I often get asked if our supplements affect cholesterol. While it is tempting to simply say 'no', it's more complex than that. An animal-based diet will influence cholesterol levels, so the real question is whether cholesterol negatively impacts us? This is an age old argument that has been debunked by many scholars. Dr. Paul Mason, a researcher and advocate for low-carb animal-based diets, recently shared insights in his lecture titled 'Decoding Atherosclerosis: The Clotting Theory and Seed Oil Toxicity'. Watch it here.Oxidative stress in the blood can trigger clotting, a significant risk factor for heart attacks. This condition often involves blood clots forming in the presence of oxidised LDL, influenced by:
Plant sterols (phytosterols) from seed oils, which oxidize quickly and become toxic in the blood
Pollution particles
Smoking
Lead
Animal fats help maintain healthy blood membranes and support red blood cells, contributing to overall bodily health. Additionally, nitric oxide production, boosted by exercise, promotes healthy arteries. A diet and lifestyle that minimise plant sterols and enhance nitric oxide levels in the blood lead to healthier blood and arteries. So,
Do our supplements contribute to cholesterol? No. Does an animal-based diet contribute to cholesterol? Yes. Is this a bad thing? No. Poor diets and lack of exercise can cause blood clots. Like many experts, I advocate for reducing plant intake and maintaining an active lifestyle that will keep you healthy and full of life.
Knowing where your food has come from is important. When you follow an ancestral diet, sourcing is just as important as the food you eat.
One of the simple principles I live by is:
Know your farmer. Know your source.
When you think about food this way, the way you shop changes. You look beyond the supermarket shelve and focus on the people behind the food and the passion they bring to producing it.
Here's what my ancestral shopping list looks like, with some links to the amazing producers I get food from here in New Zealand.
Sourcing Quality Meat in New Zealand
When it comes to buying meat, I definitely have opinions about where I buy it from. Price is important, but I'm mostly guided by source.
Our NZ supermarket meat is mostly sourced from the large meat abattoirs and the animal's origin is not recorded. When you care about where your food comes from and the way the animal was raised, that lack of clarity isn't ideal.
That's why I often reach for Harris Meats produce (meat produced by farmers in North Canterbury) or, of course, First Light Farms who do an incredible job with regenerative farming and transparency.
I have also been buying meat boxes from Middlehurst farms in Blenheim. I love the farm to table process that these producers can do now.
I've recently met Fionna from Juniper Hill Farm. She has so much passion about what their farm does. It was really inspiring.
I was lucky to have a chance to sit down with Logan Wait from Earth First Food at Underground Festival, too. His company is doing amazing work connecting the dots between farmers and customers so people can buy directly from producers.
They're all fantastic and I recommend you check them out.
Choosing Ethical Eggs and Dairy
My eggs are mostly organic and always free-range, because honestly, who wants eggs from a sad chicken?
When hens are raised outdoors and allowed to behave naturally, it shows in the quality of the eggs.
The same principle applies to dairy.
The cream I use is mostly organic and raw if I can get it. The closer food is to it's natural state, the better.
Why I Avoid Supermarket Produce
I don't eat any fresh produce from the supermarket. Sprays like insecticides or pesticides or mists to keep the veggies and fruit fresh are suspect!
If I come across a fruit tree in someone's garden, like a fig, I will eat this. Not much, just a taste, but I always prefer food that comes straight from nature.
Farmers Markets: The Best Place to Buy Real Food
Farmers Markets are fantastic places to buy real food.
They're full of passionate producers doing amazing things with real ingredients. When you buy directly from them, you’re not just buying food, you’re supporting the people who grow and produce it.
Artisans who make specialist cheeses from their own milk always light me up. There's a buffalo farm in Canterbury that makes the best soft cheese ever!
If you haven't already I suggest you find your local market and make it a weekly ritual.
You'll meet some incredible producers who care deeply about what they do.
Supporting Local Food Producers in New Zealand
We're so lucky in New Zealand to have the most amazing food grown and raised on healthy land, and produced by passionate farmers whose feet walk their farms every day.
By sourcing food from local farms, farmers markets, and ethical producers, we reconnect with the origins of what we eat.
Let's support local producers and let their passion filter into our kitchens!
The Knife: The Simplest Tool in the Kitchen
Before blenders.Before aluminium pots.Before electricity.
There was a sharp edge.
The earliest known stone cutting tools date back roughly 2.6 million years (Oldowan tools, East Africa). They weren’t sophisticated instruments, just sharp flakes struck from stone.
But they were enough.
They allowed early humans to butcher animals, slice meat, and process plant foods.
The tool was simple.The act was direct.Cut. Separate. Prepare.
No motor. No containment. No transformation beyond what the hand could control.
Cutting Came Before Cooking Vessels
Archaeological evidence shows controlled use of fire by at least 400,000–1 million years ago. Pottery, appears much later, around 20,000 years ago in East Asia, and far more recently in many parts of the world.
That means for the majority of human history, food preparation did not rely on pots. It relied on cutting, scraping, trimming, and roasting.
The blade prepared the food before the fire touched it.
Even where earth ovens were used, such as the hāngī in New Zealand, food was cleaned, opened, and portioned with cutting tools before being placed into the ground oven.
Archaeological middens in New Zealand contain:
Shells with clear cut marks
Bird and fish bones showing butchery
Obsidian flakes (mata) found near cooking sites
Obsidian fractures into edges, sharper than many modern steel blades. Māori and other Pacific cultures used these flakes for filleting fish, and cutting flesh.
Again, simple tool. Direct contact.
The Blade Teaches Skill And Understanding
A knife demands competence.
You must know:
Where the joint sits.
Where the muscle separates.
Where the bone ends.
How the grain runs.
A blender requires loading and pressing a button.A knife requires knowledge.
The blade teaches anatomy. It teaches structure. It teaches patience.
When you break down a fish with a knife, you see its architecture.
When you portion meat by hand, you understand the muscle groups.
You're not removed from the food. You're learning from it.
The Blade Offers Choice
Cutting is selective.
You choose:
What stays.
What is trimmed.
What is kept whole.
What is sliced thin.
What is left intact.
Blending removes distinction. A blade preserves difference.
Fat is fat. Lean is lean. Skin is skin. Each part can be treated according to its nature.
Choice is physical and it happens at the fingertips.
The Blade Represents Relationship
This may be the most important piece. When using a knife: The food is unboxed, unwrapped, visible, and touched.
There is proximity.
You smell it. You feel resistance. You adjust pressure. Nothing separates your hand from the food except a thin edge of steel or stone.
Across cultures, the blade has always symbolised provision and responsibility. In Māori culture, the toki (adze) represented authority, leadership, and capability. While primarily associated with carving and construction, stone cutting tools and obsidian flakes were also essential in food preparation.
The person holding the blade determined how food was divided.
That carries weight.
Simplicity as Strength
The knife does not:
Plug in.
Hum.
Spin.
Encase.
It does one thing well.
It divides with precision.
And that precision matters.
Research shows that food texture and structural integrity influence:
Chewing time
Satiety signalling
Digestion rate
Glycaemic response
Whole pieces of food behave differently in the body compared to mechanically homogenised food.
Structure changes function.
The knife preserves structure.
The Modern Kitchen Drift
Today, food often arrives:
Vacuum-sealed
Pre-cut
Pre-portioned
Encased in plastic
Or it is reduced to liquid before it is even eaten.
We have gained convenience.But we have lost contact.
The blade restores contact.
It slows the process. It demands presence.It brings us back in contact with our food.
The Argument, Clean and Simple
The knife is humanity’s original food processor.
It represents:
Skill.
Choice.
Relationship.
It keeps us physically close to the food.It preserves structure.It requires knowledge.It honours anatomy.
It is simple.And simplicity is powerful.
I want to talk today about a pattern I see over and over again.
Someone decides it’s time.
New month.
New plan.
New supplements.
New workout program.
New diet.
New rules.
For 30 days, they’re all in. Then life catches up.
The early mornings feel harder. The meal prep slips. The gym sessions shorten. The supplement routine becomes inconsistent. Motivation fades.
And slowly, the whole thing unravels. Not because they lack discipline. But because they tried to change everything at once.
Modern health culture encourages complexity.
Stacks. Protocols. Biohacks.
But our biology hasn’t changed. Our ancestors didn’t overhaul their lives every 30 days. They stuck to the fundamentals and repeated them.
The Real Reason Health Routines Collapse
Most routines fail because they’re built on intensity, not structure.
When you overhaul:
Your diet
Your training
Your sleep
Your supplementation… all in the same week, you create friction in every area of life.
And friction drains willpower.
Your nervous system doesn’t love radical shifts. It loves rhythm.
Health that lasts is built the same way strength is built. One repetition at a time.
The Problem With “All or Nothing”
The wellness industry rewards extremes.
30-day resets.
Hard detoxes.
Complete lifestyle overhauls.
But humans struggle to sustain extremes. We sustain foundations.
The people who feel strong in their 40s, 50s and beyond aren’t constantly restarting. They’ve built one base habit so solid it carries everything else.
That’s the difference.
A 3-Step Framework That Actually Lasts
If your health routines keep stalling after 30 days, simplify.
Here’s how:
1. Choose One Anchor Habit
One.
Not five.
Not ten.
One habit that feels foundational to your health.
It could be:
A glass of water when you wake up
Eating a protein-rich lunch
Taking your organ supplements daily
Walking for 20 minutes after dinner
Lifting weights three times a week
Your anchor habit should:
Be simple
Be repeatable
Support your energy
Support your metabolism
Support your resilience
It should feel like a base layer, not an extra burden.
For many in our community, that base layer is simply ensuring their nutritional foundations are covered every day.
No guesswork.
No complicated stacking.
Just consistent nourishment.
2. Make It Your Foundation
This is where most people go wrong. They treat habits as temporary projects.
Instead, your anchor habit becomes non-negotiable.
It’s not “when I feel motivated.”
It’s not “when life is calm.”
It’s your baseline.
Think of it like brushing your teeth. You don’t debate it. You just do it.
When your foundation is solid, everything else becomes easier:
Energy stabilises.
Cravings reduce.
Training feels more supported.
Focus improves.
Foundational nutrition is often the quiet driver behind sustainable change. When your body receives what it actually recognises, it stops fighting you.
That’s why we created Complete Beast, a simple, nose-to-tail foundation designed to support everyday nourishment without complexity.
No synthetic stacks.
No rotating protocols.
Just whole-food organ support in one place.
3. Build From There and Track Consistency, Not Perfection
Once your anchor habit feels automatic (usually 4–6 weeks), then you add one more layer. For example:
Add strength training
Or Meditation
Improve your bedtime routine
Limit screen time
Or refine food quality
But only once the base is stable.
And when you track progress, don’t track perfection. Track consistency. Did you show up 80% of the time? That’s success.
Health isn’t built in perfect streaks. It’s built in accumulated days. Small wins, stacked quietly.
What Real Progress Looks Like
It doesn’t look dramatic.
It looks like:
Fewer energy crashes
Clearer thinking
Stronger training sessions
Better recovery
Steady resilience
Nothing flashy. Just stability. And stability compounds.
That’s the philosophy behind modern ancestral nutrition.
Simple inputs. Recognisable nutrients. Daily rhythm.
Pure nutrition lasts because it’s consistent.
Before You Start Another 30-Day Plan…
Ask yourself:
What is my one anchor?
Build that. Protect it. Repeat it.
Everything else can come later.
Strength in simplicity always outlasts intensity.
And your body will thank you for choosing consistency over chaos.
Complete Beast
This one has been a long time in the making, and honestly, I couldn’t be more excited to finally share it with you.
Complete Beast is officially live and available to buy from today.
Now… let’s talk about why we made it, and the science behind it, because this product isn't just another “wellness supplement.”
This is real food, in its most complete form.
How Complete Beast Was Born
A few years ago, my son Rob (chef and all-round food genius) said something that completely stopped me in my tracks:
“Mum… why don’t we just freeze-dry a whole beast and encapsulate it?”
At first, I’ll admit it, I was doubtful.
Because if you know anything about organ-based nutrition, you know this isn’t a simple process. The sourcing. The preparation. The freeze-drying. The blending. The ratios. The quality control.
It’s a lot.
But once I got past the complexity, I realised something:
It was one of the best ideas I’d ever heard.
Nose-to-Tail; The Way Humans Always Ate
So, together with an athlete friend of mine, we started building what would become Complete Beast.
Not just liver.Not just “organ meat.”Not just the trendy bits.
But the whole animal, nose-to-tail, the way our ancestors consumed it.
And yes… I mean all of it.
Organs.Glands.Cartilage.Bone.Marrow.Even the eyes.
Because every part of the animal holds a different nutritional purpose. Different minerals. Different peptides. Different fat-soluble vitamins. Different growth factors.
The animal isn’t designed to be eaten in parts. It’s designed to be eaten as a whole.
The Science Behind It
Modern nutrition loves reductionism.
We isolate nutrients.We extract compounds.We try to mimic food in a lab.
But ancestral nutrition works differently.
It’s built on synergy.
When you consume the whole animal, especially the organs and connective tissues, you’re getting nutrients in the exact form nature intended: balanced, bioavailable, and complementary.
This is where Weston A. Price’s philosophy comes in so beautifully:
“Like supports like.”
In other words:
organs support organs
glands support glands
connective tissue supports connective tissue
This is traditional nutrition, validated by modern science.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
My reasoning for making this product wasn’t just about nutrients.
It was about honour.
Because ancestral humans never wasted a beast.
They didn’t throw away the organs.They didn’t discard the cartilage.They didn’t toss the bones into the landfill.
They used it all, with care, respect, and deep understanding.
And look at us now.
The rubbish bins are creaking under the weight of our excess and extravagance.We waste more than we consume.And we’ve forgotten how to nourish ourselves properly.
Complete Beast is our way of returning to something real.
Something respectful.Something sustainable.Something deeply nourishing.
Designed for Every Pantry
Complete Beast was designed to be a staple, not something “special” you take for a month and forget about.
This is pantry nutrition.
So you can say, with confidence:
“I’m getting the nutrition I need to stay healthy every day.”
Even if you don’t love cooking liver.Even if you don’t have access to nose-to-tail foods.Even if you’re busy, travelling, training, or juggling a busy schedule.
This is ancestral nutrition made simple for modern life.
Complete Beast is Here
I'm so proud of this product.
Because it’s much more than a supplement.
It’s a return to the way we were always meant to eat.
Whole animal. Whole nourishment. No wastage.
Complete Beast is live and ready for your pantry today.
