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Today I have the lovely Katharina Döricht from "Tasty Katy" as my guest.Katharina is a holistic Ayurvedic nutrition and health consultant, gut health advisor and yoga teacher.She is also a blogger and gives cooking courses on plant-based nutrition and Ayurveda throughout Germany. So she was predestined for me to talk about the question: Is a gut-healthy diet also possible vegan?
Katy developed her passion for healthy eating, the gut and yoga because she suffered from intestinal problems herself.
We talk about the following topics, among others:

• how her quality of life improved enormously within a short period of time thanks to a stool analysis
• how she followed her passion on her healing journey and completed an Ayurveda training course
• how you should design a plant-based diet so that it is also beneficial for intestinal health
• what her book"Modern Ayurveda" is all about
• how important the mental aspect is in healing

The genesis of the blog "Tasty Katy"

Dear Katharina, how come you chose an English blog name?

Katharina: The blog "Tasty Katy" came about as a result of my health problems. At first, I briefly considered making the blog bilingual, i.e. German-English or even entirely in English. After spending two months in America at the age of 16, I was called Katy by many friends and that's how the name Tasty Katy came about for my blog.

Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome

Would you like to tell us about your own health problems and how you used to feel and how you feel now?

Katharina: I grew up quite healthy, my parents cooked very healthy food. However, I've always had a sensitive stomach and intestines, because I've never really tolerated fatty products and dairy products well. After a coccyx fistula operation at the age of 14, accompanied by an inflammation, I was prescribed an antibiotic. After taking this antibiotic, I developed increasing complaints such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation and hip joint pain. I sought advice from various doctors and alternative practitioners across Germany and was finally diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. I no longer knew what else to eat.

At some point I went to a naturopath who was able to determine through an intestinal flora test that I had a Candida (yeast) overgrowth. From the start of the 3-week antifungal diet, my quality of life improved enormously. improved. I also found it very exciting to find out what influence nutrition has on health and was also interested in yoga, meditation and plant-based nutrition. I tested a lot myself and then wanted to share my knowledge, which is how the blog came about.

How Katharina came to Ayurveda and why it's important to focus on the present moment

Looking back, it's amazing that it takes so much time to understand that nutrition is so crucial to your health. For many people, methods such as stool analysis, which we also offer ourselves, are still very unfamiliar.
How did you come across the topic of Ayurveda?

Katharina: I am actually a primary school teacher. I also followed my passion and trained as a yoga teacher. I have been interested in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. I enjoyed listening to various lectures at the Rosenberg Ayurveda Academy 's open day and decided relatively quickly to start training in this field.

Can you describe what Ayurveda means?

Katharina: We humans are connected to nature, there are different rhythms and a great deal of knowledge about nature. Ayurveda is made up of two words: Ayur and Veda, which means: the knowledge of life. Ayurveda covers many different areas such as yoga, pediatrics, etc.. However, I specialize in nutrition and yoga.

If you could now give Katharina, who was ill at the time, some tips based on what you know today, what would they be?

Katharina: First of all, I would recommend that she doesn't think so much about what could happen, but instead focuses on the present moment and what might be good for her now. For example, eating a warm breakfast in the morning, eating more vegetables, not focusing too much on others and, above all, developing more trust in your own self-healing powers.

"Take time to cook and prepare your food with love"

As you have had intestinal problems yourself, you are concerned with the topic of intestinal health, would you like to share more nutritional tips on this?

Katharina: First and foremost, natural foods are highly recommended. Choose more vegetables than fruit. Cooked food is easier to digest than raw food. Hot food can be refined with spices such as turmeric, fennel seeds and cumin, as these spices have a decongestant and antispasmodic effect. It is also important to prepare food with love and to take enough time to eat.

I have already been told that it is not very socially acceptable to eat this way. How do you deal with such situations when you're out and about or when you meet up with people who don't pay as much attention to their health?

Katharina: It's all a question of organization. My family and friends like to choose restaurants that focus on a plant-based diet and have been inspired by me. I take an uncomplicated approach to the topic and like to ask for alternatives. I like to cook ahead for several meals, freeze something and then take the food with me in a keep-warm box when I'm out and about.

How long have you been eating a plant-based diet? plant-based?

Katharina: I've been eating a vegan diet for about 4-5 years. But I also like to eat honey sometimes. I didn't like eating meat and fish in the past and I didn't tolerate eggs and milk well. I dealt with so many issues, such as factory farming, that it no longer felt right. I'm happy to recommend a predominantly plant-based diet as I feel very comfortable with it myself.

Stay away from industrial sugar and opt for vegetables, protein sources and good fats instead!

What do you think is important when eating a plant-based diet? I've noticed that people like to go for fast carbohydrates such as grains, which can be problematic for people with intestinal problems...

Katharina: Yes, I made that mistake at first too. You can do a lot of things wrong with a vegan diet. The biggest mistake is when you eat industrial, white sugar, because many "healthy" products such as energy balls and bars consist of 80% sugar.

So it's important to make sure that the products don't contain any hidden sugar. The focus should always be on vegetables, half of the plate should consist of vegetables. You should also eat enough protein sources, e.g. in the form of pulses, and make sure you choose healthy fats, such as nuts, seeds and good oils: Nuts, seeds, good oils, avocado. Cereals should then be chosen as a side dish. It is also important to eat a varied diet, as all bacteria want to be fed. Ayurveda also recommends eating seasonally, as there are different types of fruit and vegetables in every season.

Ayurveda can also be lived in the West

Can Ayurveda also be lived in the West, there are many people who like to eat exotic things, if you look at our region, avocado and coconut, for example, would be omitted, how do you see that?

Katharina: Ayurveda teaches that the foods that come from within 80-100 km are the best for our bodies. You can live Ayurveda very well in Germany by buying the food at a weekly market, for example.

Katharina's book: Modern Ayurveda

You have written a book called "Modern Ayurveda", what is this book about?

Katharina: It's a kind of cookbook in which I share over 100 plant-based recipes that are all connected to Ayurveda. I also include the topic of gut health. I explain how I live Ayurveda in everyday life, there is a dosha test, a small spice 1x1, an explanation of the properties of food and much more.

Very nice, this book is certainly also great as a Christmas present.I still have a question about the alternative of pulses, because some people tolerate pulses less well and if you suffer from an autoimmune disease, it is also not recommended to take them, how do you deal with this issue?

Katharina: Pulses can be prepared correctly or incorrectly. They are best tolerated when they are soaked and the water should be drained off afterwards. To make them easier to digest, you should add spices such as fennel seeds, cumin and ginger and roast them beforehand.

There are also pulses that are easier to digest, e.g. mung beans are easier to digest than black lentils. I also share a great recipe for this from my blog, the Ayurvedic "mung dal": https://tastykaty.com/ayurvedischer-mung-dal/.

Proteins are also found in nuts, green vegetables, etc...

Katharina's final words: "Pay attention to what your body wants to tell you, because it is talking to you all the time!"

Is there anything else you would like to say to us at the end?

Katharina: I would like to recommend to people who are not feeling well that they should not give up! There are so many great ways to help yourself these days. You shouldn't lose faith in your own body.

I always say that if you haven't changed your diet yet, you haven't done everything. What I also particularly like is your holistic approach: the movement, the thoughts - everything plays a role.

Katharina: Yes, we should really ask ourselves: "What are my beliefs?" Because there are often a lot of fears behind an illness. Here it is very helpful to really ask yourself: "What does my body actually want to tell me now?", because the body talks to you all the time.

The links to the episode are:

Katharina'sbook: "Modern Ayurveda": https://amzn.to/2NhqgqU?
Podcast interview with Julia in Tasty Katy's podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/tasty-katy-der-podcast/id1450750541?i=1000443290843
BlogTasty Katy:https://tastykaty.com

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