What makes us ‘sick’?
Before we look at the foods which kept/keep taditional peoples health, let’s take a look at what is making us so unhealthy. Basically, ill health can be whittled down to two things…toxins and nutrient deficiencies.
Not only are you what you eat, eats, but you are full of the things sprayed on what you eat, put into the soil your food is grown in and the water your food is given. Plants are grown with herbicides (Round Up), insecticides and synthetic fertilizers. Tap/municipal water contains chlorine, flouride, synthetic hormones, pharmaceutical drugs, caffeine, and heavy metals. Animals that we consume are raised in poor conditions, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones and made to eat foods that are unatural to them. Our poor health and the poor health of our planet is largely due to toxins that are now ubiquitous. We are being poisoned, continuously.
The other reason we suffer with such poor health is a lack of nourishment. We are deficient in the basic building blocks for the human body…minerals, vitamins, fats, protein, sunlight, clean water and fresh air. We are eating food-like substances - they look like food, but were made in a lab. That does not constitute food and should not be sold as such. Period.
Real food is nurtured and cared for by a person who has reverence for the land and water, the plants and animals they raise and the people that will be consuming their produce. Real food is grown using regenerative techniques. What I’m trying to say is, real food has quality; it might not always have quantity, though.
Let’s look at what the characterists are of traditional, healthy people from around the world; but, a word of caution: when reading though the list keep quality in mind - animals should not spend their lives in KAFO’s, fish should not come from farms that feed them grains and soy, plants should not come from large mono-culture farms….
Characteristics of Traditional Diets
The diets of healthy indigenous and non-industrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods such as refined sugar or corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or low-fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; artificial vitamins or toxic additives and colorings.
All traditional cultures consume some sort of animal protein and fat from fish and other seafood; water and land fowl; land animals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects.
Indigenous diets contain at least four times the calcium and other minerals and ten times the fat soluble vitamins from animal fats (vitamin A, vitamin D and the Price Factor–now believed to be vitamin K2) as the average American diet.
In all traditional cultures, some animal products are eaten raw.
Indigenous and traditional diets have a high food-enzyme content from raw dairy products, raw meat and fish; raw honey; tropical fruits; cold-pressed oils; wine and unpasteurized beer; and naturally preserved, lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, meats and condiments.
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.
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.
Traditional diets contain nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids.
All indigenous diets contain some salt.
Traditional cultures consume animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.
Traditional cultures make provisions for the health of future generations by providing special nutrient-rich foods for parents-to-be, pregnant women and growing children; by proper spacing of children; and by teaching the principles of right diet to the young.
According to Weston A. Price, these are the hallmarks of an optimal, nutrient-dense diet. To learn more visit the Weston A. Price Foundation website.
Where to start
If moving towards a more traditional diet sound good to you, start with Principle no. 10 - bone broth. Homemade bone broths should be an essential part of any diet. Made correctly, they are packed full of compounds that protect gut health, provide minerals and other essential nutrients.
The minerals magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and calcium are mandatory for electrolyte balance/hydration, cell membrane integrity and ATP (energy) production. These minerals are leached out of the bones when you cook them in water, along with Vitamin C. Vitamin C acts as an anti-oxidant, reducing unstable molecules called free radicals in the body which can damage cell membranes and other tissues.
Bones broths also contain glutamine, glycine and proline which are essential amino acids (EAA), that is, they must be consumed in the diet as we cannot synthesize them in the body from other substances. These three EAA’s reduce gut inflammation and protect intestinal lining.
The most powerful nutrient in bone broth, though, is collagen/gelatin. Collagen is soothing and healing to the intestinal lining, helping to maintain the gut wall’s structural integrity. If this one-cell-thick structure breaks down you have gut permeability, commonly called leaky gut. If you have leaky gut, you also have leaky brain because the endogenous (made inside our own body) chemical, called zonulin, that causes the cells to separate from each other is not localized to the GI tract. This is the reason many people suffer from both gut and menal issues together.
The best broth to start with is Chicken and Vegetable
Bones of one chicken left-over from Sunday’s roast or 1-2 chicken frames
Chicken feet if you can find them
Vegetables – onions, garlic, celery, shallots, leeks, whatever you have on hand (generally, when cooking, I keep vegetable peelings and offcuts, add them to a clothbag with a drawstring top that I keep in the freezer; when I’m ready to make a stock/broth, I just use all the scraps, then start all over again).
Herbs and spices – bay leaves, peppercorns are a must, but you can also add rosemary, thyme, oregano (do not salt until after cooking)
Mushrooms – I add any type of mushroom I have around, fresh or dried (optional)
Seaweeds – I like to add wakame and arame to my broth/stock (optional)
Acid – ¼ cup lemon juice or natural apple cider vinegar (this will help break down the bones)
Place your ingredients in a heavy-bottom stock pot or a slow-cooker and fill with clean water to cover all the ingredients, cover with a good fitting lid. Bring to a gentle simmer and keep it there for 6 hours or overnight. If you have a wood heater (pictured above), you can leave the broth on overnight to cook.
Once the stock is finished, let it cool, strain and use straight way or refrigerate. Alternatively, you can freeze stock in containers for later use.
To use the broth
Just add your broth to soups, gravies, sauces, bean or rice dishes – anywhere you would normally use water or a stock cube.
You can also drink it as a tea. My favorite is to add salt, lemon and a pinch of cumin.
Great books on bone broths:
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation
The Bone Broth Secret by Louise Hay & Heather Dane