NUTRITIONAL GUIDE BEFORE & AFTER AYAHUASCA CEREMONIES

DIETARY PREPARATION

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In preparation for an ayahuasca ceremony, your diet plays an important role. You might have heard about the so-called “Dieta” that people do before they consume ayahuasca. There are a lot of traditions when it comes to preparing, and it can get a little confusing when you try to find out what food you actually can eat, what you should not eat, and what you must avoid.

By eliminating certain foods from your diet, you prepare your body physically for your journey, and it could also have an effect on the amount of purging during your ceremony. This is a viable step in cleansing your body before, and keeping it clean after, your ceremonies. In addition to the physical aspects, by showing your commitment and determination to ayahuasca and the master plants, you are creating the foundations of your relationship with them and offering them the respect which is essential for this work.

We would like to help you through this process and summarize some basic nutritional guidelines. You MUST contact us if you are taking medications or supplements.

First, the suggested diet is light and healthy with minimum to zero products of animal origin. At any cost, you must avoid pork, alcohol and any drugs or prescriptions (that are mind and mood altering: SSRIs, anxiety medications, mood stabilizers, ADHD meds!!).

The simplest guideline in preparation is to eat light vegetarian food one week before and one week after, with low levels of salt, sugar, fat, and no hot spices. Eating raw foods or just vegetable soups is advised for the day of ceremony.

You must start the diet at least 24 hours before you drink ayahuasca; however, we strongly recommend you start at least three to five days before, and better yet encourage you to prepare for 2 weeks.

We also ask that you use your common sense and please do not become neurotic about the dieta – so do not think you completely messed up and have to reschedule if all you did is accidentally end up consuming some salt or sugar.

If you really want to get the most out of your ayahuasca experience, we recommend avoiding the following foods and activities preferably 2 weeks prior to coming. In the Amazonian jungle, the foods that are ok to eat before consuming ayahuasca are very limited to mostly plantains, potatoes, rice, some chicken, and fish.

Angel Of Life Sanctuary recommends to avoid the following foods, products, and activities:

Two weeks prior

• Pork
• Alcohol of any kind, including beer
• Cannabis
• All street drugs like cocaine, amphetamines (please note we do drug testing on property to ensure the safety of our guests)
• Spices like chili, peppers
• High amounts of sugar, corn syrup
• Processed foods (nothing in a box or can with ingredients you can’t pronounce)
• Processed/refined sugar
• Please also avoid synthetic soaps, perfumes, and toiletries with fragrance
• Sexual stimulation, including masturbation (you will have a lot better of a journey)

One week prior

• Red or heavy meats (pork & beef)
• Fish like tuna and eel
• Fermented food like pickles, cheese, anchovies, kombucha
• Caffeine like coffee, tea, soda, and other stimulants like guarana
• Refined sugars
• Junk food
• Pepper and salt (if absolutely needed, low amounts of sea or Himalayan salt)
• Oils (if needed, olive oil or coconut oil)
• Animal fats like butter, lard
• Carbonated drinks like soda (including diet soda), energy drinks, non-alcoholic beer

Last 24–48 hours

• Fermented food like soy sauce, tamari, miso, alcohol, tofu, vermouth, wine, aged/moldy cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, blue cheese), and curd
• Yeast
• Avocado
• Eggplant
• Figs
• Plums
• Broad beans
• Peanuts
• Sour cream
• Buttermilk
• Chocolate
• Vegemite
• Sauerkraut
• Garlic, salt, and onion

MUST avoid the day of ceremony

• Dried fruits
• Vinegar
• Spices like garlic, onions, salt, turmeric, ginger
• Nightshades like tomatoes, spinach
• Eggs
• Dairy yogurt and kefir
• Heavy sweets
• White bread

WHY AVOIDING GENERALLY HEALTHY FOODS THE LAST 24 HOURS?

The optimal diet 24 hours in advance is juice and smoothies, especially the day of. This ensures the Aya works effortlessly to move what you came here to work on.

There are some foods that are generally considered healthy, like avocados, eggplant, and certain fruits, that are strongly suggested to avoid the last 24 hours before consuming ayahuasca. This is important because Ayahuasca is an MAOI inhibitor, which interferes with certain foods that contain tyramine.

The MAOI in the Ayahuasca vine blocks an enzyme called monoamine oxidase, breaking it down to a high amount of tyramine in your body. Tyramine is responsible for regulating your blood pressure. If you now have excessive amounts of tyramine in your system, your blood pressure could increase, causing massive headaches.

For this reason, it is very important to avoid any food that is high in tyramine at least the last 24 hours before consuming Ayahuasca. There have been many cases of severe headache reported.

You CAN eat

• Fresh and cooked vegetables including potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca, beets, jicama, carrots, broccoli, arugula, lettuces, cucumber, carrots, celery, cauliflower
• Grains + legumes like rice, buckwheat, oats, barley, including quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, beans, and lentils. Wheat, kamut, spelt, etc.
• Nuts and seeds including raw almonds, raw cashews, raw walnuts, chia seeds, and raw shelled hemp seeds (except peanut)
• Seasonings including fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, dill, etc.)
• Moderate amounts of olive oil or coconut oil
• Hummus, no garlic, no salt, and no onions
• Root vegetables like sweet potato, parsnips, turnips (ideal in a soup)

Although we strongly advise you to follow a clean, plant-based diet prior to coming to get the most out of your experience, if you are absolutely not able to follow a vegan diet for whatever reasons, we suggest the following as an alternative:

• Animal proteins such as eggs (hard-boiled, poached, or scrambled), organic free-range chicken, or light, wild-caught fish such as sole, tilapia, bass, trout, halibut, or snapper.

Please drink plenty of water and electrolytes such as coconut water to prepare for your ceremony. You may want to bring electrolytes with you for your retreat. Examples are coconut water, NO Pedialyte, or anything that does not contain processed or added sugar.