My experience with Ayahuasca and the dieta process was deeply transformative. While Ayahuasca was a powerful part of the journey, it was the combination of the purge, dieta, and solitude that truly brought lasting change. The holistic approach provided clarity, balance, and a sense of personal growth. I very much recommend it to any other veteran looking for answers outside of traditional Western medicine.

The dieta process in Ayahuasca is hard to explain to someone who’s only heard of Ayahuasca and never what a dieta is. It’s hard to even compare, maybe like comparing a steak to breakfast cereal. It’s like it’s not even in the same category except for the fact that they’re both food. The entire process of the dieta involves commitment and dedication to finishing the ordeal. After doing it, I realize it’s really the only way it should be done. Restricting your diet and behaviors 2 weeks out, continuing that for 30 days after. Low calories and limited food during the dieta. Master plant consumption. Purging plants to start the dieta in the first place. Finally, after all that is underway, you actually do the Ayahuasca. What I failed to realize before doing this entire thing properly is that the process of the dieta is the important part. The Ayahuasca is the phone call with the great beyond but clearing the static off the phone line with the dieta is how you make that connection. The suffering, for lack of a better term, of restricting yourself and purging is setting the table for the dinner to come. Without this process, you’re getting some benefit but you’re not peeling back the onion and getting to the core of it all. I wish everyone could experience the dieta process. It’s important to be away from your phone, your stacked up emails, your to-do list and just be in nature, quietly by yourself. That alone is an experience but mixing it with cleaning your body out through purging and using master plants is what makes it truly special. The cherry on the top is the Ayahuasca. This isn’t for the faint of heart but if commitment is something that can be done, it’s completely worth it by every metric and I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

I am a US military veteran who has struggled with alcohol addiction, depression, and anxiety for many years, I was blessed with an opportunity to participate in an 8 day Dieta in the jungle. I found the preparation for the trip to be both thoughtful and customized to the issues I sought to address with Ayahuasca. I really enjoyed the process of preparing my body and mind for the treatment. Although I mistakenly believed purging would only be the result of not fully preparing for Ayahuasca, once I realized it was a foundational part, I just accepted and settled in. In a strange way, I found nothing off-putting about the strictness of the dieta and the purging. I trusted the process. I do not believe in sugar coating truth, this process can be difficult at times. It certainly was for me. But the result…WOW! I have several months of sobriety from alcohol at the time of writing. My depression is all but melted away and anxiety isn’t much of an issue for me at all anymore. I am very grateful for my experiences during my time in Peru and the healing I was given through my Dieta and the plant medicine.

I found ayahuasca when I was at an incredibly low point in my life. I had been deploying for years and stuck in a cycle that had finally lead to a breakdown. After this jungle retreat I received my feelings back after years of putting them away, I also felt like I became more of who I was than at any point in my life. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but I realized that the purge and dieta process were necessary in order for me to access parts of myself I had not accessed before. My life has changed in incredible ways because of it.