With so many food philosophies today, it is important to be able to determine what is the best traditional diet for you individually.
A frequent email request I receive from readers is to post a few days or a week of the Traditional Diet I eat or what my family eats.
Seems like a simple enough request, right?
Just write down our meals for a few days and post it.
No big deal.
I’ve posted my personal menu before when I was on the GAPS Diet, but I’ve never posted a food diary while eating a regular Traditional Diet.
With many people asking for this, you might wonder why I haven’t done it.
Let me explain.
There are many Traditional Diets!
During Dr. Weston A. Price’s travels around the world in the early 1900s, he studied 14 of them in detail. These cultures all ate quite differently.
Some ate no plant foods, some ate a lot. Some consumed raw dairy, some did not.
The variations go on and on.
The common denominator between these 14 cultures is that they all had at least one sacred food, which was always from an animal, never from plants. A few of these cultures such as the Eskimos and Maasai even followed a mostly carnivorous diet.
These sacred foods were discovered by lab analysis to be extraordinarily high in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and Vitamin K2.
What’s more, these Traditional Cultures were consuming the fat-soluble activators at a rate about 10x higher than Americans of the 1930s!
These sacred foods were revered by the Traditional Cultures that consumed them for bestowing easy fertility and healthy babies.
Ample quantities of these sacred foods were provided to growing children, pregnant mothers, and the elderly to maintain health including the prevention of tooth decay.
With so many different Traditional Diets, you can see why it could be misleading for me to post what I eat specifically.
My Traditional Diet could easily be misconstrued by some that this is the way to eat traditionally, when it is, in fact, only the implementation of a mix of Traditional Diets that works for me, given my unique genetic heritage, health history, home environment, toxin load, food budget, etc.
How to Determine the Best Traditional Diet for YOU
So how did I come up with the typical way I eat?
Here’s the approach I used.
First, you need to read Dr. Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. There is absolutely no substitute for reading this amazing book.
Just seeing all the pictures alone is guaranteed to rock your world!
This book really should be required reading for every dietician, nutritionist, doctor, nurse, or anyone else working in the healthcare field today.
It is quite laughable for anyone working in the field of nutrition to attempt to counsel people on the best way to eat without intimate knowledge of the groundbreaking work of Dr. Price.
That is a clear example of the blind leading the blind, don’t you think?
Once you’ve read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, then you should read Nourishing Traditions Cookbook, which is the practical implementation of the Traditional Diet blueprint.
If , by that point, you are still confused about how to implement a Traditional Diet for yourself, then you can do what I did.
What is YOUR Ancestral Heritage?
Take a look at your genetic heritage and focus your Traditional Diet on those foods consumed by your specific, cultural ancestors.
In my case, the Northern European cultures described in Dr. Price’s book fit the bill.
The Northern European cultures did not consume rice, beans, and corn, for example.
These cultures also ate little fruit or raw vegetables. So, my Traditional Diet at home does not include these foods very frequently.
Instead, I focus on sourdough bread, raw dairy, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, and meat, cooked stews and soups like the mountaintop Swiss culture.
I also include seafood and oats, like what the isolated Gaelics consumed.
Of course, there is variation in our diet based on the other cultures studied by Dr. Price, but we focus our staple whole foods on the cultures from which we obtained our ancestry.
My cultural ancestors didn’t eat that many vegetables unless they were fermented or cooked in stews or butter, for example.
Consequently, raw veggies are not consumed much at all in our home except for the occasional veggie juice or salad.
Watch out for Modern Fads Masquerading as Ancestral
Are you drinking regular green smoothies?
You need to know that no Traditional Society ever consumed raw plant foods at that kind of rate.
Given that many green vegetables contain anti-nutrients like oxalic acid or are goitrogenic (thyroid depressing), you are really rolling the dice with this modern-day health fad even if you “rotate” your greens.
While this may go against conventional “wisdom” to eat raw veggies, fruits, and salads with abandon, to that I say “why”?
The healthy traditional cultures that comprise my ancestry didn’t eat much in the way of vegetables and fruit unless fermented or cooked, and they were perfectly healthy with straight teeth free from tooth decay, high immunity to disease, and excellent vitality into old age.
Sounds good to me.
Those are the same health goals I have for myself and my family, so I’m going to stick with what works, not nutritional “science” that blows with the wind and is more interested in influencing your buying habits than your health.
Figure Out Your Ancestry then Go from There …
What if you aren’t of Northern European heritage?
What if your genetic heritage hails from South America, for example?
In that case, I would suggest reading the chapters on the South American cultures in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and focusing your staple foods on what those cultures emphasized, which was corn, beans, and fish – grains and legumes prepared in a traditional manner!
If you are of Asian descent, rice is likely to be a better choice for you instead of the oats and wheat in my home.
We don’t eat rice much in our home.
We don’t do as well on this grain as we do on wheat and oats, which is what our ancestors ate. An exception to this is wild rice, which is not really even rice at all.
Are you getting the picture somewhat?
Sacred Foods Common to ALL Traditional Diets
However you choose to implement your Traditional Diet, the most important key is to focus on ample amounts of the sacred foods.
These foods include raw grassfed butter, organ meats like liver, egg yolks from outdoor chickens, fish eggs (roe), and fish liver oils like cod liver oil.
Don’t skimp on these critical foods!
You can round out your diet with whatever whole food staples comprised the general eating pattern of your ancestors, but the sacred foods should always remain the focal point of the diet to ensure maximum health and immunity to disease, both infectious and chronic.
I hope this discussion helps you along the path to finding the best implementation of Traditional Diets for you and your family. As you can see, it’s not as simple as just posting a meal plan.
This post was extremely helpful. I have struggled trying to put EVERYTHING that is healthy in our diets..too much!!! Thanks
Sarah, I recently was doing some research on cod liver oil, butter oil, etc. I emailed Dave at Green Pastures with some questions about his products. He half answered some of my questions in as few incoherent words as possible, told me my questions were already answered in the FAQ which they weren’t, and continually ignored some questions until I continued to push. It was like pulling teeth, put up red flags and got me looking for a reason not to use his products (besides the shocking customer service). In looking around I found some chemist on amazon speculating that the stability of fish is not very good so it might go rancid before it gets a chance to ferment. I found Quantum Premier cod liver oil capsules, which you recommended in a blog post, saying it was discontinuing its line and they only had a limited amount left. It seems to still be available. I don’t know if it is the same formula you recommended? Is there anything about this brand that’s not as good as GP?
Would you mind sharing the questions? We us Green Pastures and I would love to know what your concerns are. Thanks!
My main question was regarding the butter oil… whether the cows graze on pasture not treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides, whether they are given antibiotics/hormones, whether they are fed any grain. I also asked if milk he used was raw and he said he used to use raw. He said they’re not given “hormones, etc” and told me that generally pasture does not need a fertilizer, but I know that many farmers use fertilizer on pasture, and didn’t directly answer the question about the pasture for his cows. (randomly put the word “lime” somewhere in there, had trouble dechipering what in the world he was saying) I also asked him what the difference was between Nutrapro’s butter oil and his. He contended that their butter oil is actually ghee. He said the other difference is that GP only use a % of the total oil (which makes no sense to me, how can you only pick a percentage of oil?? he wouldn’t explain) So I am thinking, if the milk he uses for the butter oil is pasteurized, it would be more nutritious and much cheaper to just eat some raw grass fed spring or fall butter. I asked what he thought about keeping FCLO in a hot car for a few days (on a road trip, no refrigeration) his answer “no issues with refrigeration”. I asked what the “gel” ingredient was on his gel products. He said “gel means thicker”. Well, it is listed as an ingredient, so I wanted to know what the ingredient was, I think I can figure out what it means. I also noticed that the flavored oils ingredients list “flavor” but in the info on his site it says they use only essential oils to flavor their products. So I wonder which is it? But I didn’t ask that.
Dave is a very busy guy. Even when I call him on the phone, our conversations are very short. Remember that he CANNOT make any claims about his product else the FDA would be breathing down his neck. I have seen all the assays on his products .. they are good and clean and high quality.
Quantum Premier cod liver oil is wonderful but will be going away soon. Order up if you need too .. see my Resources page for info on them and where to buy. But feel safe knowing that Green Pastures is a wonderful product.
Sarah, this is the best post I have ever read! I totally agree that diet is not the same for everyone and that is one of the reasons that the traditional way of eating seemed so right for me and my family. Your blog is one that I look forward to reading everyday and I look forward to many more. Thank you!
I am a native north American Indian and I have been implementing traditional foods in my household for the past year. Traditionally north American Indian ate a lot of the organ meats and raw small intestine of their game and I am having a really hard time incorporating this into our diet. I always hated eating liver growing up because of its distinct taste, do you have any great liver recipes you could share?
Brandy
We add chicken liver (cooked in butter and diced) to our ground beef we use in spaghetti. We also use pureed beef liver in hamburger patties, about 1//4-1/2 c to 1 lb of beef.
Thank you both are great ideas. I think I will start with adding very little and build up to acquire the taste for the liver.
When you are not used to eating something it can be tricky to incorporate it into your cooking:)
I cook then puree the liver, heart, lungs with stock then add it back to the soup/ stew/ casserole. I am usually using garlic and other strong seasonings anyway so it hides the flavor.
Another fabulous idea. I can no longer have the excuse not to eat our organ meats. I look forward to raising strong healthy kids full of endurance.
http://freetheanimal.com/2012/10/yet-another-beef-liver-recipe-the-greek-way.html – this is by far the best liver recipe I have found. I think the balsamic vinegar (use a flavored one if you like – pomegranate & cranberry are great). My kids love it too! We also grind up other organs and add them to any recipe that calls for ground beef.
Another great article, Sarah. Thanks!! Btw, we are finally consuming FCLO everyday!! Both myself and my two small boys. It took a long time playing with the different flavors and the different ways of getting it down w/out gagging. But we all take it no problem now! It’s helped my baby boy’s skin too. He has eczema and we’ve noticed drastic improvements!! We’ve found the cinnamon tingle flavor mixed with a little apple juice to work for us. So glad we didn’t give up those first SEVERAL months!!
Angela – can you share some of your strategies! I have been trying to get my two small boys ages 7 and 4 to take the cinnamon tingle but they end up sptting it out and the crying is really getting to me. HELP!! 🙂
We have 4 small kids (8 and under) and we just chug our raw milk after taking it!
I have two little girls 5 and 2 and a half. I get them to take it by mixing it into a small amount of fresh juice in the morning. After they’ve downed that they can have a full glass of juice. There was a little sniveling about the process from the five year old for a week or so, but they both drink it without complaint now.
Aimee- After trying all the flavors, I have found that the FCLO/butter blend in chocolate seems to work best in my house with the fewest amount of complaints. I have to squirt a drop or two of organic chocolate syrup (from Trader Joes) on it to make it more flavorful for my daughter, but the peace of mind in knowing my daughter took her FCLO for the day is worth it. BTW, she is 17, so I really feel for ya trying to get little ones to take it!!
Angela – how do you and your boys consume it and what flavors? Ive tried to get it in them but that smell throws them off every time. I can take it by capsule though
Found this link for Nutrition and Physical Degeneration at Project Gutenberg of Australia
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html
Wow! Is that the whole book? I could never afford to buy it. thanks so much! Joyce
Thanks for posting this link!!
What a great foundational recommendation to help people find their way!
I like deep nutrition but I find the diet she encourages revolves around lots of raw veggies. I’d rather eat less volume but heartier fare throughout the day. Having large green and raw salads daily gives me indigestion. I prefer to leave the large bales of silage for the cows to process FOR me.