[Theloose]

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I feel that the traditional foods route is 'right' and that other diets are 'wrong.' How am I any different from a raw vegan, claiming that going raw will solve all your problems?

I think the difference is that traditional diets have historical context and a little bit of science to confirm that we're on the right track, while other diets are based more heavily on theory and (sometimes questionable) science.

I also think that some of the other diets out there have their place, and may be good/necessary for healing, or given our modern foodways, but I keep coming back to figuring out your own personal 'traditional foods' being the thing to strive for.

What convinces you that TF is right?

 

[krankedyann]

I am convinced that TF is right because it's all God-made foods, it's how our ancestors ate, and it makes me feel my best (assuming I stay off of my food allergens). A TF diet solved a lot of my health issues prior to discovering my food allergies, so that doubly convinced me of its value to nourish and heal.

 

[NewDirections]

I'm reading a great book that talks about TF. It is How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy by Paul Chek. He writes about a lot of the science that supports a diet similar to what our hunter/gatherer ancestors had for thousands of years.

 

[crunchy_mama]

Well, I don't think a TF diet as layed out by NT is the best. I think that as long as we are eating whole foods there are a variety of diets for different people- as price saw different groups ate different things. Personally, I am a fan of the Paleo diets though. I don't think grains are good for us(certainly not gluten in it's current state). As far as the fat aspect, it just makes sense- traditional peoples ate the whole of the animal- whether it be fish, deer, bison etc- they didn't cut out the lean parts. Although I do know that wild animals are leaner than domestic and my experience w/ grassfed is that they are leaner as well- so I think that is something to keep in mind. I don't know I am rambling. I think we all have to follow our own path and listen to our bodies. I think that eating real food is a given. I think meat that is grassfed is a given. I feel best w/ lots of fat and meat, veggies,nuts, seeds- a little fruit and no grains. Nutrient dense foods like bone broths, kefirs and yogurts make sense as well.

 

[snowbunny]

For me the clincher is that these are foods that have nourished mankind for thousands and thousands of years. These are the foods that nurtured our evolution--not raw vegan foods, not low-fat processed foods. That those facts regarding food and evolution are largely backed up by good science (read with a critical eye) and my general feelings of well-being, is just frosting on the cake ... or ... er ... CLO on the spoon?

Despite all that, I am getting to a point where I strongly question the efficacy of grain in the diet. Also, grains don't really contain any micronutrient in any quantity that can't be found elsewhere in higher quantities. So, in a way, they're nutritional duds. Dairy is the same way but I LOOOOVE it so.

 

[spughy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowbunny Despite all that, I am getting to a point where I strongly question the efficacy of grain in the diet. Also, grains don't really contain any micronutrient in any quantity that can't be found elsewhere in higher quantities. So, in a way, they're nutritional duds. Dairy is the same way but I LOOOOVE it so.

Hey, are you me?

My love for TF is informed mostly by environmental concerns - industrial foods, industrial growing methods and industrial animal "husbandry" are just all so horribly awful on any number of levels, not to mention the environmental cost of shipping food from there to here. (Quite unnecessarily, I might add - our region has the capacity to feed everyone who lives here quite comfortably, were we to actually utilize all the available farmland in the region.) I eat locally and sustainably, which is TF by default. Eating TF makes me feel healthy in body AND soul.

My TF doesn't include coconut oil though. No coconuts here. Lots of nice pork fat from the happiest pigs on the planet, but no coconuts.

That having been said, I have a friend who is quite undeniably a constitutional vegetarian. She eats diary and eggs, but she doesn't feel well eating meat. I can respect that. I don't know what it's like to be her and if something deep in her body/soul tells her she shouldn't eat meat, that's cool. And honestly, if people want to be vegan for spiritual reasons, I have no problem with that either. (If they try to push the health benefits, then I get a little peeved.) There are more reasons to eat than simply bodily health - diet has to resonate with your being, not just your body.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

What I like about NT is that it was my 1st grade textbook, so to speak.
The book is meant to be that. It gets you started, and gives you a place you can always turn to.
I still use a great many of my other cookbooks. I am able to apply my NT knowledge to them, modifying with ease.
Paula

 

[Missa]

I think one thing that really convinces me is that I feel great. I was so used to feeling horrible, low energy, etc. I've been slowly converting to a more traditional foods diet and I just feel better. If this wasn't the ideal diet for me I would feel icky (very scientific

) I think that bone broth has done alot for our health.

I like knowing that science seems to back this up, but really I'm more interested in how I personally look and feel in relation to the foods I put in my body.

 

[AJP]

Have any of you read The Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein? It goes into this topic in depth, not specifically what's right or wrong about any particular diet, but how to trust yourself to know what's right for you, by being fully conscious of the food you eat and learning how to communicate with your body. (It doesn't have anything to do with yoga or yogic diets, he says "I use the word 'yoga' in a very general sense, to mean a practice that brings one into greater wholeness or unity.")

Examples of some of the chapter titles:
The Fallacy of Willpower
Food and Personality
Making It Practical
Discovering the Right Diet
Distinguishing Appetites from Cravings
Loving the Body, Loving the Self
Fat and the Good
Meat and the Life of the Flesh

I think it's a wonderful book.

 

[tanyalynn]

AJP, the book looks interesting, I've never heard of it but I'll put it on my to-read list.

As to the original question, Price's work resonates with me for a few reasons. I think it has historical precedent, it fits in well with the types of problems many of us have had, including structural things like tongue ties and high palates going along with Price's concept of narrowing faces, and it has a lot of redundancy built in.

I see redundancy in many aspects of Price-like/TF eating, preformed vitamin A instead of relying on carotenes in case the body is worn down and doesn't convert the carotenes well, vitamin D in foods in case the body doesn't convert from sunlight well, fermented foods are easily digestible and raw and a nice source of bacteria to get/keep the gut functioning well, soaked/sprouted grains are easier to digest, bone broths are easy to digest too.

When food is not plentiful, or when people are ill, there are lots of things already built into the diet to make it easier to replenish nutrient stores and get back to optimal functioning. That's an obvious benefit when people absolutely had to rely on local sources for all their nourishment, and any number of things could interfere with getting enough food for everyone, but I think it's just as valuable today, with the physical and emotional stresses of modern life.

But there's still individual work to be done, in terms of fitting our current health needs into the context of traditionally prepared, nutrient-dense foods, whether it means avoiding certain foods or classes of foods, or watching for specific nutrient intakes (zinc, folic acid, any number of nutrients that aren't specifically discussed in Price's work). But I like it as a basic framework.

 

[Holiztic]

I know a lot of people that "tried macrobitoic" "tried vegetarian" "tried raw vegan", etc. I don't know many people that "tried TF". What I am saying is that for most TFers, it's where they stopped/settled. That says A LOT to me.

 

[Junegoddess]

Just had a partly-serious thought while catching up on this thread (and, yes I really agree that it seems most people stop "trying" diets once they find TF.)

What about all the stories of women who were kidnapped by Native American raiding parties, and when rescued... ran right back out to their 'wild' captors!? I think it was the food.

I'm partly serious. Maybe they felt better.

I'm once again feeling inspired, by this and other threads, to kick myself in the pants and get more TF. I need to go grain-free. I've been saying that for a really, really long time and not doing it. Baby steps aren't working. And I don't think it's realistic to get started during the height of Cookie Season. But soon. I do feel a lot better than I ever did. I didn't realize the fog I lived in, because I'd never NOT been in the fog. Now my standards have been raised, and every now and then I see a wisp of fogginess and it scares me. I don't wanna go back! (Just had echoes of Flowers for Algernon... shudder.) It wasn't just traditional foods that made me feel better. Discovering my gluten-intolerance, and other food allergies, made the biggest difference. But if I was relying on regular SAD foods to fill in... wow, I'd be lost. And I doubt I'd feel much better. I wonder if some of the people who give up gluten/dairy and don't notice a difference... maybe it's because their diets are so poor. I'm rambling...