A Quick Retrack of My Journey Part II

The story continues...

Mark and I then spent the next few years trying to eat unprocessed foods. That is to say we tried to make everything we could from scratch. But it was hard to say the least and I felt like we were missing big pieces of the puzzle. It was as if the book The Makers Diet gave us great introductory information but not enough to sustain us on this lifestyle.

Then one day Mark came home for work with a recommendation from one of his veterinarians. She (the vet) told him about a cookbook that she thought I would love called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (click title for link). Sally Fallon? Hm, I have heard that name before but where? I finally realized that the few recipes that are included in the book, The Makers Diet came from someone named Sally Fallon.

I ordered the book immediately as I was immediately in need of reinforcements.

It must be said that this is beyond just being a cookbook. Compiled within these pages lies the best conglomerate I've seen of basic nutrition for the novice and not so novice health-seeker. But since we are on a kick about fat, let's see what "old Sally" as we call her in our house, has to say about fat.

Is saturated fat and cholesterol causing the heart disease epidemic in America?

1. Heart disease now causes 40% of deaths in America yet cholesterol consumption in the last 80 years has only increased 1%. However, the consumption of vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortening, and refined oils has increased 400%.

2. Several studies aiming to prove a low fat and low cholesterol diet will decrease your chances in heart disease often show an increase in mortality in from cancer, stroke, violence, and suicide.

3. Eskimos live off of fat from land and marine animals and are virtually disease free as long as they live on their native diet and not a modern one.

4. Several Mediterranean cultures have low rates of heart disease in spite of the fact that 70% of their caloric intake comes from fat (mostly from goat, lamb, sausage, and cheese).

5. A study in Soviet Georgia revealed that those that ate the fattiest meat lived the longest.

6. Japanese who are known for averaging the longest life span do not eat a low fat diet. It is true that they do not consume dairy. However they do consume animal fats from eggs, pork, chicken, organ meats, beef, and seafood. The do not consume large amounts of vegetable oils, white flour, and processed foods. The Swiss live almost as long as the Japanese and they have the fattiest diet in the world. Fondue anyone?

7. And now to my favorite, the French. Butter, cream, eggs, cheese, foie gras, and pates are a standard. And yet they have 1/2 the rate of heart disease as the US. Now that just makes me mad that they are eating much better food and are healthier. Meanwhile we eat slop, pretend we are craving it and that it's a treat, then die from it! Why do Americans suffer through low quality fast food?

8. Several government and public health agencies also claim that animal fat is linked with not only heart disease but cancer as well. The University of Maryland analyzed the data these agencies used to back these claims and the university found that vegetable fats, not animal fats, correlated with the high rates of cancer.

I could go on but you get the idea.

The truth is, people have eaten animal fats for thousands of years. Once upon a time we died from infection instead of heart disease and diabetes (lifestyle diseases). Now that we are able to prevent and treat infections we should be much healthier but we are not. In fact you may think because people are living longer that we are in better health. Once again, the disappointing truth is we are able to keep unhealthy people alive longer with medications. Living longer in this case is not indicative of good health.

With the onset of the low fat diet another culprit came into our food supply, an unnatural dramatic increase in vegetable oils never before ingested by mankind at such a rate. Throw margarine and hydrogenated oils into the mix and you have a deadly concoction. Thus we began to eat man-made foods instead of God-made foods. Food scientists mutilated tasteful and nourishing whole foods until it fit this new mold of low fat without ever thinking of the repercussions.

Once again mankind's arrogance screws up God's plan. What made us think we could improve upon the food God put on this planet for us? We are human and by definition we make mistakes. It is actually impossible for us to be perfect. From that realization the motto for our household was born, "We will eat food in it's natural state as God made it. We will also eat a food if it is close to the state that God made it in as long as it is prepared in a way that people have eaten it for thousands of years." This is the motto we live by MOST of the time. After all, we too are only human.


If you would like a list of the studies I sited I would be more than happy to provide them to you with a dozen more added. If you are looking for more information consider purchasing the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. The Makers Diet by Jordan Rubin is an informative and interesting read as well. Both are available on amazon.com

A Quick Retrack of My Journey

Have you ever known an elderly person that defies all odds? You know they type, they are teetering on their 100th birthday and there's not one prescription drug in their medicine cabinet. They have no diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure yet they have never bought a low fat product in their life. Usually they live out in the country and drink milk from their cows, eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, and fry food in lard. Have you ever met someone like that?

When I worked in the hospital setting I would meet people like this from time to time. Usually they were brought in for something small like a urinary track infection. One specific patient comes to mind. She was a small lady in her late 90's who still went out and chopped her own wood everyday. She had no chronic disease in spite of eating a back woods and medically-deemed-suicidal-fat-filled diet. You might think of her as a red neck for never buying into the more "advanced" way of eating. Low fat and low cholesterol were not in her vocabulary. She ate what she grew be it greens, eggs, or beef. She didn't buy the "healthiest" thing on the Mc Donalds menu. She didn't go to Mc Donalds.

Funny thing is what was once looked down upon as being "back woods" is now trendy! This brings new meaning to the Hank Williams Jr song, "Country Boy Can Survive." ;)

My fascination with old folks started during my internship in graduate school. I use to listen to a man on the radio who was a veterinarian who also studied people who lived to be 100. He found that most people who lived to be 100 lived out in the country, usually in very primitive cultures, they did not go to a doctor, and they did not eat the Standard American Diet (SAD). As a dietitian I began to take notice of my patients.

Prominent people (much much younger than my little old healthy 99 year olds)who could afford costly "health" food were still developing heart disease. I can remember being consulted several times to educate patients on the cardiac diet who were at their ideal body weight and ate a low fat and low cholesterol diet yet they were having open heart surgery. And I would ask the doctor, "Just what exactly do you want me to tell them?" And even worse the patients were asking me, "Where did I go wrong? I thought I was doing everything right." I was beginning to figure out there was a big hole in this ideal.

Fortunately my Dad recommended the book, The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. His story is one that should be read by everyone. His passion for nutrition came from being sick himself. I won't go deep into his story but I will say that he grew up in a family that only ate food from health food stores and he was very ill. He began to research they way Jews ate in the old testament. After all, as a christian we want to live by the bible. Why then are we not eating by the bible?

Once he got ALL processed foods out of his diet-even processed "health" foods- he was cured from a previously thought incurable intestinal disease.

What he did not cut out of his diet was fat - even saturated fat - and cholesterol.

Next into our lives steped Westin A Price (http://westonaprice.org/). Let me tell you, we have hit Fat City at this point in my jouney. It's time to get down to the hard facts on fat. But, my baby just woke up so we will continue this story in another post soon.

Let's chew the fat for a while, literally

Confession #1: We have not eaten a low fat diet in years.

Scratch that.

Profession #1: We have intentionally not eaten a low fat diet in years.

Gasp! Did a registered dietitian just write that?

Proudly, yes.

In sticking with our devotion to eating only things God created (or at least very close to the way God created them) we have included fats as well. After all isn't raw whole fat milk a "whole food." Would not low fat milk, yogurt, and cheese go through intense processing to be made into such an unnatural state? They certainly do.

This is not about devotion to a principal at all costs. Science and research has failed to identify saturated fat (the supposed "bad" fat in animal products) as the cause of heart disease. Read that last sentence again because it is life changing. No, I am not kidding nor and am I crazy. Believe me it takes a lot of research, convincing, and soul searching for a registered dietitian to write that statement.

For years it has been driven into our heads (especially those of us who studied health and food in school) that saturated fat is bad and causes heart disease. But did you know that this theory started on one poorly done study in the 50's. The government then took off with the idea and spent great amounts of energy and money promoting it. Research has still failed to prove this theory. When you hear studies mention the correlation of saturated fat and heart disease 9 times out of 10 they have included hydrogenated oils into the study. These are not saturated fats. They are a man made chemical. I am talking about the hydrogenated oils that are in the heart doc's beloved margarine that have been repeatedly proven in research to cause heart disease. But we'll get back to that subject later. Maybe in another post.

So here is an official apology from me to those of you who suffered through tasteless and harmful fat free cheese in the 90's. I feel your pain. But let's look at the bright side! Read on.

For thousands of years people have consumed meats - not boneless, skinless chicken breasts - I am talking about the whole animal fat and all. But in the last 100 years for the first time in the history of mankind we have drastically changed the way we have eaten. And with every year our rate of heart disease and diabetes increases. Hmmm. I don't think the low fat diet is helping. Do you? (feel free to really reply to these questions. I love discussion.)

In the early 1900's a man invented the electrocardiograph to diagnose heart disease. His peers felt sorry for him and told him to keep on inventing because the poor guy could not find very many people with heart disease. There just wasn't a need for it at the time and he couldn't sell his machine. Keep in mind people weren't buying low fat dairy products from the store at the time. Folks were drinking milk from the cow out back and slapping homemade butter on their bread. Sounds good to me!

The news gets even better! Animal fats are the best source for your fat soluble vitamins, A, D, K, and E. Butter from grass fed cows is a great place to start for these nutrients. Check out localharvest.com to find a source near you.

This leads me to one caveat. If I were to take fat cells out of yours or my body we could find every pesticide, toxin, and chemical we have ever ingested. The same goes for our food sources. Butter that is not organic is one of the greatest concentrations of pesticides. Much much greater than anything you would find in the produce section. We only consume meats and dairy that are organic in our house.

I am trying to keep these posts fairly brief because the word on the street is that I can be overwhelming at times. My promise to you is that I will try to hold back and give you tid bits here and there that are bite size. With that said, I will go into fats, oils, and grass fed organic meats and dairy products in more detail in future posts.

Heck, I'm having so much fun let's just declare it fat week! Maybe even fat month!

So, go out and get yourself some farm fresh butter. I'm tell you, it's a freeing experience.

Setting the Record Straight

I was chatting with a friend the other day while our kids played, about how crazy my week had been. This past spring Savannah went to school in the mornings and was picked up at noon. She then ate her lunch in the car during our 30 minute drive home. But this crazy day I was lamenting to my friend about how I had forgotten to make Savannah's lunch. So that Savannah would not feel sad and forgotten (and because I had no snacks on hand to stall he until we got home) I said, "Surprise, you get lunch from Chick file today!" This is something that never happens. Not so much because of the fact it is processed food which we try not to eat but more because of the fact I have not drank the chick file kool aid. Seriously, what is so wonderful about the food? I don't get it. But lunch was not for me but for her and she was overjoyed.

Now back to my friend who was listening intently. Her reply was not words of encouragement for this crazy time of having a newborn and a 5 year old with a busy schedule. No, her words were, "That just warms my heart to know that you forgot your child's lunch and bought her fast food instead."

What?

Let's set the tone for this blog right now. I am a busy mother or two with many obligations pulling me in several directions at once. Life gets hectic for me too and surprise! I am not perfect. But I do try my best to feed my family in a way that is nourishing to both our body and souls. I make mistakes and then I learn from them. I hope I always make mistakes because that's how one learns. And beyond that sometimes I just don't have the time or mental energy to create the right choices.

So this is a journey for me too. It just happens to also be my career as a dietitian, my job as a mom, and my hobby as a woman.

(And I do love my friend that said those words to me so it was not the least bit offensive at all. I display might faults right back to her with love!)

Where I'm Coming From

A couple of weeks ago I began to post our family's food journal. But as I read my posts I realized they weren't adequate to help people. Important information was missing. For example what we don't eat is almost more crucial than what we do eat. And I never got around to posting why we eat the things we do. So let's start over from the beginning and I will tell you where I am coming from as a registered dietitian, mom, and the family cook.

Since college I have strived to eat healthy but that can entail an array of ideals depending on the decade.

"Eat eggs. they are the perfect protein."

"No, eat egg whites because they don't have the fat and cholesterol. You don't want heart disease do you?"

"No, eat the whole egg because the yolk has fat soluble vitamins."

"I hear egg beaters are best because they aren't even eggs!"

"Don't eat eggs at all. They come from an animal!"

"Wait, you have to buy cage free eggs. Then, it's ok."

"No, buy the eggs fortified with omega 3 fatty acids. They help your heart. But I don't know if you are still just suppose to eat the whites."

"Didn't you hear that the American heart Association now says we can have 2 eggs per week and we won't die immediately afterwards?"

And that's just on the topic of eggs. I could go on about carbs, fat, meat, milk, whole wheat, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and a million other food items. Is the on going debate of what exactly is healthy overwhelming you?

No matter what food item we choose to follow the debate on over the years the same theme remains. It begins with a food found in nature, man decides the food is bad and/or he can make it better, hype surrounds this new epiphany, everyone MUST consume it for optimal, years later it is discovered this new version is toxic, research shows the original version was actually healthy but now people are scared to eat either.Think about it. Pick a food and see if my theory fits.

This same theme is found in the bible over and over again when man thinks he has a better plan than God. Man then screws things up. And when things are bad enough he returns to God's perfect plan. The food we consume is so far from what God created for us.

Our great grandmothers cooked with meat from the local farm or their own, vegetables from their garden, milk from their cows, and eggs from their chickens. (these are actualy "whole foods" by the way, not processed food you buy at the store Whole Foods. I love them but they have plenty of junk too.)

Our grandmothers cooked with meat sometimes from the grocery store, vegetables sometimes from the garden, milk from the milk man, and sometimes some canned goods to make things easier.

Our moms cooked with meat, eggs, milk and vegetables from the grocery store, store bought bread, canned goods, and occasionally they bought fast food.

Our generation does not cook with ingredients. Recipes call for a can of this, 2 cans of that, a jar of this, and a box of that. Actual food is not listed. The rest of the diet is filled in with fast food.We don't know how to cook with real food. We don't even know what real food is.

Because God does not make mistakes and man cannot help but make mistakes our family avoids manufactured (man-made) foods as much as possible. Nutrition trends will come and go but in the end research ( I am a science gal after all you know) always backs God-made food.

So when you are trying to figure out if you should avoid genetically modified foods, pesticides, or fruit loops ask yourself these two questions: Is this something that occurs in this form (or close to it) in nature?and Have people been eating this for thousands of years or is this new? Try it on any food, you will be amazed at how little "food" you are consuming.