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Hot and Cold Therapy: The Benefits of Sauna and Cold Plunging
Maintaining my health, now that I'm on the right track. Now that you are enjoying good robust health keep doing what you are doing. Thinking always about our ancestral principles to tune in and maintain this amazing healthy body that you have.
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Cholesterol and the Animal Based Diet
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.
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What Should You Eat During Pregnancy? A Nutrient-Dense Approach for Mother and Baby
Meat and Organs are fantastic first foods. For pregnant and lactating mummas they should be eaten every day to ensure that you and your baby are getting the best nutrition. Help contribute to the health of our future!
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Carnivore vs Paleo vs Vegan: How to Choose the Best Diet for Your Body
Humans Are Genetically Designed for a Hunter-Gatherer Diet 99.99% of our genes were formed before the development of agriculture. S. BOYD EATON MD. Medical anthropologist. As a species we are essentially genetically identical with respect to genetic expression, regardless of blood type to those humans living for than 40 thousand years ago’ NORA GEDGAUDAS author. Now think about how this knowledge can determine your food choices?? And your questions regarding your own nutrition and your families. We are essentially modern men in cave man bodies!! And with this in mind think about our species and how current ill health and everything falls into place. We are not feeding ourselves evolutionarily correctly. Eating Seasonally: What Food Looked Like for Early Humans So, popping your head out of the cave, mid summer, your food is lush. Fruit, wild berries, honey and meat. Animals are all well fed and fat, and there for the taking!! We are physiologically, biologically and genetically hunter gathers. This is how homo sapiens began their journey to modernity. By feeding themselves with meat and fat and grazing on sweet fruit that was in season. This food is what our bodies are designed to operate on, optimally. By choosing to eat evolutionarily there is so much variety. One of the advantages of being in the 21st century is that we do not have to hunt our food. We can!! If we want to. However, choosing to support farmers who produce amazing food is really where our food dollars should be going. Climate, Evolution and the Role of Environmental Stress The climate fluctuations had a massive influence on these early homo sapiens, who evolved through many ice ages. What food was around then? Certainly not plants! But we evolved and developed big brains and the smarts to survive under difficult conditions. I guess that's why now, the cold is essential for our bodies as an environmental stressor. Humans have evolved to benefit physically from tough conditions. During the ice ages, there was never any fruits or vegetables to provide the hormetic challenges we needed. What Did the Caveman Eat? Evidence from Early Humans An interesting study by Bryant and Williams-Dean 1975, looked at fossilized human feces which revealed a complete lack of plant material. (Interesting!!) So diets consisting of high amounts of carbohydrates is a modern phenomenon, one that we have not had time to adapt to or create defense against. Therefore we are a species with many diseases that we have created with this radical change of food. The fact that our bodies manufacture their own glucose for energy and brain function when needed from the other two macros, protein and fat. However most organs and tissues in the body prefer to use ketones. Are Carbohydrates the Cause of Modern Disease? All the modern diseases including cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, all are a result of too many carbohydrates not excess fats in the diet. Other contributing factors are man made fats, trans fats, rancid oils (oils oxidise from the moment they are produced) and other pollutants like glyphosate in our food chain. If you want to learn more I recommend this book. https://thebigfatsurprise.com The Diet-Heart Hypothesis and the Saturated Fat Debate My concern is that dietary fats have been vilified during my lifetime, and that doctors are still prescribing useless and quite dangerous drugs to lower cholesterol even though we now know that saturated fats are life-giving!!! With the chronic consumption of carbohydrate and man made fats we have created metabolic syndrome. Together with other factors, stress, dieting, lack of exercise and a diet deficient in protein and good fats, (Weve come out of a low fat high carb paradigm). Metabolic syndrome is contributing to all our modern dis- eases. 90% of Americans have metabolic syndrome!!! New Zealand Dietary Guidelines and the Carbohydrate Paradigm Our current health guidelines in NZ recommends 6 servings a day of carbohydrate in the form of grains. Also lean meat and low fat dairy. Therefore maintaining ill health. It seems that the health department and big pharma need each other. Again, its about following the money. https://www.nzihf.co.nz/media-resources-1/articles/personal%20training-nutrition-guidelines-adults One major health concern for adults in western countries is excessive dietary fat intake. This concern applies particularly to saturated fat, which increases the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and hypertension (NHF 1999). A high-fat intake has also been associated with colorectal cancer (Baghurst et al 1997). NZ food guidelines (current document) The diet-heart hypothesis (that suggests that high intake of fat and cholesterol cause heart disease) has been repeatedly shown to be wrong and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit and prejudice , the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fundraising enterprises, food companies and every governmental agency. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century. GEORGE V MANN MD. Researcher. Returning to a Prehistoric Food Pyramid If we can stick to the prehistoric food Pyramid I believe we will live long and healthy lives. That is the majority of our food as grass fed meat, wild game, fat and some seafood. Some seasonal fruit and raw dairy. There is so much amazing food available to us now. Remember to support your local farmers, and farmers markets. Don't buy food that has been processed or imported. Got more questions about diet and nutrition, Take a look at our FAQs page for more information.
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Everything Wrong With the Modern Diet (And Why Ancestral Eating Matters)
How Modern Life Has Pulled Us Away from Natural Living We have come such a long way from the lazy days on the farm. It seems now that the hamster wheel that is our daily life is impossible to get off but we are all searching for a respite, and a rest. Finding the answer could be the key to enabling the ‘slowdown’ and ‘breathe’. The realisation that I can step off the fast pace life, and take a breath without my life falling apart is a massive mind shift. I believe it starts with food. The Human Animal and the Need for Real Food Deeply embedded in our psyche is the animal, who needs natural foods, warmth, and company. For many years we've been pushing this animal away and numbing it down by this fast paced life, grabbing fast food, staying up late working and not resting, all the while thinking that we've “got to keep” going. Daily releasing the fight hormones that keep us running away from the tiger!! Why Returning to an Ancestral Diet Matters Getting back to an ancestral diet, one that is uncluttered with additives, one that is full of whole foods, not packed and processed for longevity on the shelf, is the first key to stepping off the wheel. The Rise of Fast Food and Processed Culture Fast foods have been part of our culture since the 70’s. KFC opened in Auckland in 1971!! And since then the large chains have been providing nutrient deficient foods to NZers!!! That's 50 years to create more disease and more self loathing than we have ever experienced. To undermine the health of an entire species. Easy to buy, mostly affordable and playing into our narrative of ‘not enough time to cook’. Modern Diet-Related Disease in New Zealand We as a nation have been afflicted with more diabetes, heart disease, gut issues, and obesity than any other time in history. We now need CHANGE. The New Movement Toward Whole-Food Living There's a new wave of healthy people, some who are thriving due to experimenting with their own food, some whose health has been so bad that they have found their own way through elimination. The ancestral diet, or getting back to basics, shows that we don't need all the additives and the processing. That we can sustain and nurture ourselves naturally, with locally sourced food its not impossible to regain our health, our birthright to radical aliveness. Are Paleo, Keto and Low-Carb Diets Just Fads? We are all familiar with these abbreviations; paleo, keto, fodmap, and we all know that the atkins diet was all about protein. These diets encourage us to look beyond the food pyramid and beyond the fast food drive through. They have been birthed from a sick and unhealthy population who need answers and a change. But are they just fads? The Truth About the Food Pyramid The food pyramid wants you to think that fads don't last and that you need 5 servings of veg a day, 50% carbs, lean meat, and no saturated fats! FYI the food pyramid is sponsored by Kelloggs, Big Food and Big Pharma!! But they are not fads, they are birthed from people pushing against the standard food narrative. Eating Local and Seasonal for Radical Health Getting back to basics and eating simply and local is a new movement, driven by thinkers who want more than to just exist. I believe it is the way to radical health. I Don't want to eat food that has traveled some distance and I don't want to eat food that is out of season!! Our inner animal wants warm slow cooked in the winter, when fruits are scarce and light meals when fruit is in season. When we can make yogurt from fresh milk and eat freshly slaughtered lamb chops!! Its simple and its simply nourishing. How to Start an Ancestral or Animal-Based Diet Starting is easy, clean out all the packaged food from your pantry, and fridge. Be ruthless! Take all the seed oils and dump them! That's all the processed oils from plants. These are not doing you any good! Remove the sugar. Start reading labels. Don't buy anything that has more than 2 ingredients! Engaging with these guidelines the food choices get interesting!! Meat, eggs, cheese, (dairy if you can) Fish, seasonal fruit. We use salt on our food. We cook in butter or tallow. The Benefits of Nutrient-Dense Animal Foods Nutrient rich foods like these can sustain you, hunger pains go and life feels bigger and more alive. Nutrients from animal foods are 100% bioavailable, this means that the body, when digesting, can use all of the food, it wastes nothing!! Liver is nature's superfood, it is dense in essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids that keep you sated and thriving. Drinking bone broth everyday provides you with enough collagen to help you recover from exercise, keeps you hair growing lustrously and keeps your skin glowing. Why You Should Try an Animal-Based Ancestral Diet So if you're feeling slow, sluggish, not thriving. If your gut health could be better, if your skin and hair are dull, I suggest you try switching to the Animal based, Ancestral way of eating. Try it for a month and see if you can transform your life.
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What are Healthy Fats?
The Perils of Vegetable and Seed Oils Reprinted with thanks from Ancestral Health: The Debate: Sugar vs Polyunsaturated Oils The debate continues as to which is worse for your health—sugar or polyunsaturated oils. Here is Alex Fergus’s takedown of vegetable and seed oils, and generally foods with higher levels of polyunsaturated fats. ”PUFA's: The Worst Thing For Your Health That You Eat Everyday” https://www.alexfergus.com/.../pufa-s-the-worst-thing-for... Ranking the Biological Safety of Fats What I found most useful is his chart ranking the biological safety of fats. This morning I’ve already had some cacao butter (100% chocolate), ghee (clarified grassfed butter) and beef tallow (grassfed). Among other benefits, each of these is predominant in the saturated fat stearic acid (C18:0), which signals mitochondrial fusion, which makes mitochondria larger and more efficient, producing less free radical damage than when burning carbohydrates. The effect peaks 3 hours after eating, so I have some when I get up to be in peak metabolic readiness for my morning aerobic activity, such as cycling, kayaking or running. The DHA Question: The Polyunsaturated Fat Conundrum Of course the eternal conundrum regarding polyunsaturated fats always is DHA, which has important benefits in terms of biophysics and biology. The best natural sources of DHA are cold-water marine animal fats and grass-fed ruminant fat. The problem with DHA or fish oil supplements is that DHA is highly oxidisable once outside the cell (or the source is overcooked). Why bother with DHA? There are numerous performative advantages to DHA, especially with regard to cognition, brain resilience and transport of the fat in blood triglycerides into cells for fat-burning (important for the heart muscle). DHA Biophysics and Quantum Properties DHA biophysics is highly conserved in evolution and the biochemistry has evolved to exploit quantum effects of DHA, with it’s highly symmetric structure with short-length bonds that enable quantum effects and even molecular memory. The fundamental principles of reality as a complex adaptive system result in a hierarchy of layers of complexity, generally the progression of layers from physics to chemistry, to biology, to ecology, to society. The unique quantum properties of DHA enable the biology layer to bypass chemistry to exploit the biophysics of DHA to derive quantum benefits from a layer below the chemistry layer on top of which biology generally operates. Quantum effects, in essence, enable optimization problems to be solved using features of physics that operate faster than the speed of light. Quantum Computing Comparison: Understanding Complexity For example, an ordinary computer effectively tops out at problems of polynomial time-and-space complexity, such as problems that require n to the power 3 computational power. A quantum computer can solve problems of NP-complete or perhaps even exponential complexity, such as problems of order 3 to the power n. DHA is the clutch that engages this higher gear of biophysics capacity in ways evolved to enhance our biology. - Murray Braithwaite
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The Nutrients You Get From Grass Fed Bone Marrow
Freeze-Dried Raw Bone Marrow – Nutritional Breakdown Our Bone + Marrow blend is freeze dried raw, keeping all the nutritional goodness 100% available to us. Below is the breakdown. Each capsule contains 500mg of natural beef bone matrix, marrow and cartilage blend. Bone and marrow have both been valued throughout history for their concentrated nutrient profile: Calcium: supports normal bone density and skeletal strength Phosphorus: supports structural integrity of bones and teeth Type I & II Collagen: supports joint health, connective tissue, and structural support Hyaluronic Acid & Chondroitin: support joint lubrication and cartilage integrity Fat-Soluble Vitamins A, D, E & K2: support normal immune function and cellular health Essential Fatty Acids: support connective tissue health and overall cellular function Stem Cell Cofactors & Specialised Lipids: support tissue regeneration and recovery Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite: provides bioavailable mineral matrix for skeletal support Bone Marrow Compounds: deliver nutrients naturally found in whole bone for comprehensive support B Vitamins and Energy Production Bone marrow provides a small amount of the B vitamins pantothenic acid, thiamine, and biotin, which are needed for important bodily processes, including energy production. Collagen Content and Skin & Joint Health It’s also rich in collagen, the most abundant protein in your body. Supplementing your diet with collagen is thought to promote skin health and reduce joint pain Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) and Immune Support Bovine bone marrow contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103755/), a type of fat that could decrease inflammation and enhance immune function and increases bone and calcuim metabolism. Additional Compounds Found in Bone Marrow Though more research is needed, bone marrow is also thought to provide several other key compounds, including glycine, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Summary Bone marrow is high in calories and fat. It also contains protein, vitamin B12, riboflavin, collagen, and conjugated linoleic acid. If you'd like to find out more this is a great place to start: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6704137_The_Role_of_Nutrients_in_Bone_Health_from_A_to_Z
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Glandular Therapy: Benefits, Mechanism of Action, and Immune Support
Geeky Stuff; The theory behind eating nose to tail for health. Reprinted from Owen Millar, humbly with thanks.
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Are Collagen Supplements Helpful for Arthritis?
Article reproduced from arthritis.org You’ve read the hype, gelatin, collagen supplements, even bone broth will ease your arthritis. But can collagen supplements or bone broth really help your arthritis? What is Collagen? Collagen is the most abundant protein in the animal kingdom. There are 16 types of collagen, but nearly all the collagen in your body is type I, II or III. Types I and III are found in your skin, tendons, organs and bone. Type II collagen is found in your cartilage – and hence, its link to arthritis. Collagen is made of amino acids (the building blocks of protein). The idea behind taking these supplements is that your body will use the amino acids to protect and rebuild your joint cartilage. Types of Collagen Supplements There are three types of collagen supplements: gelatin, hydrolyzed and undenatured. Gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen have been broken down from large proteins to smaller bits. When collagen is boiled for a long time (as in bone broth), it gets broken down into gelatin. Collagen can be further “predigested” into its basic amino acids and is called collagen hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatin, collagen peptides, or hydrolyzed collagen. Undenatured collagen is not broken into smaller proteins or amino acids. Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) is not intended to be used by your body as a collagen re-builder. In a process called oral tolerance, very small doses of UC-II are taken to train your body’s immune system to stop attacking its own collagen, explains Kimberly Sanders, ND, Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. Do They Work? From a dietary perspective, your body can’t tell whether you ate a hydrolyzed collagen supplement, a piece of chicken, or some black beans. They’re all sources of protein, and once your digestive system has broken them down into amino acids, they are indistinguishable. So why bother with collagen supplements? Dr. Sanders says the “predigested” collagen supplements make the amino acids more easily available to your tissues. And, she explains, “When you take hydrolyzed collagen, you’re getting a boost of the specific amino acids that are rich in collagen.” But, she agrees, amino acids are amino acids and it doesn’t ultimately matter where they come from. The results of hydrolyzed collagen supplements research have been mixed. Some small studies, including a 2017 review article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, have shown that people taking collagen supplements do experience pain relief. Other studies have found no benefit. No studies have found that collagen hydrosylates grow or repair cartilage. Studies for UC-II have not been conclusive. A 2016 study published in Nutrition Journal divided 191 people with osteoarthritis into three groups: one group received placebo; one group received UC-II and the third group received chondroitin sulfate supplements. After 180 days of treatment, the UC-II group had better pain, stiffness, and function than the placebo group (and a bit better than the chondroitin group). UC-II studies done on people with rheumatoid arthritis have had mixed results. A 2009 double-blind trial that included more than 500 people with RA found that undenatured collagen improved participants’ pain, morning stiffness, tender joint count and swollen joint count, but not as well as methotrexate. The study, published in Arthritis Research and Therapy, concluded that UC-II is safe and effective in the treatment of RA. “There’s not enough evidence to say that every patient with arthritis would benefit from any collagen supplement. But enough to say it’s promising, and studies should continue,” says Dr. Sanders. What to Look for Although evidence for the use of collagen supplements is unclear, you can be certain they’re not harmful if taken as directed. Some people do, however, complain of stomach upset or diarrhea. Dr. Sanders gives these recommendations for people wanting to give collagen supplements a try: UC-II should be taken in very small doses – usually 20–40 mg per day. Gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen should be taken in higher doses – 10 gm per day. It’s easiest to get this in powder form and blend it into a smoothie or other drink. Be aware that most collagen supplements are derived from animal tissues. If you are vegetarian or vegan, look for supplements labeled as “plant-based collagen builder.” These should have the same amino-acid balance as collagen, but not derived from animal sources. Unlike prescription and over-the-counter medications, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not “approve” dietary supplements like collagen or UC-II for safety and efficacy. Always tell your doctor what you’re taking and look for seals of approval from U.S. Pharmacopeia, ConsumerLab or NSF International to be more sure the products are manufactured properly. Author: Beth Axtell Related Resources Supplement & Herb Guide 9 Supplements for Arthritis 9 Supplements to Avoid Herbs for Arthritis
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