The Shift From Our Overconsumption Of The Planets Finite Natural Resources
A Path To Becoming Nature & Ancestral Food Sovereignty For Health & Sustainability
What I share here is indeed a deeply emotive post, I know that, and appreciate that if you are plant based/vegan, who have been following my journey from the beginning, this could just be too much for you to read at this point in time. I know that a few months ago, I would have felt the same, so, with that in mind, please do not close your mind or hearts – perhaps keep this for a time when it is possibly the right time for you to look more deeply into your own health issues and perhaps reach out to learn more?
My education has escalated and transformed our lives over the last month, since learning how living plant based, mostly vegan, for over a decade was contributing to our declining health.
I’d like to list some of the main issues we both had, hubs and I, over this period of time, comparing them to how I felt as a morbidly obese 30-something when we first met. Then, how we are feeling now, a month and a half in.
Anthony isn’t fully primal yet, however, he is working on it in his own time, for the benefits of simple changes have been quite astounding, albeit small yet no less powerful. For him, it is sugar that he clings onto at the moment, sweet fruits and snacks being the trigger making him feel a boost of energy, which, naturally, becomes a crash a little while later.
The Podcast I share here is to give you some facts of Oxalate toxicity, that we are all consuming when we are eating high plant based or vegan, unknowingly contributing to the destruction of our gut microbiome and consequently overall declining immune health and increasing inflammatory dis-eases.
So, our health issues, in brief, for there were more; simple issues that I will probably not recall at this point in writing.
- Brain fog
- Daily headaches
- Memory issues
- Hypothyroidism
- Eyesight deterioration (partly due to screen time)
- Insomnia
- Aching legs
- Lethargy
- Dry skin
- Skin rashes and spots all over the body (him not me)
- Heavy legs
- Lack of energy
- Ant was told he is pre-diabetic
- Stomach Bloating
- Distended stomach – permanent (Ant)
- Muscle wasting
- Extreme bowel movements – 5 – 17 a day (me)
- Watery BM’s
- Gas
- Excessive nighttime belching
- Early morning wake ups for BM’s
- Excessive urination – every 30 minutes
- Inability to release excess weight – no matter what plan I stuck to.
- Weight gain
- DVT (me) plus post-thrombotic syndrome)
- Varicose veins
- Joint and Muscle inflammation
- Knee issues worsening
- Swollen ankles
- Inability to concentrate on anything of importance
- Inability to retain information when studying subjects
- Connective tissue pain
- Breast pain and swelling
- Breast changes – scaly area and severe itching.
- Womb issues – severe pains and swelling
This is a pretty dire list, isn’t it?
Okay, so, just from my point of health, BEFORE we went plant based, I came home from living in France (long story, so I won’t detail that here) Just to say, I was in a violent marriage to an alcoholic, became severely obese (20 stone) YET…I could walk for 6-10 miles on a daily and weekly basis, I was a full-time dog walker and gardened over 2 acres of land, with very little of any issues health wise other than being so heavy!
My own health issues began shortly after we became vegetarian, and Anthony gradually has been seeing decline in his own health during this time too…the first onslaught was the depletion of my thyroid health. It spiralled from there over the following 14 years, to the point that I truly thought that I became so chronically sick and could end up in the hospital if I did not change direction and radically.
WE DID THIS FOR THE ANIMALS – that was our first priority, after becoming so horrified at the treatment meted to them in life and during their final hours.
However, what has become so clear, since starting to really educate ourselves and relearn how animals are not only the saviour of our imminent planetary crisis and crucial to the biodiversity of all life on this earth, we are designed to eat meat and animal offerings, for we have lost our indigenous sovereignty and primal ancestry – during this mass experiment to promote a planet of plant eaters who are slowly getting sicker and sicker, promoting the pharmaceutical corporations AND the billionaire founding fathers of the plant based Agenda 21 to cover this planet with millions of acres of monocrops, deforestation and destruction of natural habitats that are VITAL to supporting all life on earth. They are doing this in the name of Planetary Sustainability – which also includes the roll out of nuclear energy plants, GMO crops AND 5G – please do your research into this and look DEEP.
Now, today, we are here and feeling a whole heap of health benefits, this early on in our transformation, it is hard to deny that eating mostly organic, pasture raised, fatty meat for our main food source with (for me) virtually no plant foods at this time other than perhaps a very tiny amount of medicinal herbs and mushrooms, and knowing that plants are medicinal NOT a source of food that fills the plate or blender jug!
- 80% reduction in inflammation
- Deeper sleep
- waking refreshed
- Concentration improvements
- Ability to write – for hours!
- Skin improvements
- More youthful looking
- No hunger cravings
- NO sugar cravings (me)
- More energy
- Breast issues are resolving
- Womb pain reduced 90% unless I am very active
- Leg issues – my PTS is so much less now
- No more bloating, gas or belching
- Digestive issues have all but disappeared!
- Regular bowel movements – max 3 a day, usually just 2!
- A more positive outlook on life in genera
And this is just for starters!
From this moment onwards I, as always, will continue to share my truth with integrity and gratitude for all that life brings us to learn from, and, I know now that my own life is more deeply connected to the land and nature of my home country than it has ever been before, and that I am now a more conscious consumer and becoming far more aware of how living with nature that is OUR sovereignty is SO vital for the future of this planet, than when purchasing all manner of imported produce, powders and products from far-flung places to the tune of hundreds of pounds every month. That, dear friends, is where we are right now, on this path to becoming nature.
Let’s have a look into what eating an Ancestral Diet looks like and take it from there.
Some people do well eating various food groups that aren’t necessarily considered ancestral but are still traditional foods from nature – not made in vats in a laboratory, and this is completely fine. What works for one person may not work for another. For example, some people can’t eat any nightshades, so tomatoes, potatoes, peppers etc are off the menu for them, some people can’t eat pulses or beans, or any form of grain. Does this make these food groups inherently unhealthy? No. We all have biological differences that necessitate variations in our diets, and that is all good, right? Of course it is.
Ancestral eating is eliminating modern-day foods like:
- vegetable oils (soy, rapeseed, corn, canola, cottonseed)
- refined sugar
- processed soy and fake meats
- refined, packaged products
What Ancestral Eating Is
Ancestral eating is, simply put, eating unrefined, unprocessed, whole foods that have been around for thousands and thousands of years. This includes:
- grass-fed, wild animals – avoiding those raised to kill for shooting as these have been fed on grains loaded with drugs etc to keep them alive.
- wild seafood
- pastured chicken and eggs
- organic fruits and vegetables
- healthy, traditional fats like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, lard, butter, etc. My caveat here is to eat only those fats that are produced in the country you live in.
- grass-fed, full-fat raw dairy
- fermented foods; using wild plants where possible and raw dairy kefir, seasonal fruits and avoiding store bought ferments which contain many plants that are antinutrient rich.
Ancestral eating is centered around eating real food. What do I mean by real food? Food as close to its natural state as possible. Ancestral food doesn’t have ingredients – it is the ingredient!
Ancestral Eating Is Eating Local
It’s eating food from your local farmers and farmers markets. This isn’t only great for the environment, it supports your local economy. Every time you buy food, you vote. You can vote for farmers or you can vote for giant corporations.
Ancestral eating is knowing where your food comes from. It’s not anonymous. It’s knowing who grew it and how it was grown. It offers us the opportunity to build relationships which gift us more than any store could offer us in our entire lifetime, along with reducing our entire carbon footprint – a win win situation.
Ancestral Eating Is About Sustainability
Cows are meant to be grass-fed. Chickens are meant to be pastured. Vegetables are not meant to be grown with dangerous chemicals. Fruits and nuts are not meant to be available all year round, nor are they meant to be consumed through the year, and, when you really look at these foods, you can see how some foods are actually not meant to be eaten at all, due to the plants methods of protecting themselves against predation in order to continue proliferating their young. Added to this is the often never considered fact that most of our current vegetable foods have, in fact, been genetically altered over the last 100-200 years, from wild, medicinal plants, into swollen, oxalate loaded, health sabotaging foods that have been powering the Green Food revolution for many years now.
Ancestral Food Is Seasonal
This is one subject that many people struggle with – Tomatoes in winter? Just do the best you can. Shopping at your local farmers market makes seasonal eating much easier and more accessible. You’ll buy tomatoes in the summer, broccoli in the autumn, squash in the winter, asparagus in the spring. This puts you in tune with nature’s rhythm. It also ensures your food is healthier because it hasn’t traveled three thousand miles to reach you.
Ancestral Eating Is Not The Latest ‘Fad Diet’ Or Trend – It’s The Best Way Of Eating You Could Opt For
It’s eating foods your body recognizes and utilizes. Some people can and will go out and hunt their food, which is great. But it’s not an option that’s available to everyone. For most of us, it’s just about eating food our ancestors ate and recognized as food: meat, fish, raw dairy, wild plants, fruits, nuts, and not: tofu, canola oil, soy cheese or ready meals!
It’s probably a new concept for many of us, as it was to me until I really opened my eyes and mind to the changes that were plainly needed – when people refer to ancestral or traditional diets as fads. Last I checked, fads don’t last thousands upon thousands of years. No culture survived and thrived on a fad diet. Last I checked – the healthiest way to eat is to eat whole, unprocessed foods from nature, grown locally and sustainably. That’s what ancestral eating is all about!
How Do We Begin To Eat Ancestrally?
Here are some of tips for transitioning to an ancestral diet:
- check out your local farmers market
- find a buying club in your area, this will set you up with an organic farm or farmers that you can order your local, sustainable food from – I found mine at http://rawmilk.simkin.co.uk/what-is-raw-milk.html
- eat organic as much as possible, but especially when it comes to meat and dairy
- stop buying food from a box or anything that is packaged – if it has more than 3 )max) ingredients, avoid it! (doing this will save you money as well!)
- Google farmers in your area
- start a backyard garden
- get some backyard chickens
- take a class on beekeeping
- simplify your food – a piece of salmon with a side of asparagus and a duck egg is a quick, healthy, super simple ancestral meal, no need to complicate it!
- Join a meat collective – here is a Fantastic one – https://www.thehornedbeefcompany.com
Finally, go out in nature every day and step into that glorious state of belonging to your environment, check out my series over on The Lifetrainme Academy for 6 ways to Become Nature.
