The number one question I am asked as a nutritionist is: what diet is right? There are so many choices out there - raw, vegan, paleo, keto, vegetarian..... Well, I feel the best diet for anyone is based in ancestral wisdom - ways of eating that have served Traditional Peoples well for thousands of years.
Weston A. Price started investigating the diets of Traditional Cultures in the 1930's, looking at the foods they traditionally ate and how there health changed once Western foods invaded their cultures. Put very simply, what he found was that as long as the Traditional foods were eaten the people were particularly healthy, but once processed foods were included in the diet, these people became unwell.
A summary of the principles that underpin his research can be found on the Weston A. Price Foundation website: Timeless Principles of Healthy Traditional Diets
Over the next few months I will write about each of the Principles of Healthy Traditional Diets and offering ideas on how to incorporate them into your life.
The president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions, recently spoke about these principles on the WAPF podcast. You can listen to her 2-part discussion here. She discusses healthy fats, foods to avoid, how to prepare carbohydrates - grains and beans, using Traditional methods and what things are really important in the diet (and WHY). Sally's knowledge about nutrition, diets and Traditional ways of cooking is amazing.
If you are interested in changing your diet to one that is nutrient-dense, practical and easy to follow, you need to listen to this podcast and read over the Principles on the website. For more information and wonderful recipes, check out Sally's book, Nourishing Traditions.
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