The Ayahuasca Diet

You are about to participate in the ancestral Ayahuasca Ceremony! Like many sacred ceremonies, there is a preparation. There are certain foods that should be avoided within the days before an Ayahuasca ceremony. Different experts, different opinions. Some people would say that the diet is not that important and some others wouldn’t accept you in the ceremony if you had not followed every step of the sacred preparation before it. Certainly, there are some good and scientific health reasons why you should avoid certain foods such as those that contain tyramine (see below), because taking tyramine in conjunction with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, can trigger a hypertensive crisis and migraine (but there aren’t any fatalities’ cases). In Naturalia, we are to follow the traditional and sacred journey, and truely respect the diet. This diet is made to prepare and cleanse your body for it to welcome and facilitate the process of the sacred medecine. The sooner you start, the better it is. We recommend you to begin this preparation at least from3 to 5 days before the retreat begins. Here are the foods you should avoid as much as possible: - Food containing stimulants, caffeine, spices, chili, fats, oil, salt and sugar. - Fermented foods like soy sauce/Tamari, soy beans paste/curd (like Miso or Tofu), beer, vermouth, wine, cheese, yeast. - Foods that are a potential source of tyramine, like mature avocados, eggplants, figs, grapes, pineapples, plums, raisins, prunes, broad beans, fava beans, lentils, peanuts, dried milk, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, chocolate, Vegemite... - It is very important not to drink alcohol or take any street recreational drugs for at least a week before,during and after the retreat. It is also strongly recommended that you don’t engage in sex or masturbation for several days before and after the retreat, and of course, not during the retreat.