Health Independence Approach (Part 3 of 5) Find Food Freedom with Ancestral Foods

Food = Love & Comfort

When we were in the womb and as an infant, food was plentiful. Assuming you were in a caring environment and were breastfed as an infant, it also meant mother's love and attention. As we experienced life, food came to mean so much more than nutrition, fuel and comfort. We have emotions and memories tied to different items. For each of us, these associations are different. Just a few:

• Cultural favorites made at Grandma's that no restaurant can replicate (Poppy seed kolache - I just haven't found any that beat my childhood memories.) 
• Favorite reward foods from childhood (I got Dairy Queen chocolate & hot fudge ice cream sundaes only when I had a perfect scorecard, which drove patterns into adulthood of chocolate and ice cream as a reward.)
• Foods that you've decided that are "forbidden" that tantalize and drive cravings (When I was vegetarian and lived in Georgia, smoked pork ribs was my kryptonite. I broke down more frequently than I would admit to others.) 
• Holiday meals with family (Just the smell of roast turkey brings back years of Thanksgiving memories.)
• Regional foods experienced for the first time while on holiday vacations (If you have the time get off the freeway and enjoy local restaurants instead of fast food - there are so many wonderful little places.)

As a result, some of our food choices become driven not from physical hunger or nutritional need. Some choices are automatic and habitual - they just get put into the shopping cart without exploring alternatives. Other choices address underlying emotions when a different activity or type of nourishment may be what is really needed.

Ultra Processed Food vs Ancestral Food

Some of these beliefs, values or habits no longer serve us and our health. Particularly as it comes to ultra processed food (UPF).

Ultra Processed Food (UPF)

If you are not familiar with the term, UPF are edible industrial substances that are made of highly refined ingredients. Some of these are widely recognized as junk food and others are marketed as health foods. The food industry quietly evolves and swaps ingredients to drive costs down. The marketing and labelling leverage our memories, emotions and other associations to drive purchases. High consumption of ultra processed food is also associated with higher disease risks than the consumption of wholesome natural foods. Some of the food industry practices / ingredients may no longer agree with you. Some of these ultra processed foods and refined ingredients may be part of what is making you feel tired, off or less energetic.

Ancestral Food

By comparison, ancestral food is what humans traditionally ate prior to the introduction of modern extraction, refining and processed ingredients in the last 150 years. These are plants and animals without genetic modification. Plants are not exposed to pesticides or herbicides. Animals are raised in the sun moving and eating as they naturally would - not enclosed inside factory farms with minimal movement and hormones or antibiotics. Includes a variety of fish and shellfish. This includes minimally processed foods like dairy, cold-press oils, animal based fats, fermentation. Our bodies are better adapted for these foods, so they nourish better and have fewer side effects and trigger fewer food sensitivities.

(Later, I'll address later the food items in between UPF & Ancestral Food.)

Declare Health Independence! 

Take steps to protect your health through ownership of lifestyle and food choices. Start the journey to change unconscious habits and address the lifestyle and food choices that could lead to disease. 

Eat Clean, Real Food

You can be vegan or carnivore and the principles I am about to share can still apply. The approach I recommend is not about maintaining a strict diet with rules and counting. This is a lifestyle about honoring what you need and want. It is about taking steps to increase peace of mind by avoiding practices / processes that do not align with your beliefs and values. It is about minimizing consumption of edible industrial substances (you'll stop thinking of them as food). Reducing highly processed ingredients that do not energize you or that your body has a sensitivity for. This approach advocates food freedom and not feeling guilt or shame about food choices. Food systems are complex so absolutes are hard to maintain. Also too many restrictive rules takes away joy and satisfaction from other areas of life. 

Introduction to God's Foods Over Laboratory Imitations

Simply put, ancestral food is God's Food and anything made in a factory is a laboratory imitation. Yet this does not take into the account all the complexity that comes with recognizing that humans have free will and are inspired by God to take technological leaps. There may be some ingredients that are made in a laboratory or factory that according to your beliefs and values is food whereas someone else may believe that it is an (in)edible food substance.

Let's take dairy for example.

Technology

• Millenia ago someone figured out how to make cultured milk products because of how quickly it spoils. Then more recently, someone figured out pasteurization and refrigeration. Similarly, the auroch (a wild ancestor of cattle) was tamed to be part of nomadic life. At some point more traditional farming practices were developed. Most recently, factory farming where the cows are kept primarily indoors was developed to keep costs low.
• Some people are totally disgusted and grossed out by modern factory farming practices and pasteurization - they are against how the animals are treated and / or think grocery store milk is mainly "pus." On the other hand, some people believe that pasteurization and modern factory farming are acceptable tradeoff and will buy grocery store milk. Or they put conditions on the type of grocery store milk they purchase - organic, pasture fed, hormone & antibiotic free, etc.

The Body

• On top of the beliefs and values assessment you have the physical assessment. There is a full spectrum of people with sensitivities to dairy. Based on where their ancestors are from, there are populations of people where their bodies never developed the capability to digest milk. Other areas of the world, milk and dairy is a primary food so it is easily digested.
• Some people view milk as a "poison" because of how badly their body reacts. Yet others, really benefit from it. I've also met strong advocates for raw milk because they can't drink the stuff at the grocery store due to digestive distress.

This is why I keep emphasizing that this is bio-individual. Your beliefs, values and physical response will determine what for you is in the definition of God's Food versus Laboratory Imitation.

Bio Individuality & Food

As discussed in Prayer & Intuition and Cultivate Awareness, it is also important to understand how different ingredients or additives impact you. Those practices help provide a feedback loop for you to decide what ingredients deplete you the most so you can seek to minimize consumption. Everyone has different physical needs based on current state of health, sex, stage of life, genetics, microbiome, and food allergies / sensitivities.

As an example, I just don't feel good after I eat MSG, artificial sweeteners & sugar alcohols so have been avoiding them as much as possible once I identified them. 

Role of Beliefs & Values In Regards to Food Technology

As discussed in Cultivate Awareness, once you identify from a beliefs and values standpoint where you feel that man has gone too far you can take action. Your decisions and value judgments may be different than mine. 

For me, there are certain bio-engineering and stem cell research practices I can't align with. I also have a morality issue with how companies push the regulatory bodies to accept new ingredients. In many cases science is lacking and there is no real desire to look at how these new additives will impact health in the long run.

While I don't have the time, money and control to 100% avoid everything, I actively minimize allowing them in my kitchen. I don't feel guilty if I go out to eat or purchase & enjoy baked goods or a comfort food with loved ones. Our food environment is overwhelmed by all of these ingredients and it becomes too restrictive to avoid everything.

What Are Ancestral Foods

The following are the broad categories of Eat Ancestral Foods:

Home Cooking

The easiest way to know what is in your food is to cook at home. It is a great way to bring families together to help and to make memories together. Home cooked food seems to nourish more because of the love and effort put into it and the caring act of sharing with others. While you may not have a lot of cooking skills, I encourage you to make choices that align with your lifestyle and capabilities. 

There are many great resources as you get deeper into the lifestyle of preparing ancestral food. The Weston A Price Foundation has great resources and advocates a full ancestral, traditional diet. It's a great supporting resource with many cook books. There are many homesteading websites that have videos and cook books to teach cooking skills.

Change Takes Time

Converting your cooking and eating patterns to ancestral food, takes time as skills may need to be acquired and time needs to be prioritized for more home cooking. I am not advocating for an overnight or even over a one year to do a full transformation of your foods. Set the vision, define the boundaries and get started.

Every step away from a diet heavy in ultra processed foods, particularly added sugars, industrial seed oils and artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, helps your body to recover. Not everyone has strong reactions to these, which is why it is important to experiment. As the microbiome changes, your sensitivity may also change. This approach emphasizes the importance of starting the journey by selecting processed foods with more kitchen ingredients, fewer bio-engineered (BE) / genetically modified organisms (GMO) ingredients, and reduced exposure to pesticide and herbicide residue.

Initial Steps To Start Eating More Ancestral Foods

• Read the label and pick one food item to swap out of your snacks (or meals) with one that has a higher nutrient density or has fewer additives in it. See how you feel after several days.
• Pick one meal or snack per week to make at home. If you already cook at home, identify if there is anything that you could change to feel more nourished by preparing and sharing food you make. Use the least processed ingredients that you have access too and you have the capability to prepare.
• From the grocery store pick a whole food (nothing with an ingredient listing on the package) that you haven't worked with before to eat in a snack or a meal.
• Have fun with a recipe book or searching online (clean recipes, real food recipes, traditional food recipes, whole food recipes, etc). Find something that inspires you to try.  
• Employ any of the tools / techniques learned in Take Empowered Action. They can help structure or motivate your changes related to food choice.
• Here's a free mini course on how to make changes to your snacking, a week at a time. Choose 1 or 2 items to change in a week or all of them! 

Final Thoughts

Food is a source of energy and joy. God's made so many wonderful options to nourish us. Many of the laboratory / factory made ingredients after long term consumption can cause digestive upset or impact metabolic health. It is key to find the foods that nourish and fuel you the best. Experimenting and trying new cooking techniques, ingredients and recipes helps you figure out what works best to energize you. You'll be able to make effective changes that have a real impact on your energy level and health.

As you make food swaps and have increased self-awareness of what beliefs, values, emotions and behaviors are linked to them, you'll also be able to find food freedom. Breaking the ties that draw you back to old habits that no longer serve you. The next article gets into that topic more - Employ Prayer & Intuition.

You will be able to accomplish all that you want (and need) to do in order to be your best self for God, Family & Country.

In the comments let me know how it goes if you try any of these techniques or have a favorite technique that works for you to Eat Ancestral Foods.