Photo by Tambako The Jaguar.

You know those moments when you remember something you’ve forgotten for a really long time, then all of a sudden someone asks you a question and your brain decides that NOW is the time for recall?

Someone recently asked me for  guidelines on how to eat seasonally and I remembered something British medical herbalist Rowan Hamilton, once told me when he was lecturing at Bastyr University.  This is the story he told me.  If you can imagine a bear-like orator with a strong English accent , small glasses and a beard you’ll be right there with me.  Oh, and all told over a dairy free cup of earl gray tea with lemon and honey.

“I was staying at a farm in Devon for the weekend and there I met Charlie.  Charlie was a simple fellow, who bothered not with the complexities of modern diet fads.  With an uncanny knowingness, he was knew exactly what to eat with the passing of each season.  Berries in summer, apples and pears in autumn – seemingly without any thought process, Charlie would gravitate to the freshest and most seasonal of foods.  Charlie never suffered from any digestive or inflammatory disorder.  Charlie was a Cypriot donkey.  Another cup of tea ol’chap?”

There must be a precognitive human element somewhere in our suppressed log of animal instincts which shares in this simplicity right?  This story actually made me think about a book called, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky. I guess zebras, donkeys same thing.  Very much like most mammals we are not conditioned as humans to endure long periods of stress, which is why according to Robert Sapolsky we suffer from stress related chronic, inflammatory digestive disorders.

I’ll post something more detailed tomorrow about the stress hormone cortisol.

For now, back to basics.  Local, seasonal and organic whenever possible.  Thanks Charlie.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.