Nourishing Traditions

I haven't been motivated to post lately as I have been trying to get my head around some contradictory nutritional information (contradictory to my eating programme!) I have been reading up on lately. Why would I bother reading and even considering this information when my programme works sooooo well for me?

All I can say is - it rings of truth for me. It all started when my son was diagnosed with a gluten and dairy intolerance a few months ago. Not all dairy though - yogurt is ok, even good for him - because it is a fermented milk product and thus easy to digest. My homeopath recommended a booked called, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, which dedicates an entire chapter to fermented dairy products and why these are so beneficial to us - plus how to make them. I checked the book out of the library and read that section, and I started making some of the foods for my son. He liked them a lot, and his intolerance symptoms of diarrhea and exczema diasappeared.

But then I started reading the rest of the book - and let me tell you, it is a big book! Here's what it's about as outlined on Fallon's publishing website:

'Topics include the health benefits of traditional fats and oils (including butter and coconut oil); dangers of vegetarianism; problems with modern soy foods; health benefits of sauces and gravies; proper preparation of whole grain products; pros and cons of milk consumption; easy-to-prepare enzyme enriched condiments and beverages; and appropriate diets for babies and children."

This book is a combination of science-based explanation of why particular foods are good for us, factual anecdotes about traditional cultures that have eaten these foods for countless generations and detailed food preparation techniques and recipes. To me, it seems a complete handbook to how we should eat - it makes sense to me because these aren't 'new fangled' foods. They are foods that exist in nature for the consumption of human beings.

And how does this contradict my eating programme? Well, the biggest difference is with regard to FAT - the type of fat and the amount of fat recommended. I eat a very low fat diet but I still eat some good fats found in certain foods (even according to Nourishing Traditions) such as almonds, salmon and olive oil. But butter and coconut oil??? Those are pretty much swear-words in my eating programme. I will admit though ... I have added 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil to my food each day. I am starting with that to see what it does to my weight over the next 4 weeks.

I will be making many more changes to what we eat in our household as per Nourishing Traditions. However, for me, I need to tread carefully with the fat. It is a dense form of energy and will still require metabolic effort on my part to burn it off - as I certainly don't want to be storing it!