Whose Traditional Diet Is It?

[Mama2Rowan]

Hi all-

First, I'm really new to the formal idea of "traditional diets". We've always tried to eat whole, organic foods, and I'm just now starting to incorporate some traditional practices, such as soaking grains, buying grass-fed dairy products, etc. Basically, I'm a total newbie!

So anyway, I have a question. With all of the emphasis on milk and red meat on this thread, I'm trying to figure out whose traditional diet is being represented. I eat red meat and dairy products, so I'm not concerned about the focus on them. I'm just surprised to not see more information about what I would assume are also "traditional" foods, such as wild fish, sea vegetables, etc. Can someone enlighten me? Do all traditional cultures focus so heavily on milk?

On a related note, is the goal of traditional diets to follow traditional practices from anywhere around the globe or is it to follow the traditional practices of your own predominant ethnogeographic group?

Thanks!
-Angie

[Leilalu]

Well, I am a northern european mutt So, I like alot of the recipes passed down from family members. I try to eat alot of differen tthings from different cultures, but mainly, I do well on diets similar to those of my ancestors.

[tbone]

Huh, I never really thought of the ancestral backround of TF. I'm Indian and we are Hindu, traditionally Hindus do not eat beef or any red meat for that matter. Many are vegetarian (as I was for 20 years). But milk, butter, ghee, and yogurt are a very big part of the diet. Coconut oil, meat, and water are traditional too. We also soak rice and pulses. These are all the things I feel in sync with as far as NT goes.

[HerbanGirl]

In my reading I haven't seen any particular bent toward eating like your ancestors; it's more about traditionally-prepared foods that are nutrient-rich. Dr. Price noted a number of traditional cultures that did not use red meat, such as the Pacific Islanders and, I believe, the Scottish and Swiss cultures (don't quote me on that, though). Likewise, the Pacific Islanders and, I think, Native Alaskan cultures didn't rely on dairy very much, if at all. Seafood and coconut dominated the island diet, and red meat and whale fat the Alaskan diet.

It's important to eat foods that can give you as many of their nutrients as possible, and it's easier when foods are prepared traditionally and, in some cases, eaten in proper combinations (I'm thinking of the benefit of eating high-fat dairy with grains, for one). I find myself drawn to learn more about what my ancestors ate, but it's more of a personal interest than a TF necessity.

Good luck!

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Some people believe you should eat more in line with your own ancestors and some believe you should eat only local foods. I think those are great ideas but I LOVE Mexican food and bananas, oranges and pineapples (none of these are even remotely close to me, geographically or ancestrally). I lean towards preparing foods like somebody's ancestors did, even i they are not mine.

[kmamma]

I find ancestral-specific diets to be very interesting. I only have two different ancestries, Northern Portuguese and Swedish and since they're both cold regions, they are somewhat similar, pork for example is predominant in both regions and I love pork, although I have to be careful to not eat it my usual low-carb way since it's so good at lowering your blood sugar (just like garlic).

I think one should always know what your ancestors ate because if you have absolutely no Asian heritage, I think a lot of soy in the diet could be a bad thing. However, going the other way, and including all the foods that your ancestors consumed, is more tricky. Ancestry can be a great guide, but the best of guides is your body. Even people who hail from the same family have differences in metabolism since other factors play a part, and especially the havoc wrecked on our bodies through generations of poor nutrition. You could be of pure Austrian ancestry but still not be able to eat rye for example because of gluten intolerance.
But I do find that for some people, ancestry plays a big role. For example my husband who is half Norwegian and rest Austrian/Brittish Isles does very well on lots of meat, lots of dairy and some sourdough, especially those very dark breads. He's not very big on vegetables, and really, traditionally, not much of that was eaten in those countries.

Well, I'm rambling... I really just wanted to tell you about some great resources if you want to look into it more. I'm still looking for more resources though, so if anyone knows, let me know.
First off, "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Price if you haven't cheked that one out yet. Also, I think there are some more detailed articles on the website.
"The Metabolic Diet" by Wolcott is useful mostly in understanding our metabolic differences, but some interesting info on tradtional diets. There are other like books on the market, this was one of the first. His website www.healthexcel.com has an information library with more specific articles on metabolic diets and diets of traditional people.
Here's a great resource which I haven't read entirely, but there are some chosen articles online that you can read. From "The Cambridge World History of Food" (Kenneth Kiple editor) www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple Look at contents and scroll down. A few of the topics can be clicked to read further about. Now I know what I want for my bitrhday!

[Tcarwyn]

[QUOTE=kmamma;7758887] I love pork, although I have to be careful to not eat it my usual low-carb way since it's so good at lowering your blood sugar (just like garlic).

QUOTE]


Really? do you have references for that or it it from personal experience...either or, I would love to hear more

Tanya

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by Leilalu

Well, I am a northern european mutt So, I like alot of the recipes passed down from family members. I try to eat alot of differen tthings from different cultures, but mainly, I do well on diets similar to those of my ancestors.

Well, I'm an eastern European mutt . We eat a traditional Polish diet among others. Whatever we do it, I prepare it in a traditional fashion. We also eat greek, German food a lot, because it's mostly the recipes I have/love

But we eat a lot of hamburgers and such too But of course it's from a grass fed cow

[wagamama]

Perhaps not so many people are incorporating more fish into their diets because most fish are contaminated with heavy metals : My ancestors come from a coastal region of England, and DH is Japanese. We love fish and it's traditional for us, but we limit our consumption of it because of mercury and other contaminants.

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by wagamama

Perhaps not so many people are incorporating more fish into their diets because most fish are contaminated with heavy metals : My ancestors come from a coastal region of England, and DH is Japanese. We love fish and it's traditional for us, but we limit our consumption of it because of mercury and other contaminants.

We live in the NW and my dad is a big time Salmon fisherman. We always get lots of fresh wild Salmon

[Mama2Rowan]

Wow! Thanks for the insightful responses! I have some more research and reading to do... Upon first glance, it seemed as though "traditional diets" = raw milk and beef, but perhaps that's just a reflection of the fact that those two foods are a particularly strong passion of Sally Fallon's (especially the milk)??

Originally Posted by wagamama

Perhaps not so many people are incorporating more fish into their diets because most fish are contaminated with heavy metals : My ancestors come from a coastal region of England, and DH is Japanese. We love fish and it's traditional for us, but we limit our consumption of it because of mercury and other contaminants.

Wagamama: Heavy metal contamination certainly is a concern, but I think the benefits of eating some of the lesser contaminated fish, such as shrimp and wild Alaskan salmon, outweight the risks. Some reports even show that such fish often have no detectible levels of mercury and other contaminants. I don't eat fish every day, but I do consider it a great source of protein and healthy fats. Canned salmon with the bones is also full of minerals (the bones are soft, so you can eat them along with the flesh).

Thanks for the info everyone! I'm eager to read more from all of you!
-Angie

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by kmamma

I think one should always know what your ancestors ate because if you have absolutely no Asian heritage, I think a lot of soy in the diet could be a bad thing.

And even if you are Asian, like me, you may still have to be careful. In my nearly veg period that lasted about ten years, I consumed much more soy than what is considered traditional. It was the biggest change I made to my diet, and it caused a hormonal nightmare in addition to other negative health issues.

I find it interesting that in addition to PMS and other problems, both my mother and I had ovarian cysts that needed to be surgically removed. However, my sister was smart enough to never get on the soy bandwagon, and she has been spared the problems my mother and I had.

[kmamma]

wagamama--you may be surprised to know that coastal inhabitants in England did not traditionally consume fish, but subsisted on land animals. I also used to think that whenever people live close to water, fish is a staple. But some waters are just too dangerous for low-techonology people to venture into, and other folks simply have taboos.
And in Ireland during the great potato famine, the people refused to eat fish even though they could because it wasn't traditional. However, they did eat shellfish that came onto shore.
Sorry I don't have the title of the book I read it in, but it was in one of the newest books on metabolic diets, by a woman. I read this about six months ago or so and then it was new.

Tanya--sorry I don't remember where I read it. I've come across it a few times, all over. Maybe if you did a search for blood sugar lowering foods and pork. SInce I read it the first time it made sense, because I would feel a bit funny after eating pork because I've been low-carb for a while due to hypoglycemia. I just made a batch of pork stew and again even with potatoes my blood sugar would go down quickly, I then added a bit of apple jelly and felt better.
Someone on this board posted about garlic recently, haven't read that elsewhere but from personal experience that makes a lot of sense too. Feel very spacey and tired if anything more than a clove has been added to a dish.

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

Well, I'm an eastern European mutt . We eat a traditional Polish diet among others. Whatever we do it, I prepare it in a traditional fashion. We also eat greek, German food a lot, because it's mostly the recipes I have/love

But we eat a lot of hamburgers and such too But of course it's from a grass fed cow

mmmmmm.. Greek food

See, dh spent a good deal of time in Turkey, so he is definitely into donor kebabs, and other mediteranean style food. But, his mother grew up in Mexico(Irish/Scottish/polish descent mainly) so he claims the mexican part. We love mexican food here.

I think every culture was good , traditionally speaking, at preparing foods that complimented each other well. Mexican food, for example(particularly spicy foods) usually have a dairy product and a carb to balance out the heat in the peppers. Corn tortilla, queso fresca, etc. It seems like people almost everywhere seemed to grab onto the whole concept of eating balanced. So I think you can safely pick from any culture and easily meet requirements, but you may find you do better on on eparticualr style of diet, or have a personal preference that can only be explained by anscestry.

[Tcarwyn]

Originally Posted by kmamma

Tanya--sorry I don't remember where I read it. I've come across it a few times, all over. Maybe if you did a search for blood sugar lowering foods and pork. SInce I read it the first time it made sense, because I would feel a bit funny after eating pork because I've been low-carb for a while due to hypoglycemia. I just made a batch of pork stew and again even with potatoes my blood sugar would go down quickly, I then added a bit of apple jelly and felt better.
Someone on this board posted about garlic recently, haven't read that elsewhere but from personal experience that makes a lot of sense too. Feel very spacey and tired if anything more than a clove has been added to a dish.

Wow... I am going to have to try that...getting a pork roast from the farm on sunday...

Never had that issue with garlic though...I eat TONs of it and i also eat a pretty low carb diet....hmmm

Thanks

Tanya

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by Leilalu

So I think you can safely pick from any culture and easily meet requirements, but you may find you do better on on eparticualr style of diet, or have a personal preference that can only be explained by anscestry.

So maybe that is why I could eat a quart of saurkraut everyday without issue

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

So maybe that is why I could eat a quart of saurkraut everyday without issue

dang girl! mmm, I need to learn to make me some of that. It is after all in the german part of me to like it

Or maybe it's why I can eat lots of cheese and sausage?