This summer (2010) there was an international conference on nutrition in Washington, DC entitled, “Food As Medicine”. Broadmead’s Jerry F. Green was one of the lucky participants. When all the science was over and the participants asked, “how do we use this information to improve our nutrition?” the answer was repeatedly RETURN TO A PRIMITIVE DIET. In other words, we cannot improve on the foods we ate in our evolution to where we are today. In fact, because our body has evolved with these foods our guts are specialized to digest these foods. This is perhaps the secret why our health since the recent advent of our “western commercial diets” have declined with increases in obesity, hypertension, heart disease, etc.
Jerry wishes to share with his neighbors the top 10 ways to return to a more primitive diet.
1. Eat large amount of fresh, locally and organically grown produce.
2. Eat at least one handful of unsalted nuts and seeds each day.
3. Restrict animal protein sources to grass fed and or wild animals.
4. Get outside and move. Daily sunlight exposure or take Vitamin D.
5. Limit dairy consumption to raw and/or fermented products (nutrients are already pre-digested).
6. Limit grains. Use only whole and/or sprouted grains.
7. Use raw honey as your primary sweetener if needed.
8. Avoid all chemical additives (preservatives, sweeteners, flavorings, etc.)
9. Avoid cooking foods at temperatures greater than 350°F (higher temperatures break down nutrients and produced carcinogenic agents).
10. Search for wild edibles and heirloom varieties of all plants as often as possible.
It is never too late to adopt this diet. Remember, natives in Australia and Africa that have left a primitive diet and moved to the west develop western diseases but when they return to a primitive diet their health improves.