The Fateful Fork – Each Bite of Food Takes You to Disease…or Health written by Eve Gabriel, M.S. clearly explains why “cheap” food isn’t really cheap if it makes you sick. Medication, doctors, and hospital visits due to poor dietary choices are very expensive (heart burn, headaches, allergies, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc).

Making Better Choices

There is no doubt that the fresh-picked apple from the local orchard is far more nourishing than McD’s apple pie. The fresh apple is real food, loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Does anyone really want to read the ingredients list from McD’s? Cheap, highly-processed oils,  high-fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors and flavors.  Cheap food is made from low quality ingredients! Nourishing you and your family is not important, it is all about the bottom line, profits.

Where to Begin

The author, Eve Gabriel, lays out a simple four step process to help anyone begin to improve their dietary choices, including local, seasonal, and unprocessed food. I found the chapter called From Understanding to Action particularly helpful because it has tips for how to get the most improvements in your diet from the smallest changes. For example, “Choose five  foods that you eat very regularly”. For me, that is dairy such as cheeses and yogurt. Now I always choose dairy from small farms whom I trust. Here is another example, “Your Five Worst Offenders”. Identify the most processed, lowest quality foods that you currently consume and find healthier alternatives. I found a non-genetically modified, organic corn, naturally flavored chip that  tastes even better than Doritos. High-quality, organic, and fair-trade chocolate is also readily available.

Very Motivational

Overall, reading The Fateful Fork definitely helped me make better food choices. Eve Gabriel’s book was informative and motivational. Although I already made many good food choices, she helped me take it to the next level. She has a simple, no-nonsense, “just do it” attitude. As the only cook and grocery shopper for my family of five, I am solely responsible to provide nourishing food for every meal and every snack. Eve helped me realize that I need to be prepared and plan ahead properly, everyday. On my best days, I plan breakfast, lunch and snacks the night before, and decide what’s for dinner in the morning. If I stock my freezer with locally-farmed meat, and my refrigerator with local and/or organic fruit and veggies, it is relatively easy to prepare nutritious meals.

Join the Perfect Supplements Family on the Road to Health

In my previous post we looked at the similarities found in the Weston A. Price Foundation and The 4-Hour Body for recommendations for dietary supplements. In this post we will focus on food, particularly, the most nutritious way to enjoy protein.

Eat Your Meat

In one of the first posts I ever wrote I mentioned this very topic in a book review of Nourishing Traditions, written by Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. As a former vegetarian, I am fascinated by the concept of meat as health food, and healthy for the planet.

All Meat is Not Created Equal

The Weston A. Price Foundation and Timothy Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Body, agree that grass-fed beef is the only way to enjoy beef. A cow’s body is built to digest grass, not grain. Cows become very ill consuming the large amounts of grain (corn) that are fed to them in indutrial feedlots. You can read all about this in an interesting book entitled The Omnivores’ Dilemma.

Sustainable and Humane Farming

The Weston A. Price Foundation recommends purchasing all your meat, dairy, and eggs from small local farms. The foundation has member chapters throughout the world where you can contact your local chapter and find out where to find local farms. For the most part, small local farms do not use feedlots, rather, the animals (cows, chickens, pigs) are allowed to range freely, outside, on pasture.

Perfect Supplements Supports Local Farmers

Our family at Perfect Supplements is happy to support our local farmers. We purchase our beef and pork from Campbell’s Family Farm and our poultry from Ekonk Turkey Farm in Connecticut. Our dairy and eggs are also purchased locally. In addition, we financially support local non-profit organizations that promote local farms.

If you don’t always have the chance to visit your local farmer, there are some reasonably good alternatives at certain markets, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Niman Ranch is a national brand that practices humane and sustainable farming on farms throughout the country, many of whom are 3rd and 4th generation farmers. Stonyfield and Oganic Valley are great national brands for dairy.

Bestselling author, Timothy Ferriss, has written a new book entitled The 4-Hour Body; An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. A compelling title.

4-Hour Body Recommends Supplements for Fat-Loss

Interestingly, Mr. Ferriss recommends some of the same dietary supplements as Weston A. Price. To prevent obesity, the author recommends increasing “good gut bacteria.” Once again, Timothy is in agreement with the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Sally Fallon, in her book, Eat Fat Lose Fat (read review and follow-up). Ferriss and Fallon both recommend fermented foods for fat-loss.

Timothy Ferriss also recommends probiotics and prebiotics to increase healthy bacteria for digestion. In Sally Fallon’s infamous Nourishing Traditions (read review), the Superfoods chapter  includes probiotics in the list of suggested supplements . One of the probiotics recommended in the Weston A. Price 2009 Shopping Guide is Prescript Assist, available at Perfect Supplements online store. Based on scientific research, we think this is the best probiotic.

Four-Hour Body Recommends Supplements for Better Sex

The author suggests that increasing testosterone is key to improving your sex life. Ferriss’ number one supplement for boosting testosterone is the same as Weston A. Price’s number one supplement for overall good health; the combination of Fermented Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin-Rich Butter Oil. This Blue Ice Royal Blend is available at Perfect Supplements online store. Cod Liver Oil provides the high level of Vitamins A and D that are present in the diet of the healthiest people on the planet, and sorely lacking in Western diets. Vitamin A increases testosterone and Vitamin D supports peak physical performance. The high-vitamin butter oil provides Activator-X, which enhances the absorbption and effectiveness of Vitamins A and D.

Buy the Book?

The Four-Hour Body contains 550 pages, if you include the appendices and extras. I have not even come close to reading the entire thing. I enjoy Timothy Ferriss’ casual style of writing. The sub-title is An Uncommon Guide… like Nourishing Traditions…Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition, I am drawn to all things uncommon and alternative, a fresh perspective.

Did you get your copy of the 2011 Weston A. Price Foundation Shopping Guide? This little pocket guide is loaded with useful information about where to find the healthiest foods and which foods to avoid.

Weston A. Price was a dentist who traveled around the world to find the healthiest people on the planet, and study what they ate. The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) is dedicated to sharing the information Dr. Price observed through education, research, and activism.

What Do the Healthiest People Eat?

Weston Price found the healthiest people on several continents and noted the similarities in their diets. Here is a list of some of the key ingredients that their diets shared:

• Nutrient-Dense Foods
• Pasture-Fed Livestock
• Lacto-Fermented Foods
• Traditional Fats
• Bone Broth

The Weston A. Price Foundation’s 2011 Shopping Guide is an easy way to add these life-giving ingredients to your diet. The shopping guide and Wise Traditions (WAPF’s quaterly journal) is available free with membership to the foundation, visit www.westonaprice.org.

Perfect Supplements Featured in the 2011 Shopping Guide

Our Perfect Coconut Oil can be found in the 2011 Shopping Guide. It is Perfect because it is organic, extra-virgin, cold-pressed, and unrefined. Just the 100% pure goodness of a nutrient-dense, traditional oil.

More Healthy Oils Recommended by Weston A. Price

One of Weston A. Price’s key findings in his research of these super-healthy people was the high levels of vitamins A and D that he found in their diets, in addition to a nutrient he called X-Factor. The best way to reproduce the high levels of vitamins A and D is with a natural supplement of fermented cod liver oil.

Green Pasture’s Fermented Cod Liver Oil is recommended in the WAPF 2011 Shopping Guide, and is available at Perfect Supplements.

The X Factor occurs naturally in fish eggs, shell fish, and butter from cows pastured on fast-growing grass in the spring and fall. Green Pasture’s X Factor High-Vitamin Butter Oil is also available at Perfect Supplements.

Perfect Supplements is dedicated to providing the highest quality, all-natural, nutrient-dense superfoods. Learn about all of the  Weston A. Price Foundation recommended supplements available from Perfect Supplements.

Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation co-authored a book entitled Eat Fat Lose Fat (read the book review). When I wrote the book review six months ago, I said I was going to try it and get back to you with the results. At the time, my weight had been creeping up to about ten pounds more than my normal weight, and ten pounds is enough to make me unable to wear most of the clothes in my wardrobe. Since I did not want to have to replace all the clothes in my closet, I needed to take a serious look at my diet.

You Mean I Can’t Eat Whatever I Want?

I’ll admit, up until age 40, I was one of those lucky people who could eat just about anything and maintain my weight. Granted, what I eat is usually healthier than the average person, lots of fresh fruit and veggies and whole  grains. I don’t buy potato chips because I am powerless against them. So my diet didn’t change much, but my weight was going up. I am blaming slower metabolism brought on by age.

Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods

One of the basic principles of weight loss defined by the authors of Eat Fat Lose Fat is to eat nutrient-dense food, particularly Vitamins A and D, and Calcium. Here is a quote from the book, “The higher the nutrient content of your food, the less you need to eat to satisfy your basic nutritional needs.” It’s a basic concept really; if my body receives all the nutrition it needs, then I won’t feel hungry.

Now  I Can Eat Less

Just like Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook, Eat Fat Lose Fat does not recommend reducing animal products or fats from your diet. On the contrary, they recommend lots of coconut oil for its metabolism boosting effects and appetite suppression. And they do not recommend low-fat dairy, or substituting margarine for butter, or eating only egg whites. Honestly, I was a little skeptical. Could I really consume whole milk, egg yolks, butter, and meat on a regular basis and still lose weight?

Enjoy Butter and Still Lose Weight?

After reading Nourishing Traditions (book review), I was convinced that eating real food, whole eggs, whole dairy, and butter, were what was best for my young family, and me too, but could I actually lose weight? Yes! I lost those ten pounds and have maintained my normal weight. What did I learn from the experience? I did need to eat less, but I do not feel hungry or deprived if I eat nutrient-dense food, in other words, superfoods.

Recommended Superfoods for Weight-Loss

The authors recommend the following superfoods for weight-loss:

• Coconut Oil before every meal
• Consume three servings of calcium-rich food, such as dairy or their Coconut Milk Tonic recipe
• Don’t forget your Cod-Liver Oil (for Vitamins A and D)
• Lacto-fermented products such as Kombucha and Saurkraut

If you are suffering from other health problems in addition to being overweight, such as fatigue, allergies, asthma, ADD, depression, digestive or skin problems, the authors recommend additional daily supplementation including:

• high-vitamin butter oil
• whole-food vitamin C from amla fruit or acerola
• raw apple cider vinegar helps with liver support and digestive problems
• desiccated liver

Did I Need to Follow the Diet Perfectly?

With three young children and a husband to feed, it is nearly impossible for me to strictly follow any diet, but I tried to follow the basics. I love the Perfect Coconut Oil in my morning cup of Green Tea. I enjoy local cheese and organic yogurt for my calcium, as well as Catie’s Raw Vegetable Calcium. I try to remember my Green Pasture’s Cod Liver Oil everyday.

Green Smoothies?

I believe my daily Perfect Aquatic Greens Smoothies also contributed to my weight loss, and improved my skin and teeth, but this post is getting a little long, so I will save the details of the Green Smoothies for another time.

Dr. Mary Enig, International expert on fats, and Sally Fallon, the President of The Weston A. Price Foundation, have written a book entitled EAT FAT, LOSE FAT. The title seems like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Even the USDA food pyramid only includes a sliver of fats.

If you were a teenager in the 80’s (like me), you have lived the last two decades being told to “Lose Weight by Eating Less Fat!” I included the exclamation point because I was particularly impressed in the 90’s by infomercial star, Susan Powter, who was always yelling. As a matter of fact, her first book was entitled Stop the Insanity! which included the exclamation point. I was impressed by Susan’s level of enthusiasm and ordered one of her kits from an infomercial. The kit included her book entitled Food, which I still own 15 years later. This book really did change the way I eat.

Low-fat Vegetarian Changing Her Ways

In addition to demonizing all fats, Food also included interesting information about the meat industry; the heinous living conditions of animals and the antibiotics and growth hormones they ingest from their feed. Miss Powter’s book had a lot to do with my mostly low-fat vegetarian diet for the last two decades.

My ideas about diet drastically changed in the last 6 months when I was introduced to a book entitled Nourishing Traditions, written by Sally Fallon, the same author of EAT FAT, LOSE FAT. You can read my full review on Nourishing Traditions.

Dr. Price’s research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.

Animal Fats?

Animal Fats? Really? This is a difficult concept for this low-fat vegetarian…but…I am trying to keep an open mind, and Nourishing Traditions includes a tremendous amount a scientific research to back up its claims.

EAT FAT, LOSE FAT applies the ideas of Nourishing Traditions to losing wieght, with the added inclusion of significant amounts of Coconut Oil. Coconut Oil? Another saturated fat that has been banished from the American Diet. The interesting point here is that there are many traditional societies living in tropical regions who consume huge amounts of coconut oil and enjoy strong, slender physiques and very low heart disease.

Why Is Our Society Fatter and Sicker Than Ever?

If removing saturated fats from the American Diet was the answer to heart disease and obesity, as has been the outcry for the last 20 years, why is our society fatter and sicker than ever? Despite the 20% reduction in animal fat consumption, 50% reduction in egg consumption, and 75% reduction in butter consumption.

EAT FAT, LOSE FAT begins with five chapters dedicated to a thorough description of healthy fats, traditional foods (real, unprocessed food, like your great-grandmother, and her great-grandmother ate), and how a balanced diet based on these ingredients can help you achieve weight-loss and ultimate health.

The next section of EAT FAT, LOSE FAT is sectioned into three different meal plans, Quick and Easy Weight Loss, Health Recovery, and Everyday Gourmet, all which include 2 weeks worth of daily meal ideas. The Everyday Gourmet is the diet plan for maintaining your ideal weight. Here is how the authors descibe the Health Recovery meal plan, “All the…meal plans will gradually upgrade your immune system, stabilize your blood sugar, help prevent illness, and increase your energy long term. However, if you have a more serious (or chronic) illness…you should follow the Health Recovery diet, an intensive version of our program.” The conditions listed include Diabetes, emotional problems, digestion problems, and 15 others.

Maybe you are like me, and despite the low-fat vegetarian way of life, your weight is gradually increasing with your age, and you would like to take off 10 pounds. Or maybe you are like many other people in this country who have bought all the “low-fat”, “light” and “sugar-free” products on the market, to no avail.

Looking for a Creative Solution?

Maybe there is a better way. I am willing to give it try. If low-fat vegetarian isn’t working for me, I need to find a more creative solution. Want to join me? Pick up a copy of EAT FAT, LOSE FAT, subscribe to our Perfect Supplements for Perfect Health newsletter, and track your progress with me. We will give you $5 towards your next Perfect Supplements purchase, AND keep you up to date on the latest coupons available.   

National Best Seller, Born to Run, was published in 2009 and written by Christopher McDougall, a contributing editor for Men’s Health magazine, and three-time National Magazine Award finalist.

This was the most entertaining book I have read in years. Written as a first-person non-fiction narrative, Born to Run combines the excitement of ultra-racing with very interesting scientific running research, and just a dash of a spiritual journey…it is perfect!

McDougall begins his story with a search for a mysterious running-man and his own sad tale of a love for running coupled with recurring injuries that are threatening to end his favorite past-time. The story ends with his completing a 50-mile race through a grueling Mexican canyon. The journey from injuries to 50-miles includes sport-trainers, anthropology research by PhD’s, and visits with a hidden tribe of native americans who have lived their relatively secret lives undisturbed in the canyons of Mexico for hundreds of years. The members of this tribe are known to run 50 miles just for the fun of it.

Just for the Fun of It!

Running long distances because it feels good, is a strong theme in Born to Run. McDougall mentions this idea often, in relation to various characters in the story.

Because it feels good? Can running long distances feel good? I certainly hope so. As a person who recently started training for a marathon, I would like this experience to be enjoyable rather than painful. One of the main characters in the story, White Horse, has an interesting description for running technique that I have tried to embrace. He states, “Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy because if that is all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless…”

So far, I am trying to focus on Easy and Light. According to the Anthropologists in McDougall’s story, human beings are physically designed for running long distances. We have 26 markers that indicate we are more similar to runners in the animal kingdom versus walkers.

Running for Your Life

Because of our unique anatomy, the doctors in the story also believe that running provides incredible health benefits to humans. Perhaps it feels good because it is so good for us. But it only feels good if we can avoid injuries. In Born to Run, McDougall shares how he changed his running habits to avoid injuries.

Have you read Born to Run? We would love to hear what you thought about it.

One of the most fascinating books I have read in the past ten years is a book entitled Nourishing Traditions, recommended to me by a Naturopath and MD. Although the book contains hundreds of recipes, it also includes tons of interesting information about food; which ones to enjoy with abundance, and which ones to avoid; all backed by scientific research.

What I find most fascinating about the book is how it holds in highest esteem many foods that we have been told for decades to avoid. The subtitle of the book says it all, The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

Eat Your Meat

Nourishing Traditions is based on the research of Dr. Weston Price, a dentist who traveled around the world in the 1930’s in search of isolated traditional communities who enjoyed superb health, generation after generation. He found fourteen groups in countries including Africa, Ireland, Switzerland, and Alaska, USA. Almost without exception, the isolated tribes valued animal fat as essential for good health, and included meat and dairy in their diets.

Dr. Price’s research compares the isolated traditional communities to their “civilized” neighbors; those who had abandoned the diet of their ancestors and turned to “refined grains, canned food, pasteurized milk and sugar.”  The “civilized” neighbors no longer enjoyed the perfect health of the isolated tribes and instead were plagued by deformities and medical problems.

Tribes Unite

Despite being spread around the globe, in addition to sharing similar ingredients, these various tribes also utilized common food preparation techniques. These included fermenting grains, dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables. The fermenting process not only preserves the food, but also makes the nutrients in the food more digestible, and improves the health of the digestive system.

Another important food preparation technique found universally among the traditional people was the creation of bone broth, which is rich in calcium and other minerals.

Nourishing Traditions brings us the recipes of our super-healthy ancestors, along with modern scientific research to encourage us to leave the new, processed food on the grocery shelves and return to a simpler and more natural way of cooking.

Pick up a copy of Nourishing Traditions and tell me what you think.

Perfect Supplements is adding many of the superfoods recommended in Nourishing Traditions to our product line.  Subscribe to our Perfect Supplements for Perfect Health newsletter and we will give you $5 towards your next purchase, AND keep you up to date on the latest coupons available.