What Made These People So Healthy?

Good morning! 

Do you feel confused, frustrated, or not sure who to believe with all the "healthy" diets that are circulating?

Should I avoid animal foods or eat primarily meat? How about raw vs cooking? Or not eating dairy or grains because they are allergenic? Should I spend hundreds of dollars on the latest vitamins & supplements? Maybe I should eat a high protein diet that includes "healthy" protein powders??? The list could go on and on... Each one has its own "science" to back it up –  so where do we get our bearings?⬆️↖️⬇️⬅️↙️↗️➡️↘️

Hey, I have an idea! Let's find out what foods actually kept populations of people alive and thriving for thousands of years! 

Meet Dr. Weston A. Price! He lived in the 1920's which was an ideal time for this kind of research because the world was opening up to be able to travel to isolated groups of people that had not yet been affected by modern foods!

Dr. Price traveled all over the world and studied the traditional diets that made these isolated groups superbly healthy, happy, and resistant to disease — unlike the other parts of these populations whose health had significantly degraded in ONE GENERATION from eating modernized foods!

What is interesting is that he found GREAT VARIETY in the traditional diets...

- Some had no plant foods; some had few animal foods
- Some high carb, some low carb
- Some had mostly cooked foods; some had large amounts of raw foods
- Some had milk products; some did not
- Some had grains; some did not
- Some had fruits; some did not

So what were the underlying characteristics of these healthy diets???

My wife and I just re-watched a super interesting video where Sally Fallon (president of the Weston A. Price Foundation) presents on Dr. Price's research. She shows pictures that he took of the dramatic health difference between the people on traditional and modern diets and she also goes into how science supports 11 fundamental principles that ALL of these indigenous people groups practiced! 

I would highly recommend watching this video to really understand the reasons behind these principles! The beautiful thing is that these principles aren't complicated, distasteful, or limiting at all! You can actually enjoy all sorts of delicious foods that satiate your body without feeling ANY GUILT! And since you are giving your body the nutrients that it needs, you can get out of the "purge & splurge" cycle that is so common with restrictive diets that never really satisfy your needs!

I just love how much everything makes sense when you take a step back and look at what has nourished humans for thousands of years!

**I do want to note that I don't agree with 100% of this video from a biblical perspective, but the majority of the information is very good! Always defer to the Word of God if there is disagreement! God created us and He knows best!

11 Characteristics of Traditional Diets

Following are the things that Dr. Price found, that along with what the Weston A. Price Foundation has added through additional research make up their 11 Characteristics of Traditional Diets!

 

#1 - Avoid all refined and denatured foods.
The diets of healthy, non-industrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or low-fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; synthetic vitamins; or toxic additives and artificial colorings.

#2 - Include animal foods.
All traditional cultures consumed some sort of animal food such as fish and shellfish; land and water fowl; land and sea mammals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects. The whole animal is consumed—muscle meat, organs, bones and fat, with the organ meats and fats preferred.

#3 - Emphasize nutrient–dense foods: organ meats, animal fats, eggs, raw dairy, shellfish, fish liver oils and fish eggs.
The diets of healthy, nonindustrialized peoples contain at least four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins, and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins found in animal fats (vitamin A, vitamin D and Activator X, now thought to be vitamin K2) as the average American diet.

#4 - Eat some animal food raw; cook most plant foods.
All traditional cultures cooked some or most of their food, especially plant foods like grains and vegetables, but all consumed a portion of their animal foods raw.

#5 - Enjoy lacto-fermented condiments and beverages.
Primitive and traditional diets contain a high content of food enzymes and beneficial bacteria from lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, dairy products, meats and condiments.

#6 - Prepare seeds, grains, and nuts properly to minimize anti-nutrients and enhance digestibility.
Seeds, grains and nuts are soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened to neutralize naturally occurring anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, tannins and phytic acid.

#7 - Enjoy saturated fats; avoid industrial seed oils.
Total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30 percent to 80 percent of calories but only about 4 percent of calories come from poly-unsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, legumes, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.

#8 - Consume animal foods from land and sea to balance omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
Traditional diets contain nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Modern diets based on industrial seed oils can contain almost 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3, because industrial seed oils contain very high amounts of omega-6.

#9 - Use unrefined salt liberally.
All traditional diets contain salt.

#10 - Include gelatinous bone broth in soups, stews, gravy and sauces.
All traditional cultures make use of animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.

#11 - Emphasize nutrient-dense foods before and during pregnancy, and for growing babies.
Traditional cultures make provisions for the health of future generations by providing special nutrient-rich animal foods for parents- to-be, pregnant women and growing children; by adequate spacing of children; and by teaching the principles of right diet to the young.

To wrap this email up I wanted to mention that I fully believe that going on restrictive diets (like the GAPS diet) for a period of time can help overcome certain diseases and conditions! However if possible, I think you should try and get back to a more inclusive diet that is based on the principles that have kept generations of people thriving for thousands of years! 

I also want to point out that we do live in a world that has the mark of sin on it and with that there will always be some amount of disease and degeneration — no matter how healthy you eat and live!

In light of the fact of sin and the resulting physical death and separation from God that it brings, of FAR GREATER IMPORTANCE than how healthy we eat is the "health" of our soul and the resulting life or death that we will experience now and for eternity! Jesus brings life, hope, joy, and fulfillment in a broken world!

I'm so thankful for His ability to take us from broken selfish humans and transform us into people that can truly love at a depth of self-lessness that is only possible through the power of His Spirit! 

God's blessings your day!
 ~ Corbin
 
 Prairie Creek Pastures