Quote:
|
Originally Posted by momma_unlimited
 Having read Nutrition & Physical Degeneration, and Nourishing Traditions, I find it odd to read this statement since they continuously hammer into you the fact that no healthy people group was devoid of animal products as a mainstay, whether cultured raw dairy, organ meats, cod liver oil, raw blubber, animal blood, etc... Weston Price actually sought out a healthy people group that had vegan dietary principles and failed to find one whatsoever.
|
Yes, dairy, meat and/or eggs were parts of the diet, and even possibly daily parts of the diet. But they were not by any means the entire diet, nor were they constants. Eggs would have been available for only a short time of the year, so they would be eaten then - they don't keep. Dairy would have been available maybe half the year, and eventually would be preserved for the rest of the year. Most (fresh) meat would only have been available summer/fall and winter/spring would most likely be spent eating dried/salted meat and fish (most mammals are too lean in spring, and would be left to fatten before being hunted).
And then there were entire cultures who didn't eat (red) meat hardly at all - they survived on products of the sea, both animal and vegetable.
People back then knew what their bodies needed... at the first sight of spring, they'd start picking whatever was sprouting to add the fresh greens to their diet. When an item was ripe, they'd eat it or dry/salt it for winter. They knew that fat was essential, so would try not to need to hunt in the spring when animals are at their leanest, and would add fat to the meat if they did have to. They knew that the body craves sweets, and dried fruits to last the long winter to get by on. If you've ever read Jean M Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear series), you'll see little pieces of this throughout her books - where she talks about how they preserved food for the winter, how and why they prepared their foods, etc.
We've lost touch with our bodies in this day and age - we try to fill them with foods that they can't handle and then wonder why they fail us, rather than trusting that they're trying to tell us something. It took me years to learn to listen to my body, and I have to tell you pregnancy has really messed with that ability. But I had to figure out that my body was telling me that it doesn't like grains or sugar, and that it wants protein (and fat) in order to function optimally... it doesn't much care what form that protein takes. It took me years and trying lots of different things to figure that out. And I know that what works for me doesn't work for everyone... but it works for me. And that's what's important.
