Traditional Diet Guidelines

Here's a great list to live by, in regards to a lifestyle of traditional healthy eating:

• Eat whole, unprocessed foods

• Eat beef, lamb, game, organ meats, poultry, and eggs from pasture-fed animals

• Eat wild (not farm-raised) fish, shellfish, and fish roe from unpolluted waters

• Eat full-fat milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as raw milk, whole yogurt, kefir, cultured butter, whole raw cheeses, and fresh and sour cream

• Use animal fats, especially butter, liberally

• Use traditional vegetable oils only- extra-virgin olive oil, expeller-expressed sesame oil, small amounts of expeller-expressed flax oil, and the tropical oils- coconut oil and palm oil

• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables- preferably organic- in salads and soups, or lightly steamed with butter

• Use whole grains, legumes, and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting, or sour leavening

• Include enzyme-enhanced lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, and condiments in your diet on a regular basis

• Prepare homemade meat stocks from the bones of chicken, beef, lamb, and fish and use liberally in soups, stews, and sauces

• Use filtered water for cooking and drinking

• Use unrefined salt and a variety of herbs and spices for food interest and appetite stimulation

• Make your own salad dressing using raw vinegar and natural, traditional oils

• Use natural sweeteners in moderation, such as raw honey, maple syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar, dehydrated cane sugar juice (sold as Rapadura or sucanat), and stevia powder

• Avoid alcohol

• Cook only in stainless-steel, cast-iron, glass, or good-quality enamel- don’t use aluminum cookware

• Do not use a microwave oven

• Use only natural, food-based supplements

• Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and natural light

• Think positive thoughts and practice forgiveness

Cholesterol: Part II

In my own path to find the truth about fats and an overall healthy diet, I found many studies on this particular topic. When I went back to original studies, and not someone else’s interpretation of the study at hand, I was overwhelmed. There are too many for me to include here but three, of particular interest, that I will.

All of these studies involved women and high cholesterol levels. The first was published in the journal Circulation in 1992. A workshop was conducted at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which found that high cholesterol levels in women, even as high as 1000 mg/dl, is not a risk factor for heart disease. On the contrary, they found that low cholesterol is much more dangerous, resulting in acute bouts of depression, lethargy, and memory loss (to name a few).

The second is a 1989 study published in the Lancet in Paris. They found that women with very high cholesterol levels actually lived the longest and also had the least amount of morbidity (death with disease). Women with very low levels had five times the death rate. Lastly, in 2003, the British Medical Journal published a study from the researchers at the University of British Columbia, which concluded that statin drugs (cholesterol reducers), offer no benefit in preventing heart disease for women. Some patients even complained of memory loss and depression shortly after beginning the drugs.

So what is to blame for coronary heart disease? In large part, oxidized cholesterol:

Contrary to what you’ve heard, cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, but rather a potent antioxidant weapon against free radicals in the blood. Naturally produced in the body and naturally present in the foods we eat, it’s a repair substance that actually helps heal arterial damage.

However, heat and oxygen can damage cholesterol just as they do fats. Damaged, or “oxidized”, cholesterol can injure arterial walls and lead to a pathological plaque buildup in the arteries. Both of these changes can result in heart disease.

That’s why we recommend that you avoid foods that contain damaged cholesterol, such as powdered eggs and powdered milk (which manufacturers add to reduced-fat milk, yogurt, and other dairy products to give them body-without stating this fact on the label). Ironically, when you choose reduced-fat milks in order to avoid heart disease, you consume the very form of cholesterol that can cause heart disease (Enig, M., et al, p. 52).

Cholesterol: Part I

According to conventional medicine today, cholesterol is the villain. The common belief is that it is the primary cause in growing numbers of coronary heart disease and obesity, even in children. This is called the lipid hypothesis, which is a three-step process. Step 1 is when you eat a diet high in saturated fats and cholesterol (animal fats), resulting in high levels of cholesterol in the blood. This in turn, leads to atherosclerosis (step 2), which then clogs blood vessels, and finally, coronary heart disease (step 3).

The vast majority of the public has been led to believe, over the past five decades, that this hypothesis is fact. However, there is extensive scientific evidence that actually contradicts this information! “Fundamentally, the war on saturated fats stems from a misperception about the effects of saturated fatty acids on cholesterol levels (Enig, M. & Fallon, S., Eat Fat Lose Fat, pp. 23-24).“ Unfortunately, because of misinformation and poor evaluation of the data on this subject, recommended total blood cholesterol levels are getting lower and lower, and animal fats are looked upon with open hostility. But what is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is often referred to as a fat, but it’s actually a heavyweight alcohol with a hormone-like structure that behaves like a fat, being insoluble in water and in blood. Cholesterol, however, has a coating of a compound called a lipoprotein, which makes it water soluble so it can be carried in the blood.

Lipoproteins are described in terms of their density. Generally speaking, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry cholesterol away from the cells to the liver, and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) carry cholesterol to the cells. We speak of HDL as “good” cholesterol and LDL as “bad” cholesterol. However, both HDL and LDL play critical roles in body chemistry (Enig, M., et al, p. 24).

Benefits of Cholesterol:

• Your body uses cholesterol to make hormones that help you deal with stress and protect against heart disease and cancer.

• Your body needs cholesterol to make all the sex hormones, including androgen, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and DHEA.

• Your body uses cholesterol to make vitamin D, vital for the bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction, and immune system function.

• The bile salts are made from cholesterol. Bile is vital for digestion and assimilation of dietary fats.

• Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain. Since serotonin is the body’s natural “feel-good” chemical, it’s not surprising that low cholesterol levels have been linked to aggressive and violent behavior, depression, and suicidal tendencies.

• Mother’s milk is especially rich in cholesterol and contains a special enzyme that helps the baby utilize this nutrient. Babies and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system.

• Dietary cholesterol plays an important role in maintaining the health of the intestinal wall. This is why low-cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal disorders.

• Finally, the body uses cholesterol to repair damaged cells. This means that higher cholesterol levels are actually beneficial. Meyer Texon, M.D., a well-known pathologist at New York University Medical Center, points out that indicting fat and cholesterol for hardening the arteries is like accusing white blood cells of causing infection, rather than helping the immune system to address it.