Hi. This blog is dedicated to my brother-in-law, Rob Smith. He was looking for ways to change up his diet. He’s in great shape physically, but felt tired all the time. I recommended more FATS. I promised him more information on ancestral nutrition. That was, ummmm, LAST YEAR…. I have been getting many requests from friends and readers for more information on this nutritional lifestyle for a while now, and I figured writing a blog on this topic was completely necessary. And Rob! This is for you! Anyways, let’s get started. To get an idea of an overall optimall nutritional lifestyle, use and save this pyramid as a guide..
Let’s define diet. Diet is food eaten by the person. Period. It can be a horrible diet, great diet, healthy diet, fad diet, or non-nutritional diet. You get the picture. I don’t understand why a person would say I’m on a diet because I eat clean and healthy. Excuse me? How dumb. What I eat is my diet; food eaten so I don’t starve and become malnourish. I would say that I have a good, healthy, nutritionally densed diet. Anyways, I quit using the word ‘diet’ and have started using words like ‘lifestyle’ or ‘nutrition’ or ‘regimen.’ Whatever. Point is, my family and I eat for optimal health. We eat foods that fuel, aid, and nourish our bodies. Any food that doesn’t benefit our bodies, we eliminate. No, I’m not a food Nazi; yes, we have our occasionally cheats, and we’re not perfect. Have you heard of Talenti Gelato? Um, yea, that’s why I’m not perfect. Read here.
If you’re looking to get started on ‘clean’ eating to achieve better health and life, start simple. Start with real food; NOT food-like products. Imagine a time machine taking you back a thousand years ago, and you’re gathering food to eat. Those foods are what you should eat. Know all those ‘food-like’ products in those many aisles at Wal-Mart?? Yea, you can live without them unless it’s an aisle containing toilet paper. I don’t plan on living without toilet paper. It’s simple really. Eat food that have been grown from the ground, grown from the trees, grown from the bushes, hunted and killed, or caught wild in the seas or the rivers; not food made in factories, laboratories, and etc. Also, take this journey one day at a time. Be open minded. Be willing to learn. Do your research. Prioritize clean eating in your life. Be ready to make sacrifices. Make time in the kitchen to cook healthier meals. And again, one day at a time. I started a few years ago, and I am still learning and on this journey.
Our bodies depend on four macronutrients: fat, protein, water, and carb. Can you guess which macronutrient is the preferred fuel by the body? Fat, yes, fat is the preferred fuel by the body. Look at babies today. Their genes are programed to use fats for growth, development, fuel, and nourishment. At least 60% of the mother’s breast milk is fat. Since day one, our bodies prefer fat for fuel. Genes don’t change, but you can change expression of the genes over time. Genes should be able to express themselves in the truest form for optimal health which is the ability to tap into our fat storage for fuel. Unfortunately, most Americans have programmed their genes to depend on carbs for fuel which leads to increased risks of excess body fats, diabetes, heart disease, joint inflammation, gut diseases, and many other inflammation inducing diseases. Being carb dependent causes your organ especially your pancreas, thyroid, liver, etc. to overwork themselves to keep you as ‘balanced’ as possible. Why? Being carb dependent equals sugar dependent!
Here’s a wonderful excerpt from a blog written by Mark Sisson:
“They remain slaves to the antiquated notion that glucose is the king of fuels, so they live their lives in a fear of running low. The truth is, fat is the preferred fuel of human metabolism and has been for most of human evolution. Under normal human circumstances, we actually require only minimal amounts of glucose, most or all of which can be supplied by the liver as needed on a daily basis. The simple SAD fact that carbs/glucose are so readily available and cheap today doesn’t mean that we should depend on them as a primary source of fuel or revere them so highly. In fact, it is this blind allegiance to the “Carb Paradigm” that has driven so many of us to experience the vast array of metabolic problems that threaten to overwhelm our health care system.” To read the entire article, click here. To anyone who works out regularly or any fitness professionals, I HIGHLY recommend you read this blog. Extremely informative.
Our bodies can’t store very much glucose/glycogen in our liver or muscles (about 100 grams for liver and 350-500 grams for your entire body muscle system; any extra will be stored into fat cells). BUT we have an unlimited storage capacity for fats of around 100,000 grams?! Now you tell me. Which, carbs or fats, do you think our bodies were designed to use for fuel? Say you’re running a marathon. Your body asks you, “Which do you want me to use as fuel while you run? Fats or carbs?” I don’t know about you, but I’ll answer with FATS.
Understand this, ingesting processed carbohydrates and sugar spike your blood sugar level. It’s dangerous to have high blood sugar level because it causes damage to your blood cells, walls of arteries, etc. So the brain tells the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin pulls the sugar out of your blood and store them into fat cells. That’s what makes you fat. When ingesting fats, none of what I just explained happens. They get used up as fuel and nourishment. Fat does not cause your insulin to be released because there isn’t any sugar that needs to be store into fat cells. Do you get it now? The fats you ingest get burned off.
Eating fats will NOT make you fat. It actually torches your metabolism to burn fats efficiently, gives you more energy, alerts your brain like crack (I wouldn’t know because I’ve never done crack), puts you in a better mood, supports your organs (especially your pancreas) more effectively (your adrenal glands will thank you and your thyroid will be thrilled), and the list goes on. Did you know that your brain is made mostly of fats?! Think about it. Why are Alzheimer, dementia, and stroke are at the all time high right now?? Even our brain can be deprived of necessary fatty acids to run effectively. Think eating fats will give you heart disease? I’ll have to write about this in another blog. There is so much I want to rant about.
And as a Christian, if you’re wondering about the grain that people harvested and consumed in the biblical days? Read here. Grain today is NOT the same from grain grown 1,000 years ago. “Wheat has changed dramatically in the past fifty years (hundred years) under the influence of agricultural scientists. Wheat strains have been hybridized, crossbred, and introgressed to make the wheat plant resistant to environmental conditions, such as drought, or pathogens, such as fungi,” quoted by William Davis, MD. To continue reading the article, do so here.
Okay, that’s it for now. Education to true health is the key. Research all you can from reliable sources.
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