Ancestral Foods: The Key to Revitalize Your Health
Discover timeless and practical tips for enhancing health and longevity while reducing chronic disease through the use of traditional ancestral foods.
Want to revitalize your health? Going back to eating ancestral foods, may be the best way to get you there.
About Ancestral Foods
Ancestral foods, sometimes called natural health foods, have been around for thousands of years. From generation to generation, these are the foods that cultures have relied on to sustain energy, ensure vitality, improve longevity, build civilizations and secure reproductive health throughout populations. Ancestral are not sprayed, genetically modified or heavily processed and come from both plants and animals.
I’m not talking about the paleo diet or any other type of diet in particular. Remember, ancient foods (and ways of being) existed long before dietary labels did. Ancestral eating comes from building a lifestyle based on eating real food. This selection of food includes both animal products, grain and fruits & vegetables.
Ancestral eating builds it’s foundation on the most nutrient dense foods. These foods inhibit the proliferation of chronic disease, ease high blood pressure, heal autoimmune disease, lowers chronic inflammation, improves longevity, increases energy levels and inhibits cardiovascular disease. On the contrary, the standard American diet has the opposite effect.
“These big corporations know that you can’t patent nature. What they can do instead is get people to fear it, instead of revere it. They can create the problem, and then create the profitable solution.”
-Dr. Lisa
What’s Going On?
For the first time since the mid 14th century, the global population is on the decline. Let that sink in for a minute. For the first time since the black death, global population rates are on a decline.
There is lots to unpack here and many facets are to blame. Namely, a modern diet that has exchanged traditional foods in favor of ultra-processed foods, and inflammatory vegetable oils. These foods lead to nutritional deficiencies and the proliferation of chronic diseases often miscategorized as genetic.
Despite wars, both natural and global health disasters, there hasn’t been an overall decline in the global population until now. Specifically, when it comes to life in the United States, not only are we not living as long, but we’re not adequately replacing ourselves once we die.
People are sick and getting sicker, dying earlier and for many, having babies is not as easy as it used to be.
In my Marvin Gaye voice, “What’s going on?”
Not too long ago, I had a speaking engagement and revealed “5 Ancient Foods For Modern Healing”. It was one of my most engaging audiences to date. I believe this is because I paired a few topics that everyone is interested in, food, the benefits of those foods and natural healing.
After the event, I promised myself that I would put my fingers to the keypad and write more on the topic. After all, the overall health of the modern family is at stake.
I am a teacher of wellness, but I am also an astute student.
Here’s the thing, the best wellness experts know that there is always more to learn. There is no arrival at the train station because learning is a continuous process with no end. By the time you’ve hit “publish” on a book, the need to write another is already a consideration.
To me, that’s part of what makes the human body so fascinating. The deeper I go, the more I want to know. This is especially true when it comes to natural wellness, and the foods that support the human body.
Why is it that certain diseases and conditions didn’t exist before, but now screenings (for those diseases), are considered a modern day benefit of insurance coverage?
What happened to our food system, our environment and culture to cause the magnitude of disease proliferation that we see today?
Parents are now burying their kids, adult-onset diabetes has been re-named “type 2 diabetes” and big media is trying to normalize strokes in 24 year-olds.
Devastating Shift
In the effort to get to the bottom of the devastating shift, many have cut out whole food groups and replaced them with factory produced look-a-likes in an effort to heal.
I believe that this is a necessary part of the process that can actually catapult healthy transformation for a time. I too have been there.
However, the visceral problem is not whole food groups themselves, but the transformation of those foods due to agricultural manipulation, genetic modification, mass sterilization, soil depletion and factory production.
People are scared.
Natural Foods Included In The Principles Of Ancestral Eating
You’ve comes this far in this post, and at this point I’m sure you want to know, what ancestral foods we are talking about here. We’ll get to that. But, first here are some things to consider when looking at the ancestral approach:
Be clear on what your nutritional needs are.
Are you currently meeting those nutritional needs? How can you tell?
How can altering your eating habits improve your quality of life?
Are your foods choices hindering or helping you health?
What are some foods that ancient people and civilizations depended on long before prescriptions, patents and media persuasions?
What are the foods that people depended on long before food trends, diets crazes and hyper palatability shifted our tastebuds as a society?
Are you willing to trade in the convenience of fast food for more time in the kitchen?
I’ve asked myself these hard questions too. The answers, coupled with hundreds of hours of scientific study and historical food review, have come with some exciting shifts to my dietary perspective and direction for future posts on the blog.
Here are those foods.
Organ Meats
I know you’re excited (Insert sarcastic smile here). Traditional diets included organ meats. That includes but is not limited to, kidney, heart and everyone’s favorite, liver. Don’t get too worked up about it. There are different ways to incorporate organ meats and dare I say, enjoy them too. Organ meats are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.
Did you know that beef liver is so packed with nutrition that it is often called, nature’s multivitamin?
Raw Milk & Raw Dairy Products
Raw milk is milk that has not been heated above 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius This milk is unpasteurized, unhomogenized and has been part of healthy eating civilizations for around 10,000 years. In the late 1800’s, unsanitary milking practices in big cities tainted “natures perfect food.”
But it wasn’t the milk itself that was the problem. Sick cows, small quarters and unaddressed unsanitary conditions are to blame. Cows had long been raised on open pastures in the countryside where they were responsibly raised and produced raw milk that was safe to drink.
Once the industrial revolution started, all of a sudden, cows were being milked in cramped and unthinkable sanitary conditions and the health of people suffered. Instead of cleaning up those milk practices, there was a campaign to add heat to the milk, unfortunately that took away all lots of nutritional benefits and turned raw milk from a living food to a dead food.
Thankfully, people are waking up to the benefits of clean, raw milk again. There are also lots farmers raising and milking cows the right way.
The truth is, raw milk contains all the fat-soluble vitamins, water soluble vitamins, enzymes and key essential nutrients that the body needs. Even if in some states, people have to buy it as pet milk. *wink*.
Besides raw milk, there are other raw dairy products like raw cheese, raw cream, raw ice cream raw yogurt and more.
Get your raw milk from grass fed, pasture-raised cows eating their natural diet and has space to roam.
The raw milk finder founded by the Weston Price Foundation allows you to find raw milk near you.
Whole Grains
Grains are one of the biggest adversaries in the modern diet. One of the reasons is because modern wheat is one of the most hybridized and genetically modified crops in history. This wasn’t always the case. Modern wheat as we know it, did not emerge until sometime around 1960.
In addition, assorted grain crops are sprayed and doused in glyphosate right before harvest to improve crop yields. These crops include oats, barley, wheat, corn and sorghum.
Pseudograins like buckwheat and quinoa are not immune from this modern day farming practice.
Likewise, farmers are heavily reliant on pesticides to improve yields of rice. As you can imagine, there is a direct correlation between these pesticides, herbicides and chronic diseases.
Additionally, grains like modern wheat is not only bleached, but contains more gluten (due to hybridization) than ancient varieties. These modifications and the ones listed above, have caused an explosion of autoimmune, gluten sensitivity and chronic disease issues.
Traditionally, when grains were consumed, not only were the grains not hybridized, but they were often soaked, sprouted and or soured first.
These traditional and ancient cooking methods led to great nutrient assimilation and ease of digestion.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that if you choose to consume grain, it is important that you keep a few things in mind:
- Get it from a reliable organic source. Know where it was grown and how it was cultivated.
- Opt for ancient grain over modern wheat varieties.
- For the most nutritional benefit, proper preparation of grains include techniques like soaking, sprouting and/or souring (fermenting).
Some examples of ancient grains include einkorn, Khorasan wheat, spelt and emmer.
Grass-Fed Meats
Grass-fed, grass-finished meat that comes from pastured cows eating grass is one of the best choices for nutrient dense food. Novel idea isn’t it?
Grass-fed, grass-finished meat that comes from pastured cows eating grass is one of the best choices for nutrient dense food. Novel idea isn’t it?
Pastured Chicken
Chickens are raised on green pasture and allowed to peck, scratch and forage for food like bugs and worms. Sorry to bust your bubble, chickens are not vegetarian. They like some bug protein with their feed corn and soy free feed.
Animal Fats
Traditional saturated fats like lard, tallow, duck fat and ghee are a much needed staple in cooking naturally. These are the fats that were available way before the invention of seed oils and the success of Proctor and Gamble’s Crisco. Coconut oil and well sourced authentic olive oil can be also used. Seed oils are to be highly avoided.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods are not only nutritious but quite delicious. Fermented beverages, sauerkraut and kimchi are a few traditional fermented foods. By the way, fermented foods taste way better than commercial probiotics, are all natural and do a phenomenal job of healing and maintaining the gut microbiome. Pretty much all indigenous communities ate some type of fermented foods.
Fresh fruits and Vegetables
Let’s get this straight, all food should be organic, this includes fruits and vegetables. Sadly, “organic” is now a highly greenwashed term. Produce should be sourced locally when possible Additionally, no spray, unnatural pesticides or genetic modification should be used. Fermented fruits and vegetables is not only tasty, but the process makes food more nutritious too.
Fermented cabbage or sauerkraut. is one of the most potent vitamin C rich foods there is. One cap of cabbage contains 30mg of vitamin C whereas 1 cup of sauerkraut contains about 700mg. of vitamin C per cup.
Wild Foods
Wild food is not as common as it used to be and we have paid the price. The practice of foraging, choosing wild seafood and or enjoying wild rice are a few of the ways to go ” wild” with ancestral foods.
Don’t forget the use of wild yeasts and “wild” bacteria are used to make delicious foods like kefir and long fermented sourdough bread.
What Changed?
Not too long ago, eating natural whole foods was the norm. People had gardens instead of lawns, raised animals for food, ate seasonally. and moved more than they sat. Sometime after the industrial revolution things changed and they never were the same again.
The more you learn about food, food history and the food industry, the more you open your body to healing and prevent generational illnesses.
Fifteen years ago, I began deep exploration in the quest to nurture, learn and heal. I am now stronger, more resilient and healthier than ever. This all despite turning a blind eye to purported popular solutions, tinctures and injections all around me.
What’s even better than that is, I get to take others with me through written articles, speaking engagements, TV appearances and the publication of my first book, Be FINE.
In continuation of this most transformative quest, I continue to share and grow. Through it all, it occurred to me that historical context of the foods we eat (or not eat), have come to love (or disdain), should not only be explored, but amplified if we are to change for the better.
A piece of bread, once the biggest symbol of nourishment can cause great division amongst friends and family.
Why?
Traditional milk, no longer the revered beverage it once was, has been vilified in favor of something lighter, less nutritious and stripped of anything that makes it well…milk.
I get it. I traveled this path.
But, are the problems the very foods themselves or who supplies these foods, what was added to these foods and what transpired before they hit the grocery shelves?
There are things that Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Tech and Big Food would never want you to know.
To seek the truth is to remove the vail, heal oneself and at the same time reduce company profits. And if you didn’t learn anything else in the mass hysteria over the last four years, hopefully you’ve learned that the pockets of modern medicine gets fatter, while people continue to get sicker.
These big corporations know that you can’t patent nature. What they can do instead is get people to fear it, instead of revere it. They can create the problem, and then create the profitable solution.
If you have fear, you don’t have power. For fear and power cannot cohabitate. However, if you release the fear in exchange for power, healing is within your reach, even in today’s modern world.
To do that, food should be minimally processed and as natural as possible, the way nature intended it to be.
Greenwashed labels like “organic” are less important than knowing where the chicken was raised and how it spent it’s days.
Are you ready to go on a journey with me?
SHIFT.
There is power in natural wellness and healing and I want to share that with you one post and delicious recipe at a time.
The question is, are you ready to get uncomfortable?
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Further Reading
Be Fine: Your Drug Free Prescription to Age Well, Beat Bulge and Stop Disease
