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Ancestral Tools and Why They Matter in the Modern Kitchen
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.
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The Power of Simplifying Your Diet
Why I Chose To Eat Animal-Based The reason I chose to live this way - eating pure, whole food - goes far beyond what’s on my plate. It defines how I live, how I care for my body, and how I think about health, longevity, and self-respect. This isn’t just about diet. It’s a conscious decision to step away from the noise and return to the things that actually sustain me. What Pure Food Really Means For me, pure food means real ingredients. We often say, “If it has more than three ingredients, it’s not real food.” And honestly, that feels spot on. Over decades, we’ve been seduced by the food industry into believing we can eat processed foods and still live long, healthy lives. Convenience replaced quality, and Marketing replaced the truth. Stepping outside that industry narrative and reclaiming purity as a non-negotiable has transformed my health. I’ve seen the same shift happen for many others on this path. My Family History Shaped My View Of Nutrition My mum was born in 1939. She lived through periods of scarcity, then abundance, much of it the wrong kind. She witnessed extreme dieting trends and the vilification of animal foods in the 1980s. She followed the advice she was given, trusted the so-called experts, and did what she thought was right. She’s now in her mid-80s and living with dementia, something I can’t help but link to decades of poor nutritional guidance. My grandmother, on the other hand, learned about food from her farming parents. Her nutrition was simple, grounded, and traditional. She lived well into her 90s and kept all her marbles right to the very end. That contrast isn’t lost on me. The Link Between Pure Nutrition And Longevity. I truly believe that pure nutrition lays the foundation for superior health and longevity. What we’ve lost over decades of industrialisation, government food guidelines, and Big Food corporations dictating what we should eat, is real nourishment. The result? Declining health across the population. Rising neurological issues in midlife. Accelerated physical decline in our seniors. This didn’t happen by accident. How Returning To Whole Foods Changed My Health Since returning to pure food, I feel the best I have in years. I’m lean. I’m fit. I’m pain-free. I’m mentally sharp. My cognition is clear. My energy is steady. I don’t feel any sense of decline in performance. I feel strong and resilient. This is what happens when you fuel your body with food it actually recognises. What Eating Pure Looks Like In Real Life Eating pure for me means choosing foods with one ingredient. Foods that aren’t engineered in factories; boxed, branded, or wrapped in plastic. There are no protein bars or cereal boxes in my cupboards. My food lives raw in the fridge or freezer. I eat minimally processed animal foods: meat, dairy, eggs, with fermented foods occasionally. I listen to my body. When I’m hungry, I choose high-protein, nutrient-dense food that actually satisfies me. Pure Food As An Act Of Self-Respect Pure food is an act of self-respect. It’s listening to your body instead of overriding it. It’s choosing quality over convenience. It’s choosing nourishment over noise. Why I’ll Never Go Back I’ll never go back to eating badly. I’m here for good, fuelled by pure, highly nutritious food that keeps me alive, awake, and vibrant. Because pure nutrition lasts.
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The Benefits of a Carnivore Diet for Cardio Performance
When you’re training your cardiovascular system, it’s not just about aerobic volume or intervals. It’s about fuelling, repairing and sustaining the lifeline of your performance: your heart, lungs and blood. At Homegrown Primal, we believe that an animal-based approach provides deep targeted support, especially when you include organ blends that nourish tissues often overlooked. Why It Matters Your heart isn’t just a muscle; it’s a metabolic engine. It demands intense nutrient support: from saturated fats for mitochondrial resilience, to organ-derived compounds for cell repair and circulation. Your lungs and the oxygen-exchange system depend on cellular membranes, phospholipids, and clean vascular walls. Animal-based nutrients provide the building blocks of these vital structures. Your blood carries energy as well as immunity and recovery signals throughout your body. Supporting whole-blood health means we’re supporting cardiovascular capacity, endurance, and recovery. Ruminant Organ Advantage Our Heart & Lung and Blood+ products are designed to feed these systems directly: Heart & Lung delivers organ-derived tissue support, rich in peptides, which your cardiovascular system can use for resilience and efficiency. Blood+ provides nutrients geared toward red-blood-cell membrane integrity, haemoglobin function, and immune cell health, all critical for oxygen delivery, clearing waste, and regenerating tissue under cardiovascular load. What The Experts Say Dr Ben Bikman emphasises that metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, lipid quality, and mitochondrial efficiency are key to cardiovascular integrity. He questions the idea that saturated fat alone causes heart disease, instead pointing to issues such as carb load, inflammation and vascular stress. Dr Paul Saladino promotes an animal-based, nutrient-dense, organ-rich diet as the foundation for lasting health. Though his model has evolved beyond strict carnivore, his core focus remains: feed the body with bioavailable nutrients to support structure and function from within. Together, their work supports a simple idea: organs aren’t just fuel, they’re tissue support for performance. How To Apply It Before training Eat saturated-fat-rich animal foods plus one serving of an organ product 1–2 hours before a long cardio workout. This primes mitochondrial capacity and supports blood flow. After training Use Blood+, which can help repair red-cell membranes, replenish immune cells, and enhance circulation, reducing vascular load and supporting recovery. On rest days Organ blends can serve as foundational nutrition because your heart and lungs don’t take a day off. Regular use ensures your cardiovascular system isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving. Track markers beyond HR and VO₂ Monitor blood pressure variability, heart-rate recovery, red-cell quality and subjective recovery (less fatigue, better sleep). Key Takeaways Modern cardiovascular training means: Stress the system (intervals, endurance, load) Fuel the system (saturated fats, organ blends, animal-based nutrients) Recover the system (blood health, tissue repair, mitochondrial support) Organ-based nutrition gives your body more than calories; it provides structure, support and the building blocks for repair. That’s the primal edge: a cardiovascular system built for resilience, endurance and longevity. FAQs For Animal-Based Cardio Support Can An Animal-based Diet Really Support Heart Health? Yes, when done right. Animal-based diets rich in saturated fats, organ nutrients, and clean protein can strengthen the cardiovascular system by improving mitochondrial efficiency, metabolic flexibility, and inflammation control. Experts like Dr Ben Bikman and Dr Paul Mason remind us that context matters; saturated fats behave differently in a low-carb, low-inflammation diet than in a high-carb, seed-oil-driven one. It’s about fuelling your heart with ancestral nutrition, not fear-based modern guidelines. What Does The Heart & Lung Blend Actually Do? Our Heart & Lung formula nourishes the tissues that keep you alive and moving. Each serving delivers organ-specific nutrients, including peptides, coenzymes, and tissue proteins, that the heart and lungs use for resilience, oxygen uptake, and energy regulation. Think of it as feeding your internal engine with the parts it’s made from. How Does Blood+ Help With Endurance And Recovery? Blood+ was formulated to support red and white blood cell integrity, the carriers of oxygen, nutrients, and immune defence. By nourishing blood cells with heme-iron, B vitamins, and natural cofactors from organ sources, you’re improving: Oxygen delivery to muscles Waste removal and recovery speed Overall cardiovascular performance Better blood means better endurance. How Do These Organ Blends Support Cardiovascular Training Specifically? Training puts your cardiovascular system under intense oxidative and metabolic stress. Organ blends like Heart & Lung and Blood+ feed that system at the cellular level, giving your heart mitochondria the nutrients they need to stay strong, while supporting the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood. It’s nutrition that trains with you, rebuilding the system as you challenge it. Do I Still Need To Do Cardio Training If I Take These Products? Absolutely. These blends don’t replace movement; they enhance adaptation. Cardio training strengthens the heart through load and demand. Organ-based nutrition provides the raw materials to recover, rebuild, and perform under pressure. One fuels the work. The other makes the work worth doing. Can I Combine Tallow Or Bone & Marrow With These Blends? Yes, that’s where you’ll feel the biggest benefit. Tallow Capsules provide the stearic and palmitic acids that power mitochondria. Bone & Marrow supplies the collagen and minerals that support vascular elasticity. Heart & Lung and Blood+ nourish the cardiovascular tissues and the blood itself. Together, they feed strength, endurance, and recovery at every level. In Summary Your cardiovascular system isn’t just a pump. It’s a living network of muscle, blood, and oxygen. When you fuel it with organ-based nutrition, you’re not guessing; you’re giving your body the fuel it’s biologically built for.
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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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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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Why Does Mainstream Health Advice Often Ignore Meat
Interestingly, I've spent the last few hours searching google, for articles that the average person would want to read about health and diet. I'm not surprised about my findings; so many articles about healthy food, fresh vegetables, grains, and not much about meat and its abilities to maintain a healthy immune system, and metabolic health. Thankfully I have podcasts loaded up on Spotify, for my daily run/walks to fill my mind with the latest research from the people I really rate in this field. Most are functional doctors, some are scientists and others athletes or biohackers who are wanting more from their nutrition, or are not convinced the the health guidelines that have been promoted by our 'institutions' for healthy living. How to Hack Your Way to Better Metabolic Health I thought that I'd share them with you here: If you have been wanting to find out information about how you can hack your way to metabolic health please click these links below, and sign up to their regular podcasts. Dr Paul Mason on Metabolic Health and Immune Function https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lJPjsuftmQ Dr Paul Mason, talks about metabolic health, and the five markers of health or sickness that give us an indication of our ability to fight virus's and longterm sickness like diabetes and heart disease. Paul Saladino on Herd Immunity and Metabolic Resilience https://www.facebook.com/carnivoreMD/videos/582562685939040/UzpfSTEwMDAwMTE5MjQwMjc0MjoyNzgwMTQxNzQyMDM1NTQ1/ Paul Saladino, the carnivoreMD who really gets to question the way the virus shut down has been handled. He also offers some great insight into herd immunity and our Metabolic health. Mental Health, Nutrition and the Carnivore Diet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgL1vlasrxU Ken Berry and Georgia Ede, talking about mental health and nutrition! Both these educated doctors are carnivores and talk about their journey back into health and how important what we put in our mouths determines our metabolic health, and our ability to combat disease. The Role of Ancestral Diet and Organ Meat in Metabolic Health Hopefully you're inspired to read further, and take a good look at your diet, your metabolic health and steps towards a fuller, more expansive healthy life. All these guys, know the value of the ancestral diet and the place that organ meat has in this diet. Freeze-Dried Organ Supplements for Optimal Health Please also head to our shop for free delivery during April and 10% off your first order. Our organs are freeze dried, so they are raw! and all the goodness is retained, so you are getting all the vitamins, minerals and trace elements, peptides and amino acids that you need for optimal health.
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The Benefits of Eating Organ Meats
The standard diet, does not contain any organ meats. In fact, organ meats are demonized for having fat and cholesterol. This is truly a shame, because organ meats from grassfed animals are one of the most nutrient-dense foods available, being packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients. Our ancestors knew the value of organ meats. They gave great value to liver, heart, and kidney, and used these foods to support the health of their own organs. We can do the same.
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