Interview

Interview with foundress Maria Adam

Mrs Adam, you have been dealing with medicinal herbs for a very long time. Where does this passion come from?

My parents had a nursery where my father cultivated among other things medicinal plants and herbs. As children instead of unimportant reading, our father pushed herbal books into my hands and that of my three brothers. At a young age, we were allowed to advise customers on herbs and medicinal plants in the nursery during holidays. So my interest in naturopathy was awakened very early.

When did you come across the teachings of St. Hildegard of Bingen and what fascinated you so much?

After I took over my parent’s business, customers came to me in 1981 at a gardening trade fair. They asked me if I was a “Hildegard friend” because I offered almost all medicinal plants and herbs of the teaching according to Hildegard of Bingen for sale. At that time, I knew nothing about these teachings, which is why these customers brought me the book “So Heilt Gott (So heals God)” by Dr. Gottfried Hertzka on their next visit. This doctor is considered a pioneer of naturopathy according to Hildegard of Bingen and presented her knowledge to the public.

Precisely because I dealt with many healing and nutritional teachings in advance, this book opened my eyes. Because according to Hildegard of Bingen the whole person is treated body, mind and soul. Here, the focus is not only on the intake of minerals and vitamins, but also on the theory of subtlety, the doctrine of juice balance, i.e. the entire acid-base balance of the body.

Maria Adam
Through years of research work, Maria Adam developed a nutrition program according to Hildegard which promotes and sustains health. The cuisine is fast, popular and tastes great for the whole family.

The teaching of Hildegard of Bingen is extensive and affects all aspects of life. Can you give us a brief summary of the most important areas?

In one of her most important works, the “Physica”, she explains the nutritional links and the quality of the individual foods. It describes the subtlety of food and how it affects the fluid balance of human. She has also written many naturopathic books with more than 2000 recipes. This is just one of many areas covered by Hildegard’s teaching, but also one of the most important areas for my research.

How and when did you come up with the idea of establishing an autonomous production facility for your “Naturally Better for More Joie de Vivre (Joyful life)” natural products? What was the decisive factor?

After studying the books of Hildegard of Bingen, I began to develop recipes and formulations according to the teachings of St. Hildegard of Bingen, which I first tried in self-experiment.

Cooking classes, which I organized in a small circle, were so successful that I soon gave cooking classes at larger event kitchens. In addition, I completed the training of naturopaths and offered naturopathic counselling for individuals and families.

After years of counselling, I finally realized that many diseases such as metabolic disorder, depression, cartilage and bone damage, and severe allergies have their origins in poor diet. So I developed the nutrition program “With 365 recipes throughout the year”. Several cookbooks followed. By the way, I kept strong contact with Dr. Gottfried Hertzka during this time.

In order to make my developed recipes available to the general public, I decided to build an autonomous production facility for our “Naturally better for more joie de vivre (joyful life)” product line. Because of my great passion for the teaching of Hildegard of Bingen, I took great risks and put all my resources into the realization of my autonomous production facility.

In your cooking classes, you showed the participants how to prepare food according to Hildegard of Bingen. How well can this be implemented in everyday life?

I have developed these recipes especially for everyday life. The cuisine is fast, popular and tastes great for the whole family. For those who do not have much time to cook, there are sweet and spicy ready-made blends of our “Naturally better for more joie de vivre (joyful life)” product line. This is fast food in a healthy and easy way.

Do you also in a private life live very much in harmony with nature and allow others share your knowledge?

I live in Gunskirchen in the middle of the Au. On my property there is a great natural pond. The Traun flows by and every day I walk with my dog Rosi in the beautiful surroundings. The walk and cycle route lead directly past the house. Since 1985, I have been organizing a monthly Hildegard Evening here. Interested parties can come to me for question-and-answer sessions and tasting. As always, I continue to travel to Hildegard congresses all over Europe.

In the “Hildegard-Magazin” on your homepage you give valuable tips for the use of your natural products. Can Internet users and readers also ask you questions?

Of course, I will also answer questions individually.