Photos of recipes from the new book Tender Grassfed Barbecue
Photos of recipes from the cookbook Tender Grassfed Meat
When It Comes to Meat — Study the Studies First
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Grass—the ideal food for cattle
It was the first hour of the first class on my first day in law school. The teacher, a man who actually practiced law during the day, and taught it at night, wrote a statement on the blackboard. I can still see the words in my mind. “There is no truth.â€
Being a believer in the truth of science in that time, I had to challenge that. I asked, “But what about scientific truth, established by properly conducted studies?â€
The teacher, an attorney of vast experience, answered—“No matter what position you take in a lawsuit, you can always find an expert to support it, and the expert can always find studies to support his position. You will find an expert who will testify that 2 plus 2 equals 3, and the other side will find an expert who will testify that 2 plus 2 equals 5. And each of them will find studies to support their completely contradictory positions. That is why there is no truth, at least not when you are practicing law.â€
After more than a quarter century as an attorney, I found his words to be absolutely true. Whenever there was an issue of science, psychology, medicine, or just about anything else, each side in the lawsuit was able to find an expert, often a superbly qualified scientist, to support their position. And every expert was able to find studies to support his or her support of that position.
This is not to say that every scientist is corrupt. But it does show that scientists who study the same issue often come up with results that contradict each other. The differences arise from the details of the study, the assumptions made that will be accepted as fact but not tested, and the bias, both subconscious and actual, of a scientist whose future income depends on pleasing the customer who is paying for the study. It is crucial to understand these factors before you accept the conclusions of a study as true.
Let us look at the studies on meat, for example. We have been bombarded for the last fifty years with study after study that claims that meat is unhealthy. According to various studies, meat causes heart disease, cancer, strokes, aging, and many other illnesses. In fact, if you believe all of these studies, it seems impossible for humanity to exist—given the fact that most generations of humans ate mainly meat and fat, you would have expected our ancestors to have died out from all these diseases long ago, rather than thriving and multiplying.
I have read study after study about meat. And one crucial fact emerges—nearly all of these studies treat all meat, whether raised with or without artificial hormones, raised with or without subtherapeutic antibiotics, fed their natural diet or an artificial one, fresh, or heavily processed meats loaded with preservatives and artificial chemicals, as being the same for the purposes of the study.
I have always found the assumption that all meat is the same to be flawed. This assumption makes it impossible to tell if the results are caused by the meat or by the chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives added to some of the meat.
Two Swedish studies have shown how vital this detail is. The first study, done on Swedish women, treated all meat as being the same, and found that eating “meat†increased the risk of stroke. This study was heavily publicized by the Reuters news agency.
The second study, done on Swedish men, differentiated between fresh meat and processed meats. This study found that fresh meat made no difference in the risk of stroke. This study also found that eating meats processed with chemicals and preservatives did increase the risk of stroke, as shown in this article.
The conclusion I draw from these studies is that it is the chemicals and preservatives added to processed meats that are to blame for the increased stroke risk, not the meat itself.
I am aware of only one study that reviews the effect of grassfed meats on human health, but that study is the most extensive ever done. Dr. Weston A. Price studied traditional peoples eating the diets of their ancestors. Dr. Price actually visited every people he studied. The study lasted ten years, and is described in detail in Dr. Price’s magnificent book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Dr. Price did not let bias interfere with his analysis—a very spiritual man, he had hoped and expected that these healthy peoples would be vegetarian, but faithfully reported the fact that they thrived on animal foods.
Most of the peoples studied by Dr. Price ate plenty of meat and fat as part of their traditional diet. The meat was grassfed or wild. No chemicals. None of these people had cancer, or heart disease, or stroke, or any of the chronic diseases that plague modern society.
Part of the findings of Dr. Price’s study is that grassfed meat and fat do not cause disease, but support the natural functions of the body, enabling these people to thrive. This is a conclusion I completely agree with.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
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In Defense of Nutritious, Delicious Grassfed Butter
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Toothmarks show that this is the right amount of butter, as inspired by Sally Fallon Morell.
The domination of our government by the large agricultural industry has led to some of the most ignorant and ill-advised nutritional advice in the history of our planet. I thought the idiotic “food pyramid†with its emphasis on dead carbohydrates as the foundation of diet and its demonizing of healthy fats and protein was as bad as it was going to get.
I truly did underestimate our government. The replacement for the “food pyramid,†“MyPlate,†is even worse.
The first clue as to how bad this is comes when you look at the plate, at “choosemyplate.gov.†The plate has sections for fruit, vegetables, grains, and protein. There is also a small circle labeled dairy. The text on the page informs us that the dairy should be 1% fat, or less. But there is no place for the most important food group, fats. To our government, fat is no longer a food.
I know that the most nutritious food ever discovered is the butter from grassfed animals. But where in “MyPlate†is the butter?
How the Government Sees Butter
The “MyPlate†page includes a link to “My-Food-a-Pedia,†a huge compendium of marketing and misinformation. In My-Food-a-Pedia, all solid fats, including butter and the healthy fat of grassfed animals, are lumped together in a group called “others.†Like a group of alien invaders. Besides “solid fats,†the “others†include added sugar and alcohol. There is no difference between butter and candy bars? Or butter and light beer? Or butter and whiskey? At least, according to our government all these foods are the same. According to our government, the amount of “others†in our diet is to be strictly limited.
The links included a window listing the various food groups. I looked at each of them, to see where butter was classified. Where’s the butter? Butter is not a vegetable. Butter is not a fruit. Butter is not a grain. Butter is not protein. Butter is not even dairy. Butter, as a “solid fat†is included in a group called “Empty Calories.†“Empty Calories†are defined as items that have “little or no nutritional value,†but a lot of calories.
So, according to our government, butter has “little or no nutritional value.â€
This is the equivalent of saying that ice is hot, or water is dry, or the moon is made of green cheese. It is absolutely not true.
Butter Is the Most Nutrient-Dense Food on Earth
Butter is full of nutrients, and the factors needed to absorb and use them. Here is a list of some of the nutrients in grassfed butter:
- Retinol, the real Vitamin A;
- Vitamin D;
- Vitamin K;
- Vitamin E;
- The substance Dr. Weston A. Price named “Activator Xâ€: Vitamin K2
- Arachidonic acid;
- Short and medium chain fatty acids;
- Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, in perfect balance with each other:
- CLA;
- Lecithin;
- Glycosphingolipids;
- Trace minerals;
- And many others.
An excellent article explaining the nutrients in butter and other good animal fats, and how the body uses them, can be found at The Skinny on Fats.
Little or no nutrition? Hogwash.
Why this Matters
The utter demonization of butter and animal fat, to the point of denying that it is even a food, has consequences.
This is much more than a bad joke. The government forces schools and other institutions that get government aid to comply with nutritional guidelines. It controls the diet of our military. It controls the diet of many medical facilities and rest homes. If the government insists that the guidelines be followed, butter and natural animal fat could be banned from the schools, and many other institutions. This could lead to a nutritional disaster that is even worse than the one we are experiencing today.
I will eat my butter and cover “my plate†in it!
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Why Grassfed Meat Is Worth It
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Barbecued Grassfed Bone In Porterhouse Steak
Most of the people I know eat factory meat. When I encourage them to try grassfed, they have two major objections.
The first objection is the belief that grassfed meat is “tough.†Grassfed meat is exquisitely tender when cooked properly. But grassfed meat must be cooked differently than factory meat, because it is a very different product. That is why I wrote Tender Grassfed Meat, which contains detailed instructions on the proper cooking of this wonderful food.
But the biggest objection, the one that convinces most people not to buy it, is the price. Grassfed meat costs more per pound than most factory meat. That is a fact. But price is not everything. Grassfed meat is worth the additional price to me. Why?
- Grassfed meat is almost always raised without artificial hormones and regular doses of antibiotics, unlike factory meat;
- Grassfed meat is not fattened in a feedlot on foods unnatural to cattle;
- Grassfed meat is the meat humanity has been eating for tens of thousands of years, with factory meat being created in the last century;
- Grassfed meat is far more nutrient-dense than factory meat, having the nutrient profile are bodies have evolved to use;
- Grassfed meat shrinks much less in cooking, so you are buying more meat and less water;
- Grassfed meat satisfies the appetite;
- Grassfed meat tastes much better.
Grassfed Meat Is Raised Without Artificial Growth Hormones
Most factory beef is given artificial growth hormones, and given regular doses of antibiotics. Both of these practices result in the factory steer growing and fattening much faster than a grassfed steer. While this increases profits, concerns have been raised about the effect of these practices, which are not natural. Many countries ban the use of these hormones. The medical profession and many scientists have objected to the regular feeding of antibiotics to cattle, stating that it could cause the growth of bacteria that is antibiotic-resistant.
Every grassfed meat producer I know makes a point out of the fact that they do not use artificial growth hormones or regular doses of antibiotics.
Grassfed Meat Is Not Fattened in a Feedlot
Factory cattle spend the last 90 to 180 days of their lives crowded together in a feedlot, eating foods that are inappropriate for cattle, such as GMO soy and GMO corn, and many other unnatural foods. This changes the natural balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids dramatically (see this fine article at EatWild.com Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Products), deprives the cattle of the nutrients that are present only in green, living grass, and results in meat that is spongy and full of water.
True grassfed cattle are out on the pasture where they belong, eating the foods they have evolved to eat, and have a perfect balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, and many other nutrients that are depleted or missing in feedlot cattle.
Grassfed Meat Is the Food Humanity Has Been Eating for Tens of Thousands of Years
The meat and fat from grassfed animals is one of the oldest human foods. Humans have been eating this meat for tens of thousands of years, maybe much longer. Our bodies have evolved to eat, digest, and process this food, and need the nutrients in the fat, meat, and organs.
Factory meat was invented in the last century, and has been eaten widely for less than 60 years. Our bodies have no meaningful experience with it, in evolutionary terms.
Grassfed Meat Is Far More Nutrient-Dense Than Factory Meat
Credible studies have shown that grassfed meat gives you far more important nutrients than factory meat. This includes far more omega-3 fatty acids, in an ideal ratio to omega-6 fatty acids, much more CLA (a nutrient that helps the body maintain normal weight and cell structure), and many other vital nutrients (see Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Products).
Factory meat has a huge imbalance of too much omega- 6 fatty acids, far less CLA, and less of the other nutrients.
Grassfed Meat Shrinks Much Less in Cooking
Factory meat may be cheaper on a per pound basis, but much of the cheaper meat you are buying is water. Factory meat will often release much water into a pan when cooked, and will shrink dramatically when cooked. That is why cooking with really high heat is so popular when cooking factory meat—the high heat is needed to deal with the water. This applies to every form of cooking, including roasting, grilling, and sautéing.
Grassfed meat will shrink very little when roasted, grilled, or sautéed, and does not release water into the pan.
Grassfed Meat Satisfies the Appetite
I find that I eat about half as much meat now. This is because I switched to grassfed meat, and grassfed meat is so nutrient-dense that I am satisfied with much less meat. After I have eaten a nice serving of grassfed meat and fat, my hunger ends, and I am satisfied.
I was never satisfied when eating factory meat. No matter how much I ate, my body was still hungry for something that was not there.
The natural balance of nutrients in grassfed meat and fat gives our bodies exactly what they need, and hunger ends.
Grassfed Meat Tastes Much Better
Americans have been marketed into believing that the dull, flavorless taste of factory beef is what they like. All factory beef tastes pretty much the same. No wonder most people cover the meat in catsup and other condiments.
Grassfed meat has a richness and depth of flavor that is wonderful to experience. The taste of grassfed meat will vary, depending on the breed, grass condition, age, aging process, actual plants eaten, and other factors. The wide variety in delicious tastes is something I enjoy. Grassfed meat must be properly cooked to have these flavors released, but the taste is so much better. Grassfed meat does not need much in the way of seasoning to be terrific, and a simple combination of traditional ingredients is all that is needed. Tender Grassfed Meat is full of recipes that demonstrate this delicious fact.
After years of eating grassfed only, I experimented with some factory meat. This factory meat was free of hormones and antibiotics, but came from a feedlot. I cooked it with one of my favorite pre-grassfed period recipes. It could not begin to compare with the taste, texture, and joy of eating grassfed meat.
Grassfed meat is worth the extra per pound price. There are a number of ways to greatly reduce the price, such as looking for the frequent specials, and buying a quarter, half, or even a whole steer. Grassfed is worth it.
This post is part of Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
Earth Day, Grassfed Meat, and Dr. Weston A. Price
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Happy cows grazing on rich grass grown on soil restored by John Wood of U.S. Wellness Meats.
Earth Day was created to appreciate and encourage the preservation of the natural blessings of our planet. Perhaps the greatest threat to our planet and ourselves is the massive loss of good soil that has been going on since the last century. Without good soil, most life cannot ultimately survive. The attack on our soil has been led by the chemical industry, and factory farmers who abuse the land, killing the very life in the soil, causing erosion, and a reduction in usable water. Massive soil erosion leads to deserts. Yet it is not too late to save and restore our soil.
Conventional science, with its incomplete knowledge and obsessive focus on grants and profits, is not going to save us. In fact, it is the products of conventional science, such as pesticides, artificial fertilizers, modified plants and germs, and massive chemical pollution from artificial chemicals that are the greatest cause of the problem. But nature itself can save us, if we have the humility and wisdom to follow nature’s laws.
Nature itself has left a blueprint on how to make good soil, and tens of millions of desert acres have been turned into fertile grasslands, with long-dead rivers and streams coming back to life as part of the process. This was accomplished by following nature’s laws.
Dr. Weston A. Price, the pioneer who discovered the truth about nutrition, said it this way:
“Life in all its fullness is nature’s laws obeyed.â€
Why Good Soil is Crucial for Life
Soil that will nourish healthy life is much more than just dirt. It is a magnificent combination of minerals, bacteria, insects, microbes, and many nutrients (including unknown substances), all coming together to form the very source of life.
Plants need soil to grow, and soil needs plants to hold it in place against wind and rain, or it just erodes away. The nutrients in the soil grow the plants that keep the soil in place.
These nutrients nourish the plants that grow in this good soil, and the nutrients go into the plants, which pass these nutrients on to the people and animals who eat them. Food plants grown in good soil contain many vital nutrients that we all need to be fully healthy. Animals grazing on these rich plants develop nutrients in their flesh, fat and organs which are crucial for human health, and which are only there if the animals get all the nutrients they require.
It is crucial to understand that science has not identified all of these nutrients, and does not know everything about how they work together. But our bodies know, and expect all these nutrients to be there in the food we eat.
Dr. Weston A. Price discovered that traditional peoples eating the diets of their ancestors, foods from animals grazing on rich soil, plants grown in rich soil, or seafood taken from the rich ocean, were immune to tooth decay. This immunity went far beyond tooth decay, as these people did not have cancer, heart disease, asthma, allergies, birth defects, mental problems, or any of the host of chronic diseases that torment modern humanity. Dr. Price understood that good soil was the mother of good food, and included a chapter on the vital importance of soil in his magnificent work, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
How the Soil is Lost
Growing and harvesting certain crops depletes the soil of nutrients. Farming the same soil year after year could lead to erosion. The traditional solution was to rotate fields, to let the land rest and renew, or plant certain crops that would restore nutrients to the soil. Natural fertilizers like animal manure were also used. These solutions worked, but part of the land could not be used for food crops while it rested. Science supposedly “solved†this problem by using artificial fertilizers. These fertilizers enabled crops to grow in depleted soil. The same land could be used for crop after crop, without rest. But these fertilizers only provided some minerals and nutrients, not all of them. In fact, some of these fertilizers interfered with the ability of the plants to absorb nutrients. The plants that grew from the depleted soil were weak and far less able to resist pests, so artificial pesticides were introduced. Pesticides are poisons that kill plants and insects. The introduction of these poisonous artificial chemicals into the soil changed it, having a dramatic effect on the life in the soil, and killing much of that life. Soil is also damaged and changed by artificial chemicals created by industry, which are not part of the natural cycle.
Soil is also damaged and contaminated by the huge amounts of manure and liquid created by CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). The miserable animals in CAFOs are crammed together in a small space and not allowed to graze. They are fed grains and other species-inappropriate feeds. This cruel and unnatural practice creates huge lagoons of manure and urine that greatly exceed the ability of the land to absorb them.
The result of this artificial tampering with the soil was less nutrients. Plants cannot have nutrients that are not in the soil. Food animals cannot have nutrients that are not in the plants. People cannot get nutrients that are not in the plants and animal foods we eat. Our bodies cannot function properly without all the nutrients we have evolved to need.
Artificial agriculture has caused a huge loss of useable soil, a serious loss that is continuing. And the soil that remains has far less nutrients. Even in the 1940s, studies showed that fruits and vegetables had far less vitamins and minerals than vegetables grown in the 1920s. The situation is much worse today. For example, researchers have tested commercial oranges that contained hardly any vitamin C.
How Nature Makes Good Soil
We can restore the health of the soil by following nature’s laws. The Great Plains of the United States were some of the richest land ever known on earth. Before the plains were fenced and farmed, more than 60 million bison roamed the plains. The bison traveled in tightly packed herds, so they could defend each other against predators. The herd would travel into an area, eating all the grass, and breaking up the earth with their hooves and concentrated numbers, using their hooves to expose more grass. As they ate the grass, seeds would fall off and get trampled into the earth by the hooves of the massed bison. They would deposit their manure on the soil, returning the nutrients to it.
In effect, the bison actually farmed the land. They harvested the grass by eating it. They plowed the land by breaking it up with their hooves. They planted the new grass by trampling the seeds into the earth. They fertilized the land with their manure.
Then they would move on, leaving the land to rest and grow. By the time the herd returned, they would be greeted with a new crop of rich green grass, and the cycle would begin again.
All of the great grasslands in the world were created in this manner, with different types of animals and herd sizes.
But the blueprint remained the same—the animals were concentrated into tight herds, the herd grazed in a concentrated manner, then moved on, allowing the land to rest, recover, and regrow.
Many grassfed ranchers follow these methods, concentrating their herds, doing intensive grazing, then moving the herds so the land can recover. Some of these ranchers add additional natural nutrients to their soil as well. (See Grassfed Farmer Renews the Land.) Every time I buy grassfed meat, I am supporting these ranchers who are restoring the soil with their herds. Every time I eat the meat and fat from animals raised on rich grass, I am blessed by receiving a full natural range of nutrients, giving my body exactly what it needs to function properly.
These methods have been adapted and used to literally change millions of acres of desert into grassland. Even long-dead streams have come back.
We can restore our good soil to the earth, by following nature’s laws.
This post is part of Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
Real Food, Wise and Robust Old Age
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
photo credit: conner395. Inverness Castle in the Scottish Highlands, home of a healthy people.
Old people in modern times are considered weak, foolish, and helpless, unable to survive without care. Most people expect to be weak and helpless when they get old, and to end their lives in a “rest home.†We often read in the news media that young workers will have the burden of taking care of an aging population.
Yet this is a new and horrible way of aging. Through most of history, old age was associated with wisdom, strength, and leadership. Most older people who ate a traditional diet not only took care of themselves, but led their communities, taught the young, and were the repository of knowledge and leadership for their peoples.
What is the difference? Why did old age change from a time of wisdom and leadership to a time of failing minds, deteriorating bodies, and chronic illness?
What we do know is that people eating the healthy traditional diets of their ancestors, with little or no medical care, remained wise and strong into their nineties.
We also know that modern people eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) become helpless in their sixties and seventies and even younger, unable to care for themselves, needing all kinds of expensive medical care and procedures just to keep breathing.
In other words, real food is the key to a wise and healthy old age.
Traditional Old Age
Throughout most of history, old age was associated with strength and wisdom.
Age was considered a prerequisite for leadership, and younger leaders always had older advisors. Every village, from England to Africa to the Americas to Russia to India to China, and almost everywhere else, depended on a council of elders, who would make decisions for the whole village, based on their experience and knowledge. It was accepted that these old people were the only ones who had the knowledge and experience to make important decisions. The knowledge of childbirth, cooking, what was safe to eat, and healing was usually taught and administered by the older women, who were universally respected.
On a national level, many traditional societies had councils of elders who would make decisions for the whole nation or tribe.
It should be understood that old people eating traditional diets were not only much wiser, but much healthier physically. History has thousands of examples of people who were “old†but showed great physical prowess. A few examples:
Gebhard Von Blucher
He was a nobleman, growing up on the finest food his culture could provide, eating huge amounts of wild game and grassfed meat.
He commanded the Prussian Army at the battles of Ligny and Waterloo, in 1815. Blucher was 73 at the time. During the battle of Ligny, Blucher led a cavalry charge against the French. His horse was shot, throwing Blucher to the ground. The horse then fell on Blucher, pinning him to the ground. The opposing cavalry forces charged several times over the area, back and forth, which resulted in Blucher being repeatedly trampled by horses, sustaining many wounds from their hoofs. After the battle, the horse was pulled off Blucher. Blucher poured brandy on his many wounds and drank some, and recovered in a few hours. He reorganized his defeated army and led them to Waterloo, a couple days later, where the sudden appearance of his army on the French flank helped the Allies win the battle.
Malcolm Macpherson
He was a Highlander, growing up on a traditional diet that had not changed for thousands of years. At age 57, he took part in the rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and fought in the battle of Culloden in 1745, wielding a heavy broadsword. Macpherson blamed the French for the Highland defeat. When Britain went to war against France some years later, Macpherson joined a Highland regiment at age 70. He fought the French in North America, using his heavy broadsword so effectively in hand-to-hand combat that he was taken to England to meet the king.
It should be understood that the above examples of robust old people were not unusual, and old people were expected to carry their weight and take part fully in all the activities of life, no matter how difficult.
Dr. Weston A. Price studied healthy peoples eating the diets of their ancestors. The elders of these people kept their teeth and their eyesight, leading active productive lives without illness or doctors. They did not live in fear of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease—these illnesses did not exist in their societies.
In fact, studies of the healthy peoples eating traditional diets have repeatedly found that most people remain healthy and productive into their nineties or even longer. They will usually slow down at some point, where they become consistently less active for a period of several months, then die in their sleep.
These healthy peoples ate plenty of fat from grassfed animals and wild game, fatty meats, seafood, organ meats, butter, all kinds of animal fat, organic fruits and vegetables, and did not touch modern processed foods.
Modern Old Age
Old age has become a time of sickness and horror for many people eating a modern diet. Most old people are on a number of prescription drugs, and eat a diet of refined foods that does not support the functions of their bodies. Most of them are impaired in their ability to do most things and many are completely unable to care for themselves. There is no wisdom in many of these people—many of them cannot remember what they said one minute ago.
Many cannot walk unaided, and have bones so brittle they break easily. Many have had one or more of their hips and or knees removed and replaced with an artificial construct. Many are emaciated, suffering from severe malnutrition, which makes all their symptoms worse.
Many live each day in a mental fog, and do nothing useful with their time. Many have actually shrunk in size, as their bones deteriorate and collapse. Many have lost all their teeth, and rely on dentures. Many start to die as their organs stop working, suffering from problems with their hearts, livers, kidneys, digestive systems, and just about everything else.
Every function of our bodies requires proper nutrition in order to work effectively. When our bodies are starved of the vital nutrients we need, our bodies deteriorate. The longer we are starved, the faster and more serious the deterioration.
We are told that this deterioration is the inevitable result of old age. However, it appears to be a result of decades of malnutrition on the nutrient-poor modern diet of dead, refined foods.
History and the great research of Dr. Price have shown us that a diet of real, traditional food can save us from this horror. The Dietary Guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation are a great place to start.
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Eat Fat, Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
Call It Medical, Not Mediterreanean
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Eat Fat, Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
You may have heard about the longevity and health of the Okinawan people. According to records kept by the Japanese since 1879, the people of Okinawa just may be the longest-lived people in the world, often staying healthy and active into their nineties, or even longer.
Many have claimed that this longevity and health is due to a low-fat, meat-free, high-vegetable diet. Being skeptical of such claims, I researched traditional Okinawan cooking and traditions.
My skepticism was justified, as it usually is. The long-lived, healthy people of Okinawa eat a diet that is heavily based on meat. Mostly pork. Mostly fat pork. The main cooking fat is pork lard. Many foods are fried in pork lard. The Okinawans traditionally do not rely on doctors when they get ill, but on food-based remedies consisting of—pork organs. In fact, pork is so vital to Okinawan culture that Okinawans often refer to their land as the “Island of Pork.â€
The real lesson of Okinawan longevity is “Eat fat, live long.â€
The Real Food of Okinawa
Okinawan cuisine is centered around meat. The most important meat is pork. The Okinawans have a saying, that they use every part of the pig except for the toenails and the squeal. Many of the pork parts eaten are composed almost entirely of fat, such as pork skin, pig ears, and pork belly. All the internal organs of the pig are regularly eaten, such as the liver, kidneys, stomach, and intestines, which are also full of fat. Pork lard is the fat of choice for cooking, and many foods are deep fried in pork lard. Every other part of the pig is also eaten, including more familiar parts like spareribs, pork shoulder, and pork loin. The skin is usually left on and eaten whenever possible.
Goat is also favored by Okinawans, though pork is far more common. What is interesting is that much of this goat meat is eaten raw, and there are restaurants that specialize in the preparation of raw goat meat.
Traditionally, the Okinawans ate very little grain, which used to be sold to pay taxes. Sweet potatoes are a common and favorite food, as are cabbages, carrots, and other vegetables. Vegetables are always cooked, often fried in pork lard.
The Okinawans do eat tofu, but the tofu they eat is different. It is made differently from the rest of the tofu in the world, and is often naturally fermented for several months. Unfermented tofu is often deep fried in pork lard. One of the most common Okinawan dishes is a stir fry made out of pork, vegetables, and tofu, fried in pork lard. It is possible that the protective factors in the pork lard prevent the harm that often occurs from eating soy.
Miso, another fermented soy product, is also used as a seasoning.
Okinawans do not eat that much seafood, which is surprising given that Okinawa is a relatively small island. The explanation is that Okinawa has a tropical climate, and fish spoil very quickly. The island has very rugged terrain, which made it difficult to transport fish before they spoiled. Fish are fermented and made into sausages, which form a small, but important part of the diet.
Most Okinawans do not eat western-style processed and refined foods, though a small amount of brown sugar is used in cooking.
Okinawan Healing with Food
Traditionally, Okinawans had no medical doctors, but relied on food to heal themselves. This system was based on the organs of animals, usually pigs, but often goats. The traditional belief was that disease was caused by an imbalance in an organ, and the imbalance could be corrected by eating the corresponding part of an animal. Someone with breathing difficulty would eat the lungs of a pig. Somebody with a hearing problem would eat the ears. Someone with a digestive problem would eat the stomach of a pig, and/or the kidneys, and so on.
This system is not unique to Okinawa. It was followed by many traditional peoples, including the Native Americans, and by many Western M.D.s before prescription drugs became the remedy of choice.
This system worked so well that many Okinawans still follow this tradition, and do not seek medical help. This may actually contribute to their longevity, because the side effects of the drugs and surgeries used by modern medicine cause the death of many people.
The Real Okinawan Food Is Consistent with the Research of Dr. Weston A. Price
Dr. Weston A. Price spent 10 years studying the diets of the last healthy peoples on Earth. These peoples were free of the chronic diseases that plague the modern world. Dr. Price did not just read studies, he actually traveled right to the people he studied and observed them personally. Dr. Price found a number of similarities in the diets of these people:
- They ate a large amount of animal fat.
- They ate a substantial amount of meat and/or seafood.
- They ate a large amount of organ meats regularly.
- They ate some of their meat and/or seafood raw.
- They ate many kinds of natural foods, unrefined and unprocessed.
- They ate a number of naturally fermented foods.
- They ate at least a small amount of seafood, fermented if they could not get it fresh.
All of these factors are present in the real Okinawan food.
- The Okinawans eat a great deal of pork fat.
- The Okinawans eat a substantial amount of pork and goat.
- The Okinawans eat organ meats regularly.
- The Okinawans eat raw goat meat.
- The Okinawans eat most of their food unrefined and unprocessed.
- The Okinawans eat a number of naturally fermented foods.
- The Okinawans regularly eat a small amount of fermented seafood.
In summary, the diet of the Okinawans is very similar to the diet of the healthy peoples studied by Dr. Price. The longevity of the Okinawan people is further evidence of the benefits of the diet developed by Dr. Price.
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This post is part of Real Food Wednesday , Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
Why Is Fattier Grassfed Meat Best?
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Grassfed sirloin roast, with a delicious, nutritious fat cap.
Our culture has a phobia about animal fat. The horrid nutritional guidelines just issued by the U.S. government tell us to eat meat only occasionally, and eat only lean meat. This is truly a shame, because animal fat from pastured animals contains many vital nutrients that are easily absorbed and hard to get elsewhere. Animal fat from grassfed animals also gives great taste, tenderness, and satisfaction (unlike the lumpy, greasy fat so prevalent in factory meat).
All grassfed meat is leaner than factory meat. Many producers advertise how lean their grassfed meat is. Some grassfed meat is much leaner, and some contains more fat. So which is better? For our ancestors, the choice was simple. Fat meat was desirable and cherished—lean meat was eaten to avoid starvation or thrown to the dogs.
For me, the answer is also simple. Most of the nutrients in grassfed beef are in the fat. Fattier cuts of grassfed meat have more flavor and come out more tender. The fattier the better, when it comes to grassfed meat.
Grassfed Fat vs. Factory Fat
There is a great difference in the content and composition of the fat of grassfed animals and the fat of factory animals finished in the feedlot.
The fat of grassfed animals has a much higher ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids, has much more CLA, and is much richer in other nutrients. The fat of feedlot-finished factory animals has a much higher omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, much less CLA, and contains substances from the feed that get stored in the fat.
The fat in grassfed meat appears both as a covering over the cut of meat, and in small white flecks that can be seen in the meat itself. These small flecks are called marbling. The fat of feedlot-finished factory meat also appears as a covering, but it can often be seen in the meat itself as thick, blocky veins of fat, or lumps of fat. No grass finished meat has this appearance.
I personally find the fat in grassfed meat to be delicious and satisfying. It smells so good when the meat cooks that it makes me very hungry. I find the fat in feedlot-finished factory meat to be greasy, unpleasant, and downright disgusting. Factory meat does not satisfy me, and leaves me hungry and bloated. Grassfed meat always leaves me feeling satisfied and good—which is one of the main reasons why I only eat grassfed and grass finished  meat.
What about the Studies?
The media often publicizes studies that claim that eating meat, especially fat meat, is unhealthy.
While I never blindly believe any study, knowing how flawed and biased they can be (though some are completely valid, you just have to study the details), I have noticed two important points that make them inapplicable to grassfed meat and fat:
- All of these studies include the eating of highly processed factory meat, meat that is full of preservatives and chemicals, such as luncheon meat. It is impossible to know if the negative results claimed by the studies come from the meat or the chemicals.
- None of these studies are limited to the eating of pastured meat processed without the use of chemicals, but are based almost totally on feedlot-finished factory meat that has been raised with artificial hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, species-inappropriate feed, and other factors that were never used by our ancestors. It is impossible to know if the negative results claimed by the studies come from the meat or the hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, species-inappropriate feed, or other factors, or any combination of them.
The main studies we have on the nutritional effects of traditional meats, fats, and diets are the customs of our ancestors, and the vital research of Dr. Weston A. Price. These traditions and the research of Dr. Price support the health benefits of eating traditional unprocessed animal fats.
Why Fattier Grassfed Meat Is Better than Leaner Grassfed Meat
Once again, the traditions of our ancestors are the key to understanding. Every traditional meat eating culture preferred fat meat to lean meat. Traditional recipes for meat always make sure that it is cooked and eaten with plenty of fat, with roasts being inevitably covered by a glorious crown of their own magnificent fat. The most prized, luxurious cuts of meat were always the fattest.
Traditional Inuit were known to reserve the organ meats, fatty meats, and fat for themselves, while throwing the really lean meat to their dogs.
The most valued traditional foods included the fats of pastured animals, with lard, beef tallow, goose fat, duck fat, and chicken fat being heavily used for cooking in traditional Europe. The Native Americans used bear fat, bison fat, and the fat from other game. Lamb fat was prized in the Middle East, where breeds of lamb were raised that had huge tails composed almost completely of fat, which was used in all kinds of cooking. Lard was the most important fat in China, used for cooking almost everything.
I am convinced that cooking traditions reflect the collective experience of the people who have them, representing thousands of years of trial and error, passed down from parent to child, from teacher to student. The wisdom of these traditions was proved by Dr. Weston A. Price, who discovered that traditional peoples eating their traditional diets were completely free of the chronic diseases that afflicted modern peoples, remaining healthy and vigorous into extreme old age. Every one of the peoples studied by Dr. Price only ate meat with plenty of fat.
An example of this wisdom is pemmican, a staple preserved food of the Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains of the United States. Pemmican consisted of dried bison meat, dried cherries, and a great deal of bison fat. The Native Americans knew that the fat was absolutely necessary for the pemmican to sustain life.
Most of the nutrients in grassfed meat are in the fat, not the meat itself. Very lean grassfed beef, that has no visible marbling, will have fewer nutrients than grassfed meat that is nicely marbled. A roast that has all the fat cover trimmed off will have fewer nutrients than a roast cooked with a cover of its own natural fat.
I have found that the fattier the grassfed meat, the more tender and tasty and satisfying it is. You can make lean grassfed meat tender and delicious, with the proper technique and marinades. But the grassfed meat that has the little flecks of fat in the meat will be more tender, and more tasty, and more satisfying. The grassfed roast cooked with a cap of its own magnificent fat will always come out much better that the totally trimmed roast. Our ancestors knew this, and it is a delicious and healthy tradition to follow!
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This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Monday Mania blog carnivals.
More Blessings from Pastured Butter
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Pastured butter
Many of us know the many nutritional benefits of butter. We know that butter was a sacred food that was considered vital for health by many traditional societies. We know that butter was so common and so important in traditional Western nutrition that it was eaten at every meal, by everyone who could get it, from peasant to king. Huge numbers of people have experienced many benefits from eating pastured butter, from weight loss to mood improvement to substantial improvements in many body functions. By pastured butter, we are talking about the pure, undiluted butter made from the milk of cows grazing on pasture.
But there is more to butter than nutrition. The ancient Greeks and Romans maintained numerous herds of sheep, cattle, and goats, mainly for the milk. They made huge amounts of butter. But they did not eat it.
Why not? Because to the ancient Greeks and Romans, butter was too valuable to eat!
How Butter Was Used in Ancient Greece and Rome
Butter was used to heal and maintain health. It was rubbed into the skin to protect it from the sun and keep the skin soft and supple. Butter was applied to the joints to revitalize them and cure aches. Butter was gently applied to bruises and swellings to reduce and heal them. Butter was applied to sore and aching knees, and was used to effectively treat arthritis. Butter was massaged into the muscles to nourish them and make them strong. Butter was applied to strained muscles to relieve pain and to help them heal. Butter was applied to the face to remove wrinkles and keep the skin young. The competitors in athletic events were often massaged with butter prior to competing, as it was believed to be a performance enhancer. Butter was sometimes eaten, as a medicine, to treat infertility. Butter was also taken internally to calm the nerves and reduce anxiety.
Butter was also rubbed into the sore feet of travelers who had walked a long way, to relieve the pain and swelling. Butter was applied to bags under the eyes to remove them. Butter was rubbed into the scalp to increase the hair’s health, body, and thickness. Butter was also rubbed into the skin to relieve and prevent sunburn. Butter was rubbed into the areas around broken bones, as it was believed to stimulate healing. Butter was held in the mouth to relieve sore gums and internal mouth injuries.
The Greek and Roman doctors were known for their skill in healing, and they often used butter for this purpose.
The Robust Good Health of the Ancient Greeks and Romans
Modern medicine arrogantly assumes that the ancient Greeks and Romans lived short lives, and had poor medical care. This is based largely on the examination of skeletons by archaeologists, who decide the age of the skeleton from the condition of the bones and joints. The comparison is to the skeletons of modern people, which is questionable because it assumes that ancient peoples would have the same bone density and characteristics of modern skeletons. It is quite likely that well nourished, physically active ancient peoples would have much stronger and thicker bones than sedentary modern people eating factory food. This means that a 70-year-old ancient Greek might have a skeleton comparable to that of a 30-year-old modern man who was raised on factory food.
The fact that many ancient Greeks and Romans lived to a healthy and robust old age is supported by the extensive writings of the Greeks and Romans themselves. These records make it clear that many of them were active into their seventies and eighties, and men of that age were not invalids, but were expected to do everything younger men did. This included fighting in the military. All Greek male citizens were expected to fight in the phalanx (a dense formation of spearmen wearing heavy armor). Hand to hand combat wearing heavy armor, and using heavy weapons, is an incredibly strenuous activity. Age did not excuse the duty to march and fight. These men were expected to march in heavy armor for many miles, and to fight a battle at the end of the march.
The soldiers of the early Roman Republic were divided into different classes based on age. Every male citizen had to serve in the military.
The Triarii of the early Roman Republic were the oldest men, often in their sixties and seventies. They carried the heaviest armor and weapons. Like the other soldiers, they were expected to march 15 to 20 miles a day, carrying over 100 pounds of armor and equipment, and be ready to fight a strenuous physical battle at any time.
How many modern senior citizens would be capable of this kind of activity?
Ancient Butter Wisdom Helps a Modern Injury
The additional blessings of butter were shown to me by a recent incident. A person, who prefers to remain anonymous, fell face down on a wet sidewalk. Many scrapes and cuts occurred on the face, forehead, nose, and upper lip. The cut on the upper lip was particularly deep, so deep it damaged the interior of the mouth. Both eyes were blackening, and large bags were appearing under the eyes. The swelling was restricting the field of vision. As conventional medicine offered nothing but stitches, ice packs, drugs, and antibiotics, the decision was made to try alternate remedies. Pastured butter was applied to the bruised and swollen areas, but not directly on the eyes or on broken skin. Within a day, the black eyes turned to red, and the red was gone within a couple days. The bags under the eyes shrunk quickly, and were soon gone. Pain and discomfort were quickly relieved. The field of vision became normal as the swelling shrunk. The injured area in the mouth began to heal quickly when butter was held there. The scrapes and cuts healed quickly, and complete healing took place within two weeks.
Everything healed. While natural disinfectants and other alternate remedies were also used, the injured person is certain that the application of butter played a crucial part in the healing.
I am just reporting on what happened, not making medical recommendations.
Butter has many blessings.
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The Joy of Fat, Why We Lost It, and How to Get It Back
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Grassfed sirloin roast, with a delicious, nutritious fat cap.
“People are missing out on the joy of fat. It keeps the meat tender, makes the meat taste so much better.â€
These words of wisdom came from my friend Brian, head of the meat department at my local market. Brian is not only a master butcher, he is a classically trained chef who studied in France and cooked in Denmark. Brian knows grassfed meat.
We were talking about customers who want all the fat trimmed off every piece of meat they buy. These customers and so many others are truly missing out on the joy of fat.
The Joy of Fat—Taste, Tenderness, Satisfaction, and Nutrition
The natural fat on a piece of grassfed meat cooks down into the meat, keeping the meat tender while adding fantastic flavor and nutrients. The wonderful smell given off by the roasting fat is the best appetizer on earth, causing our bodies to prepare for digestion, and the joy of a great meal. You can roast vegetables like potatoes, carrots, peppers, celery, etc. right in the same pan, and the melting fat will brown them, caramelize them, and give them incredible taste and flavor that goes so well with the meat.
There is also the joy of satisfaction. Meat and vegetables cooked with grassfed fat are the most satisfying food on earth. After a serving of this delicious food, full of all kinds of nutrients, hunger disappears and the urge to eat and eat and eat that plagues so many people disappears. You stop eating because you are satisfied, and no longer want to. When your body has the nutrients it needs, the desire to eat is gone.
The fat from grassfed animals and wild fish has the natural ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 essential fatty acids, and contains many other beneficial substances that factory meat and farmed fish lack. This fat was cherished by our ancestors, who ate as much of it as they could, and our bodies have evolved to know how to use it. It is prime fuel for our bodies. More information on the benefits of animal fat is explained here.
All of the healthy peoples studied by Dr. Weston A. Price ate plenty of animal fat, from animals that were wild or pastured. Most of them ate as much fat from wild seafood as they could get. These healthy people had perfect teeth, and were free from the chronic diseases that plague us.
How the Joy of Fat Was Replaced by the Fear of Fat
Most people are afraid of animal fat. They fear that eating animal fat will clog their arteries with cholesterol, causing heart attacks and strokes. They fear that eating animal fat will make them fat. They fear that eating animal fat will give them all kinds of diseases. All of these fears are just not true. In fact, cholesterol is beneficial, as explained in this article: Cholesterol: Friend or Foe?
So why does the government, the news media, the medical profession, the food industry, the drug industry, and the educational system, all support and repeat this misinformation?
The answer is very simple—money.
It has been written that “Money is the root of all evil.†There is much truth in that statement.
Extensive marketing campaigns, backed by many “studies†based on incomplete, mistaken, or biased research, convinced the public to fear real fat. When people were convinced to avoid the most important nutrient, it had to be replaced with something. This created several very lucrative markets.
The Food Industry Makes Money from the Fear of Fat
Real animal fat satisfies hunger like no other food. When you remove fat, people are hungry because they are not getting the nutrients their bodies crave. When people are hungry they buy more and eat more.
This process was described beautifully by my friend Sarah Pope, of the Healthy Home Economist blog:
“. . . some brands of commercial ice cream are now called “dairy dessert” instead of ice cream as they have lowered the butterfat content so much it can no longer even qualify as ice cream. This is deliberate because when the butterfat content decreases, the customer EATS MUCH MUCH MORE and the ice cream becomes more addictive as sugar replaces the butterfat! . . . You can get addicted to sugar but you can’t get addicted to butterfat.â€
Addiction and overeating makes a fortune for the food industry. The food industry favors products based on grains, sweeteners, artificial flavors and preservatives, and modern vegetable oils. These ingredients are highly processed, and the raw materials are very cheap for the food industry. The products they create with these ingredients lack vital nutrients, so the customer’s hunger will never be satisfied. Yet the ingredients are often addictive, so the customer will buy more and more of the product. This is why people can eat a whole bag of cookies and still be hungry.
Fear of Fat Makes a Fortune for the Diet Industry
If you look at old photos of Americans at the beach taken during the early 20th century, you will be astonished at how fit almost everybody was. Obesity was very rare. Prior to the demonization of animal fat, most doctors had a simple and effective cure for overweight people who wanted to lose weight. Reduce the amounts of carbs and sugars, and eat a high-fat diet full of butter and other animal fats. These kinds of diets worked, because nothing satisfies like animal fat. There was no diet industry.
Once people became afraid of animal fat, these time-tested, high-fat diets went out the window, and the diet industry came to life. The diet industry has created a myriad of ways to lose weight, based on counting calories, eating a low-fat, nutrient-poor diet, and exhausting exercise. All of these programs are expensive. All of these programs are difficult to do, which allows the victim to be blamed when the program does not work. Typically, these programs work well for a few people, and some may lose a lot of weight on them, but the weight always comes back, and the victims end up fatter than ever, and are soon looking for a new diet program, which is always there. The severe malnutrition and exhaustion that many experience during such programs often leads to chronic illness, sometimes death.
The Medical Industry Makes a Fortune from the Fear of Fat
The fats of wild and pastured animals contain many nutrients that are found nowhere else, except in wild fish. Our bodies need these nutrients for the natural functions of the body to work properly. One of the most vital functions of our bodies is the immune system. When the immune system is compromised, people get sick with all kinds of illnesses. Another important function is the ability of the body to repair itself. Most of the symptoms of old age are greatly worsened when the body’s repair functions are compromised, again leading to illness, including the failure of organs, bones, joints, and the mind.
This causes people to seek relief from the medical profession, leading to countless prescriptions, surgeries, tests, radiation sessions, and other procedures that are expensive and often harmful. Many medical interventions never cure anything, but require the “patient†to have ever increasing amount of “care,†with huge profits being made from the “patient’s†illness. Many medical interventions create a new problem in the “patient’s†body, which requires yet more medical interventions, which creates yet more problems, until the cycle is finally stopped by death.
How We Can Rediscover the Joy of Fat
I did relearn the joy of fat. The first step I took was to follow the dietary guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
The second step was to find grassfed meat, and cook it with the fat on. I also learned the way of our ancestors and cooked all meat and vegetables with plenty of pastured animal fat, like pastured butter, real cream, beef tallow, duck fat, pork lard, lamb tallow, bison fat, and others.
If you are not used to eating fat, it is best to start with small amounts, so your system may get used to it. Use the best, most natural ingredients you can afford, and you too may rediscover the joy of fat.
This post is part of Monday Mania and Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday blog carnivals.
Understanding Dr. Weston A. Price
By Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat
photo credit: TAYLOR149
“Life in all its fullness is nature’s laws obeyed.†Dr. Weston A. Price.
I have seen these words many times, but I did not really understand them. Until now.
I have been very ill for most of my life. I have had a lot of medical treatment. Most treatments would relieve the symptoms, for a while, than the symptoms would return, worse than ever.
Yet when I followed the Weston A. Price diet, did what I could to avoid toxins, switched to grassfed meat, and had no medical care, all my symptoms went away, and they did not return. And my body functions began to improve, and they are still improving. At 58.
Many body functions that did not work, such as having a sense of smell, being able to breathe through my nose, breathe effortlessly, and sleeping through the night, returned. Other body functions that had been deteriorating such as hearing, eyesight, digestion, sense of touch, taste, and flexibility, are now improving. My mental attitude also improved enormously. I began waking up with a sense of joy and eagerness to live the day, a feeling I last had when I was a child. My usual mental feeling could best be described as a happy, peaceful contentment.
What happened?
Modern Medicine
Modern medicine is focused on treating a particular disease, defined by a set of symptoms. These days, the disease is treated with artificial medication, or surgery, or radiation, or all three. All of these treatments are a massive and powerful assault on the body and its natural systems, often doing great harm. Success is defined by a cessation of the symptoms. Usually, the symptoms return in the future, worse than before, and the cycle begins again.
Nature’s Laws
We all have an immune system, and other bodily functions that are designed to fight off disease and keep us healthy and regenerating. Modern science and medicine arrogantly claim to know how they work, but this knowledge is still incomplete. They just know the tip of the iceberg. This iceberg is powerful and complex beyond our understanding.
We have a powerful desire to eat, and eat food that will satisfy us. We are born with it.
The healthy peoples studied by Dr. Weston A. Price did not have the chronic diseases that plague modern humanity. They did not have scientists, or laboratories. They did not have doctors or dentists, though they had healers. They knew far less about the tip of the iceberg than we do. But they knew something very important. They knew how to feed the body, the whole body. And the body sustained and protected them, just as nature intended.
These peoples did not have peer-reviewed studies, or computers, but they had something else. The accumulated experience of thousands of years of living, passed down from mother to daughter, from father to son, from healer to healer, from wise person to wise person. This priceless knowledge was based on the combined experience of tens of thousands, even millions of the ancestors of their people, who paid careful attention to their own observations, filtered through the wisdom of common sense, and passed on this knowledge.
The healthy peoples studied by Dr. Price knew what to eat, and what not to eat. They knew how to prepare food. They knew how to combine food. They knew how to preserve food, though they had no refrigerators. They knew how to satisfy their hunger, with the right foods, properly prepared. They did not decide what the laws of nature were, they discovered them. They knew how to avoid the natural toxins and dangers in their land. They obeyed the laws of nature, and were rewarded.
I think modern people have lost most of this knowledge, and no longer know how to obey nature’s laws. We have tried to substitute the incomplete knowledge of science and technology for the laws of nature, to make our own laws. And we have suffered terribly for this, as shown by the huge and increasing amount of chronic illness in the most “advanced†nations.
Science and technology have accomplished wonderful things in many areas, and have greatly improved life. But their knowledge in the area of nutrition and health is partial and incomplete. I support real research, research based on the desire to learn and share, rather than the desire to exploit. But much of this research has not been completed.
What happened to me?
I think my body’s functions were supported and activated. I think that the changes I made enabled my body’s systems to function the way nature intended them to. I think the avoidance of toxins reduced the burden on my body’s systems, enabling them to function better. I think that following the Weston A. Price diet, eating traditional foods, and eating traditional food combinations gave my body’s systems the fuel and resources they needed to function properly.
I don’t know how to cure, prevent, or mitigate any disease. But following the old wisdom discovered by Dr. Price has allowed me to follow nature’s laws, which has enabled my body to function properly. And I enjoy the fullness of life.
For more information about Dr. Weston A. Price, please visit these websites: The Weston A. Price Foundation and Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday Blog Carnival at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
This post is also part of Fight Back Friday Blog Carnival at Food Renegade.
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