- nutrition basics

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I know you're getting hit with a lot of new information recently, and it

probably seems overwhelming to you right now. So I thought I'd give you a

little information on the basics and some links that will help fill in a lot

of the details.

First, I don't know if you read the intro on the website,

but it pretty much sums up what the focus of this group is - that the

nutrition of the nonindustrialized healthy tribes and cultures Dr. Price

studied is the basis for optimal health - both physical and mental. Here's

an excerpt:

" During the 1930's, Dr. Price traveled the world over to observe population

groups untouched by civilization, living entirely on local foods. While the

diets of these peoples differed in many particulars, they contained several

factors in common. Almost, without exception, the groups he studied ate

liberally of seafood or other animal proteins and fats in the form of organ

meats and dairy products; they values animal fats as absolutely necessary to

good health; and they ate fats, meats, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts,

seeds and whole grains in their whole, unrefined state. All primitive diets

contained some raw foods, of both animal and vegetable origin. "

" Dr. Price found fourteen groups-from isolated Irish and Swiss, from

Eskimos to Africans-in which almost every member of the tribe or village

enjoyed superb health. They were free of chronic disease, dental decay and

mental illness; they were strong, sturdy and attractive; and they produced

healthy children with ease, generation after generation. "

The bottom line being that food IS medicine and we can alter our health

(physical, mental, emotional) as we alter our diet. Modern Americans are a

very sick population with chronic and degenerative diseases (cancer, heart

disease, diabetes, arthritis) becoming epidemic and even among our youth! It

is no wonder when you consider that approx. 90% of the money Americans spend

on food is spent on *processed* foods. Our food is also now largely produced

by just a small handful of conglomerates that grow monocrops that have only

a fraction of the nutrients than these same fruits and vegetables had 50

years ago, before our soil was nearly totally stripped of nutrients. And

they raise livestock in large factory farms, feeding them (highly sprayed)

foods that damage their bodies and health (for example, grain damages a

cow's rumen - they are designed to eat grass), and pump them full of

hormones and antibiotics. The living conditions for these animals is

atrocious.

We've gone from a nation of small family farmers to one that largely depends

on a handfull of agri-businesses to feed us with their nutritionally

inferior products, and on manufacturers who further deplete whatever

remaining nutrients are left in food by excessive processing, then they add

back in all kinds of toxic preservatives and fake vitamins that may do more

harm than good.

There are a lot of people on this list who restored their health by eating

the " NT way " . " NT " stands for " Nourishing Traditions " and is the book Sally

Fallon wrote based on Weston Price's work. It's part informational and part

cookbook. It's all about REAL, nutrient-dense whole foods, prepared to

maximize their nutritional value, as Price's primitives did, and as all our

ancestors did - a prime example is fermentation (saurkraut, fermented milk

products, fermented beverages, Korean (spicy) sauerkraut, etc. For many

people it's a transformational book - not just for their health, but for

their way of seeing the world. I can't tell you how many times someone's

said - it just made *sense*.

For many of us, it was hard to UNlearn many of the nutritional myths that

we'd learn from the same folks who are protecting our children from autism

and all the other childhood diseases that are becoming epidemic <said with

dripping sarcasm>. It is no wonder these diseases are becoming more

frequent - much the nutritional info we receive has a political basis, not a

scientific one. Sometimes it can all be very confusing whom to believe. That

is when I look to these traditional cultures that Price studied and realize

how simple it all really is. Their health was *extraordinary* and we know

what they ate and some things about how they lived. I'd wager they didn't

have to deal with the mercury load our kids are getting from vaccines or

amalgams, and of course that needs to be removed from our children, but what

they did have was a diet that gave their bodies the body-building materials

they required for excellent health. Most of the boxes and cans and things

you see in an American supermarket don't have those body building materials.

They've been stripped out. What you have is a lot of empty calories. Every

wonder why obesity is now epidemic in the US?

Anyway, I think you get the picture. To begin the path to health, you have

to start with the " medicine " you put into your body everyday - your food.

This goes for everyone - whether they are autistic or not.

If you have any questions as you work on 's nutrition, don't hesitate

to ask this group - you'll not find a more compassionate, knowledgeable

group anywhere.

One suggestion to make this easier on you, as you improve 's diet -

take it one step at a time. Don't try to change everything at once. Maybe

prioritize what needs to be done first, such as removing all gluten. There

are always substitutes for what he's eating now that may not be good for

him, such as the white bread. I'm not sure if there are commercial

gluten-free breads on the market, but I'd guess there probably is. One place

to get gluten-free foods is celiac.com. They have an online store full of

gluten-free products (although I doubt many of them are actually healthy.

But may be good as treats or something).

I don't know much about his diet at all except a few things that you

mentioned. It sounds like he eats a lot of refined carbs? If so, my

suggestion would be, after dealing with the gluten issue, is to start

reducing the refined carbs in his diet and get more healthy fats into him,

such as fatty cuts of meat (from grass-fed animals if possible), virgin

coconut oil, eggs from pasture-fed chickens. Lots of folks with carb

addictions say these healthy fats (don't believe the myth about saturated

fat being " bad " for you!) greatly reduced their carb cravings. Just a

thought.

Best of luck!

Relevant articles from the Weston A. Price Foundation website:

Dietary Guidelines (a simple list of foods to eat)

http://www.westonaprice.org/nutrition_guidelines/dietary_guidelines.html

Dietary Dangers (a simple list of foods to avoid)

http://www.westonaprice.org/nutrition_guidelines/dietary_dangers.html

Cod Liver Oil - The Number One Superfood

http://www.westonaprice.org/nutrition_guidelines/codliveroil.html

Dietary Recommendations for Children - A Recipe for Future Heart Disease?

http://www.westonaprice.org/children/diet_children.html

Homepage

http://www.westonaprice.org/splash_2.htm

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

" The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------