off of wheat and cow dairy products except grass fed butter, I had to put those skills to use. You will see the fruits of that endeavor in the form of menus/recipes that I will post regularly.

The next rule of simple food combining was to NOT drink beverages with the meal, as it directly dilutes your digestive enzymes, which are also in liquid form. That one was hard for me. One day Theresa took me to lunch and while we were eating, asked me to look around the dining room at the restaurant, so I could see how people were eating, talking, (yes, with their mouths full) barely chewing and gulping beverages to wash their food down. That did it for me! I immediately got it, and stopped doing that except when I had to take some supplements after the meals. I did learn to take very little water, even with lots of pills!

Dr. Dale insisted I drink all of my water in between meals, and had me set a goal of at least 8 10 ounce glasses of pure water daily. It took me about a month, and I still do it today.

Here are the rules in a short list:

1. Combine protein with veggies and healthy fats—no starch or carbs!

2. Combine Starches/Carbs with veggies and healthy fats.

3. No fruit with meals; either eat it alone or leave it alone.

4. No beverages with meals except to take your supplements.

5. Hydrate thoroughly in between your meals. Aim for 80 fluid ounces of more if your exercise is strenuous. Do not drink tap water, as it contains poisons beyond belief.

Keener Intelligence - How Do You Eat?

Read this article in the Forum and be a part of the discussion: How Do You Eat?

This is a short article to provoke thoughts around your eating style, to determine whether it actually supports your well being or detracts from it.

You see, it isn't just about WHAT we eat, or even about how to combine what we eat, it is also about HOW we actually eat. Let's take a look at the actual science of eating.

Humans/Homo Sapiens evolved eons ago, as hunter-gatherers. That literally meant they were eating plants, tubers, primitive acorns, and meats. There was no microwave oven or even a fire to heat up and soften the foods. As a result, early humans had to chew a lot.

Chewing the food gave an important signal, through the salivary glands, to the pancreas, which then secreted the appropriate digestive enzymes for the stomach to use. Further, around 20 minutes after the meal, the stomach secreted hydrochloride acid, to break down the tougher proteins like meats.

Note: That I put the above scenario in past tense, and that is because very little of that happens anymore with modern eating!

With modern foods, processed, soft and cooked, very little chewing is required. To make it worse, very few of us chew adequately and often put way too much food into our mouths per bite with modern forks and spoons. Then we wash it down with our beverages.

If you read my earlier article on Proper Food Combining, Simple Food Combining for Optimal Digestion you can quickly see what I mean. How we eat is paramount to ensuring that we breakdown our precious fuel sources properly for optimal absorption.

So, take smaller bites. Chew thoroughly. Breathe, and put the fork or spoon down in between bites. You are not a wild animal in survival!

About Dr. Keener Jessie has been a Breath Work healer and Naturopathic Physician since 1987, callings she has given her all to. As with many other healers, Jessie lost her own health when she was a young adult and entered full-blown menopause along with fainting spells and severe pain syndromes in her early 20’s. She was fortunate to meet a world-class Clinical Nutritionist, Dr. Theresa Dale, PhD., who took her case and resolved it over a 2.5 year period of time. Dr. Dale had assured Jessie that she would be able to have a child, which Dr. Keener went on to do!

Fully inspired by her experience with natural medicine, Jessie got her degree in Naturopathic Medicine and has practiced for over 3 decades, integrating conscious breath work with Naturopathy. Her vast knowledge of what actually works has proven to be life-changing for thousands.

She has hosted her own TV Health talk show, and done hundreds of radio and podcast interviews.

Dr. Jessie is a dedicated educator and facilitator for true health. (website) She is married and resides in Central Texas, USA.