I watched the documentary "Fat Head" ....

[reinbeau]

Michael Pollan calls the fad following 'nutritionism', and its a huge factor in our dietary decline in this country - unfortunately we are spreading it throughout the world, so once healthy diets are now polluted with our wonderfully 'improved' food, to the point where they're becoming as unhealthy as we as a nation are. The following quotation was posted by me on our Nourishing Traditions thread:

An excerpt from the Introduction, Page 2, Politically Correct Nutrition:

"The new food guidelines rightly stress the importance of fruits and vegetables; for many years, the medical establishment ignored their value. The American Cancer Society even denied the role of fresh vegetables in preventing cancer, in spite of considerable evidence to the contrary. The new guidelines reflect the fact that this evidence can no longer be ignored.

Unfortunately, several dangerous errors are built into the edifice of the USDA Food Pyramid. First, the new guidelines imply that everyone can eat the same foods in the same proportions and be healthy. According to the recommendations, grains should be the basis of our diet; but many people do very poorly on grains. Others have a low tolerance for cdairy products. These intolerances are due to a number of factors, including ethnic background and genetic inheritance. Secondly, the pyramid calls for reduced fats without addressing the dangers of lowfat diets. Finally, the new guidelines perpetuate the myth that fats, carbohydrates and proteins have equal nutritional properties no matter how much or how little they are processed. The experts make no distinction between whole grains and refined, between foods grown organically and those grown with pesticides and commercial fertilizers, between unprocessed dairy products from pasture-fed cows and pasteurized dairy products from confined animals raised on processed feed, between fresh and rancid fats, between traditional fresh fruits and vegetables and those that have been irradiated or genetically altered, between range-fed meats and those from animals raised in crowded pens; between natural and battery-produced eggs; in short, between the traditional foods that nourished our ancestors and newfangled products now dominating the modern marketplace."

 

[FarmerChick]

I can't do MODERATION. My body does not react to sugars like a normal person does. NOBODY in my family does...or did. A quick look through the medical family trees shows disease after disease related to insulin and blood glucose issues.

100% moderation works for most.
Your type of diet works for you.
Other menus works for others.

Again no one can say eat X Y Z and all is perfect. So individual that any documentation saying this is the "perfect" way is not useful to millions.

So everyone reserach your own body....what you can do and be as healthy as one can be. Only your bloodwork, glucose levels, etc. etc. apply to YOU only.

So when you find that perfect menu for life.....you hit pay dirt for health!!

 

[Dace]

I whole heartedly agree with you FC....but how many folks do you know who have hit on the perfect diet for them?

You are one of the rare few who are happy with their diet (and I mean way of eating not the typical use of the word diet)! I think a few of us here have settled comfortably into a healthy lifestyle diet.....but the vast majority of people, like Okie who started this thread, have been searching and not found the solution.

But you are right, we all have to read, research and talk about different theories and eventually (if we are lucky) we find the combination that works for us. But without sharing our own ideas and what we have become passionate about then we don't help anyone to find their own way.

I love that we can all share here, but I do hate it when tempers flare and people get offended and or defensive...so I am glad everyone is playing nice!

 

[Wifezilla]

Is starting from what people ate for millions of years really that radical? Is the fact that some people can handle more toxins than others make toxins a good idea?

 

[Dace]

Is starting from what people ate for millions of years really that radical? Is the fact that some people can handle more toxins than others make toxins a good idea?

The trouble is that we have gotten so far away from what we ate so long ago that people have forgotten. Top it off with the fact that we have spent so the last 20 years with low fat drilled into us, that frankly this is a radical idea!

You really do have to be able to step back from what we have been taught and look at the evidence with a critical eye, but an open mind at the same time.

 

[abifae]

*

 

[ZohBug]

Is starting from what people ate for millions of years really that radical? Is the fact that some people can handle more toxins than others make toxins a good idea?

For some people it is a radical idea. I grew up on margarine, kool aid, spaghettios and tv dinners. The fact that my kids eat 100% grass fed meats, cultured butter, coconut oil, raw dairy, and I wouldn't dream of giving them vegetable oils, HFCS, or anything with soy in it has earned me the label of "food extremist" among my family and friends. And they mean it. My kids will tell people without blinking that they're allergic to milk when they're offered a glass at someone's home, yet the top shelf of our fridge is chock full of jars of moo and goat's milk from animals whose names we know. That's bewildering to people who come to our home (so, yes, the fridge is off limits!). We pack our food wherever we go so that my kids won't get tummy aches (and me too) from eating out. I make our own bread and crackers and it's not unusual for me to spend hours a day preparing food. Oh, and I spend hours obtaining food from the farmers' markets and from farmers and such too every week to get the freshest, yet the food I buy at the grocery store barely fills a hand basket. For people in our fast food, processed, nuke and go society, that is a radical idea. And, in addition, the microwave that came with the house is somewhere, unplugged, in the basement. Horror!

 

[abifae]

*

 

[Wifezilla]

For people in our fast food, processed, nuke and go society, that is a radical idea.

Well color me radical then

I guess I can't really see 200g-300g of carbs per day as "moderate"

 

[freemotion]

Wow, I go away for a few hours and look at all the fun I missed! Again! Just caught up, and have a couple of things to add.....in response to posts pages and pages ago...

The way of eating that is supported in Sally Fallon's book, inspired by Dr. Price's research, is based on centuries and centuries of traditions....of peoples who had vibrant health. Dr. Price didn't study what people shouldn't eat....they were in his office every day. He set forth to find out what people with fantastic health were including in their diets. His research is fascinating. And "old!" This is far from a dietary fad. How is it that it has been largely ignored for decades? That amazes me, and I felt SO betrayed when I started reading this stuff. Betrayed by so many people and organizations who/that make a pretense of having my best interests at heart. Ha!

Dace, nice explanations. And Okiegirl, read through some related threads, try out some preparation ideas, and then go back and get that book again. Read it cover to cover, just glancing at the recipes. It is so very far from what we have been taught all our lives that it can be hard to understand.

Also, do a youtube search for Sally Fallon....there are some snippets out there of her lecturing.

Oh, and Weston A. Price was more than a dentist. He was in charge of research for the major dental association of his day, and wrote textbooks and taught at the university level. So he is not to be equated with the guy who fills our cavities! (Don't get me wrong, I have a great dentist who is very smart!)