A Traditional Diet

Strong white teeth, glowing skin, bright eyes, healthy, strong body. . .

Where do I sign up?

The secret leading to this incredible health is not a new fad, diet, or supplement routine. In fact, it is quite outdated and overlooked; which is unfortunate considering the truly outstanding benefits it has to offer for true health and well being.

I am talking about a traditional, nutrient dense diet, loaded with key nutrients that determine the health of your entire body. A way of life that traditional cultures thrived off of  and enjoyed strong white teeth, clear skin, healthy, strong babies, and virtually none of the diseases we are struggling with today like heart disease, digestive disorders, acne, depression, and cancer.

Ancient cultures would put a man and woman on a nutrient dense diet for up to a year before they got married to ensure their baby had all the necessary nutrients for a healthy, smooth pregnancy. They ate these foods because of the strength, energy, and health it gave them, as well  as how the foods physically made their body look.

Disease: Chance or Choice?

When looking closely to see what these diets consisted of, it was found almost universally that untouched cultures ate a diet full of the fat soluble nutrients A, D, E, and K2. Not surprisingly, these are the vital nutrients that are needed for glowing skin, bright eyes, a healthy reproductive system, and sharp brain function.

Dr. Weston A. Price was the man who made these fascinating discoveries, traveling all around the world to cultures untouched by western civilization. He found that these cultures all had perfect teeth, no cavities, or need for glasses. He also found these people suffered from little to no disease.

It used to be thought that vision problems, or crooked teeth were up to chance- some people need glasses, others don’t. Some need braces, others don’t. Even diseases like cancer were considered a mystery why some people got it while others did not. What Dr. Price found was that these health concerns are actually nutritional deficiencies.

Most common diseases and disorders do not just happen by chance, but rather because the body did not have the nutrients it needed to function properly. The western diet is what is causing these imbalances and disorders in the body.

This is wonderful news because we can literally provide our body and our children’s body with what it needs to be healthy, strong, and free of any health concern out there.

What a traditional, nutrient dense diet looks like

1. “Traditional diets contain at least four times the calcium and other minerals and TEN times the fat soluble vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin D and the Price Factor–now believed to be vitamin K2) as the average American diet.”

2. “Primitive and traditional diets have a high food-enzyme content from raw dairy products, raw meat and fish; raw honey; tropical fruits; cold-pressed oils; and naturally preserved, lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, meats and condiments.”

3. “Seeds, grains and nuts are soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened in order to neutralize naturally occuring antinutrients in these foods, such as phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors, tannins and complex carbohydrates.”

4. “Total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30% to 80% but only about 4% of calories come from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, pulses, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.”

I wrote more specifically about what specific nutrient dense foods are here. 🙂

(source)

What Not To Eat

Dr. Price found that:

“The diets of healthy, nonindustrialized 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 lowfat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; artificial vitamins; or toxic additives and colorings.”

Pretty much the main diet here in good ol’ America. Hence the dental troubles, poor vision, ADHD, acne, depression, and more serious conditions like cancer, blood clots, and heart disease.

Food to Avoid

The following is a list from the Weston A. Price Foundation on foods to avoid that prohibit true health: I could not agree more with these principles, and I choose to avoid each of the following: 

1. Do not eat commercially processed foods such as cookies, cakes, crackers, TV dinners, soft drinks, packaged sauce mixes

2. Avoid all refined sweeteners such as sugar, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup and fruit juices.

3. Avoid white flour, and white flour.

4. Avoid all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and oils.

5. Avoid all refined liquid vegetable oils made from soy, corn, safflower, canola or cottonseed.

6. Avoid foods fried in polyunsaturated oils or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

7. Avoid products containing protein powders as they usually contain carcinogens formed during processing; and consumption of protein without the cofactors occurring in nature can lead to deficiencies, especially of vitamin A.

8. Avoid processed, pasteurized milk; do not consume ultrapasteurized milk products, lowfat milk, skim milk, powdered milk or imitation milk products.

9. Avoid factory-farmed eggs, meats and fish.

10. Avoid rancid and improperly prepared seeds, nuts and grains found in granolas, quick rise breads and extruded breakfast cereals, as they block mineral absorption and cause intestinal distress.

11. Avoid canned, sprayed, waxed and irradiated fruits and vegetables. Avoid genetically modified foods (found in most soy, canola and corn products).

12. Avoid artificial food additives, especially MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and aspartame, which are neurotoxins. Most soups, sauce and broth mixes and most commercial condiments contain MSG, even if not indicated on the label.

13.Avoid aluminum-containing foods such as commercial salt, baking powder and antacids. Do not use aluminum cookware or deodorants containing aluminum.

14. Do not drink fluoridated water.

15. Avoid synthetic vitamins and foods containing them.

Begin a Traditional Diet

Living by these principles has changed my life and the lives of those around me.

It is truly incredible to experience the health that we were created to have. By eating nutrient dense foods, and avoiding those that attack the body, you will feel better than you ever knew was possible.

Article References:

https://www.westonaprice.org/basics/principles-of-healthy-diets

https://www.westonaprice.org/basics/characteristics-of-traditional-diets

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852882