Nourishing Traditions

reinbeau

Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
1,815
Reaction score
7
Points
124
Location
Hanson, MA Zone 6a
hikerchick said:
Ok I just read this entire thread and I am convinced that I have to read this book. From what I have read so far, it sounds sensible - no eliminating whole food groups or anything like that.

At least. that is what I got from reading this thread.
Oh, no, you don't eliminate whole food groups at all, if anything you add back all the stuff they've been telling us is bad for us - because it is actually what we should be eating!

My mother is a prime example of someone who has followed all the 'nutrionist' style eating - she thinks it's the right thing, but she's a digestive mess, and she absolutely won't listen to the advice regarding whole foods, fats, etc. She's a nonfat food fanatic, although I did notice finally this past Christmas she was putting out real butter for us, rather than the 'heart-healthy' artificial stuff she's been using for quite a long time. It's so hard to break those old habits, especially if you trust and believe the 'experts' that have really been spouting bad nutrition for over 30 years now.
 

Wifezilla

Low-Carb Queen - RIP: 1963-2021
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
8,928
Reaction score
16
Points
270
Location
Colorado
I may eventually add in grains again...in small amounts...ONLY when fermented/soaked or otherwise properly prepared.

The modern way grains are prepared in NO WAY resembles the traditional preparation of these foods. There is nothing normal, healthy or natural about the extrusion process used on cereals. There is nothing natural, normal or healthy about deconstructing grains and then reassembling them and calling them "enriched". The high heat most grains are subject to destroy most of the nutrients anyway. How can it even be called "food" anymore? Is it sensible to eat them in this state?

"Grains require careful preparation because they contain a number of antinutrients that can cause serious health problems. Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, many other adverse effects.

Other antinutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness.

Most of these antinutrients are part of the seed's system of preservationthey prevent sprouting until the conditions are right. Plants need moisture, warmth, time and slight acidity in order to sprout. Proper preparation of grains is a kind and gentle process that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.

Animals that nourish themselves on primarily on grain and other plant matter have as many as four stomachs. Their intestines are longer, as is the entire digestion transit time. Man, on the other hand, has but one stomach and a much shorter intestine compared to herbivorous animals."
http://www.westonaprice.org/Be-Kind-to-Your-Grains...And-Your-Grains-Will-Be-Kind-To-You.html

There is nothing extreme, radical or otherwise weird about eliminating these frankenfoods until a body can heal, one can learn to prepare grains properly, and then carefully test to see if there is a reaction due to an allergy. A test like this will only give good data if unhealthy processing methods can be eliminated as a cause.
 

sylvie

Recycled Spunk
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
1,881
Reaction score
3
Points
123
hikerchick said:
Ok I just read this entire thread and I am convinced that I have to read this book. From what I have read so far, it sounds sensible - no eliminating whole food groups or anything like that.

At least. that is what I got from reading this thread.
Nothing wrong with reading the book. I did and learned how to better prepare foods that I do use. The whole philosophy does not work for me so I only take what I need from the book. FWIW.
 

hikerchick

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
550
Reaction score
0
Points
94
Location
Dover PA
Thanks Sylvie.
I rarely swallow anything whole. I believe very strongly in "take what you need, leave the rest."

I would never do something that doesn't make sense for me just because someone who wrote a book or produced a film says that I should.
 

framing fowl

On a mission
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
2,130
Reaction score
76
Points
247
Location
Virginia
My hold request just showed up at the library so I'm picking it up tomorrow! Can't wait!
 

ZohBug

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Points
21
I don't believe that there is any one thing that can work for everyone because we're all different. For me, one of the most powerful things has been watching my children grow and empowering them to listen to their own bodies. This includes allowing them to listen to what their bodies need to fuel them to operate optimally. I believe this works best when you start young, as I did with my kids, before they're introduced to HFCS and advertising for Lucky Charms and other brightly colored boxes in the stores and on television. My kids can tell me that they don't want or need meat today or that they "need" eggs or milk or water or fruit or whatever type of food if they can't name the exact food that their body needs at that point in time. They also know when they've had enough of a particular food even if they aren't full and need a different type of food. "Enough meat, I need some broccoli now." We only drink water or milk or kombucha or kefir (milk and water) and very occasionally tea. When my kids to have juice it's something like "just cranberry" or plain pomegranate but not sweet juices like apple because they're too sweet to them and they say they can't taste the fruit which annoys them. I've learned a lot from my kids!

I used to be a vegetarian and really had a difficult time accepting that I could benefit from meat. I know some healthy vegetarians and vegans and believe that it's healthy for some people, but it wasn't for me personally. I have difficultly storing iron and become severely anemic and had to go in to get intravenous iron on a regular basis. Now, by eating small quantities of 100% organic grass fed meats, I only have to get intravenous iron every year and a half or so instead of every 3 to 6 months. Still not perfect, but much better. Little things like that which were slowly incorporated over the course of years, have made a huge difference for me, but my kids have never known anything different and they're happy and healthy (touch wood).

Again, yes, take what works for you, and leave the rest. Some of it will have you nodding your head and will be informative and make a lot of sense, while other parts may not "speak to you" or your needs. That's okay. But if you just take away the message that whole, traditional, unprocessed foods have merit, and learn to recognize them for what they are and learn more about what's on the grocery store shelves now and a little bit more of the whys and hows of how things came to be, then you're way ahead of most people out there. But, then again, if you weren't on that path already, you wouldn't be reading the book. ;)

Very best.
 

Wifezilla

Low-Carb Queen - RIP: 1963-2021
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
8,928
Reaction score
16
Points
270
Location
Colorado
one of the most powerful things has been watching my children grow and empowering them to listen to their own bodies
:thumbsup

Too bad a house full of Kraft Mac & Cheese, Fruit Loops, and Kool Aid growing up scrambled my signals!
 

reinbeau

Moderator Extraordinaire
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
1,815
Reaction score
7
Points
124
Location
Hanson, MA Zone 6a
Wifezilla said:
one of the most powerful things has been watching my children grow and empowering them to listen to their own bodies
:thumbsup

Too bad a house full of Kraft Mac & Cheese, Fruit Loops, and Kool Aid growing up scrambled my signals!
Wow, Wifey, that is bad stuff, isn't it? My kids never had white bread here, they used to ask for it, because they ate it at their friends, but I refused. I couldn't stand Kraft Mac & Cheese, so I always made them the real stuff - as for Fruit Loops and Kool Aid, I couldn't afford them, so they never got them. I've always been a package reader, and have seriously tried to avoid all the artificial stuff ever since I had my own household. My parents were too poor to feed us much processed, manufactured stuff, too, so I guess it's something I learned early on, thankfully!
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
Hey, Frootloops now have whole grains! And essential vitamins and minerals, and essential chemicals, too! They are good for you, dontcha know? :sick
 

ZohBug

Enjoys Recycling
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Points
21
freemotion said:
Hey, Frootloops now have whole grains! And essential vitamins and minerals, and essential chemicals, too! They are good for you, dontcha know? :sick
Yeah, my kids saw that commercial. Then I made my 7yo read the rest of the ingredients. I was proud of her when she voluntarily put the box back on the shelf. Of course, we don't eat cold cereal here at all, so that helps too.
 

Latest posts

Top