So I've been busier than a bee and have had nary a chance to write down all I learned at the Wise Traditions conference I went to a few weeks ago. Heck, I've hardly had time to even THINK about what I learned about. Yes, it's been that crazy. I'm trying to convince myself that life isn't going to slow down and that I need to get used to this pace. I'm naturally a pretty laid back gal, a go with the flow kind of lady, and a take everything as it comes kind of girl. This is how I function, but it's not the best way to approach life and it lends itself to lack of preparedness for the day, lack of productivity and stress. I've said it before and I'll say it again: stress + me = no bueno. I had plans of doing an explanation of every talk I listened to, but honestly I don't have the energy. I will simply write my notes and you can glean from them what you will. Sorry if you were wanting more, but I just don't have the time to give it. ******* ***Disclaimer: These are the notes that I wrote down in haste trying to remember everything that was said. I may have written down a thing or two (unintentionally) wrong (probably not, but maybe). Don't hold it against the speaker or myself. Thank you!*** Sooo, I got to meet Sally Fallon (AFL), which was so awesome! I was sitting down waiting for the first talk to begin (Sally's of course), and realized she was...ahem...sitting right in front of me. Whaaaaat?! So when she glanced over her shoulder I took the opportunity to say hello and begin a conversation. Probably everyday stuff for her, but I was in shock that I actually got to meet her. Needless to say, during her talk I deemed it downright necessary for me to take a picture with her. After all, we're friends now. Right? She is lovely and I'm thankful to meet someone who's worked so hard to help people eat well and take care of their bodies. Nourishing Traditional Diets- Sally Fallon 11 Principles for a healthy diet. 1) No refined or denatured foods No agave syrup or corn syrup (The process used to make agave uses many steps and solvents and renders a sugar that the body is unable to digest. Stick with the good stuff- raw honey and grade B maple syrup.) No hydrogenated oils, refined oils No protein powders 2)Every diet (in Weston A Price's book (afl)) contained animal products. -Fish and Shellfish -oil, bones, and heads -Birds -organs, fat, and skin -Red Meat -beef, goat, sheep, game, organ meat, and fat was the most preferred part of the animals -Milk and Milk Products (raw of course!) Only found in animal foods: -Vitamin A & D -Cholesterol -Vitamin b12 -AA, EPA, DHA (AA is a long chain, super-unsaturated fatty acid) More easily absorbed from animal foods: -Calcium (dairy and bone broth) -Vitamin b6 -Magnesium -Iron -Zinc -Copper Vitamin b12 Deficiency: Early signs- Chronic Disease- -fatigue -MS -tingling in hands and feet -Anemia -sleep disorders -Cancer -irrational anger -Heart Disease 3) ~Huge Deal~ Nutrient Density of Food. Primitive diets contain 4 times the calcium and other minerals and 10 times the fat soluble vitamins than our food. Sources of Vitamins A & D. ~From the Sea~ -Sea Food -Fish Eggs -Livers -Oils (Fermented Cod Liver Oil) -Heads, Oily Fish -Sea Mammals (traditional cultures, remember?) ~From the Land~ -Insects -Butter -Cream -Egg Yolks -Liver -Organ Meat -Animal Fat We cannot absorb and digest our food and all it contains as well without the fat soluble vitamins (A & D). Needed to convert Carotene to Vitamin A: -Fats in the diet. -Thyroid Hormone (assuming its working properly) -Enzymes -Vitamin A It is very difficult and nary impossible for following groups of people to be able to digest and absorb their food properly without the fat soluble vitamins. Mainly due to not mature enough immune systems or severely weak ones. -Babies and Children -Diabetics -Poor Thyroid -Poor Liver Function -Poor Intestinal Absorption (need to eliminate nitrites and nitrates from diet!) Vitamin A: Needed for numerous processes in the body. -Protein Assimilation -Calcium Assimilation -Proper Growth -Prevention of Birth Defects -Proper Function of Endocrine System -Thyroid Function -Immune System -Production of Stress & Sex Hormones -Eyes, Skin, and Bone Health Vitamin A is the conductor of the concert when it comes to baby formation. Vitamin A is depleted by ___ -Stress -Cold Weather -Fever and Illness -Physical Exertion -Exposure to Toxins Vitamin D is our feel good chemical. Myth: only need 10 minutes a day of sun exposure to get our daily dose of vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D out of cholesterol out of the action of sun exposure at mid-day. Sources of Vitamin D: -Fish Liver Oils (FCLO) -Fish Eggs -Shellfish -Oily Fish -Lard -Butter -Cream -Liver -Organ Meats Vitamin D is needed for ___ -Bones -Teeth -Proper Growth -Muscle Tone -Reproduction -Healthy Skin -Insulin Production -Immune System -Nervous System Activator X = Vitamin K2 Vitamin K2 is the animal form of Vitamin K. It helps prevent tooth decay. A, D, and K are the trio that help to keep us very healthy. Sources: -Natto -FCLO -Goose Liver -Cheese -Egg Yolk -Butter -Chicken -Fatty Meat -Sauerkraut Raw butter and Cheese is great for every day eating and COOK IN LARD!!! Cholene is critical for pregnancy preparation, pregnancy, and babies. We should eat liver once a week! It gives you the same amount of Zinc and other minerals as eating red meat every day. It is also inexpensive. FCLO works best when consuming plenty of animal fats. 4) All cultures cooked some or most of their food. Some animal food (aka meat/organ meat) they ate raw. Vitamin b6 is destroyed by heat and so we should eat some meat raw. Raw milk contains lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin. 5) Traditional diets contained high levels of enzymes. Fermented good is full of enzymes. Enzymes give energy. Enzyme Rich Foods: -Raw Dairy Products -Raw Meat & Fish -Raw Honey -Tropical Fruit -Cold Pressed Oil -Wine & Unpasteurized Beer -Lacto-Fermented Food -Vegetables -Meat (salami and etc) -Dairy -Fruits -Fish -Beverages Bacteria and Biofilm is 85% of our immune system so we should be eating a lot of enzyme rich foods to keep our guts healthy and properly functioning. 6) Soaked, Sprouted, and Fermented Did you know there is no food that has higher profit margins that breakfast cereals? And it is probably one of the WORST things you could eat. In order to properly soak your grains you need ___ -moisture -warmth -slight acidity -time 7) Total fat content of traditional diets vary from 30% to 80% of calories. Only 4% of calories come from polyunsaturated fats. We each need to learn what makes our bodies hum and thrive. While some of us can handle less fat in our diets, some of us need more. And please, get the notion out of your mind that fat = fat. You will not get fat if you eat butter, you'll be giving your gut a favor and helping it to digest food and help you to feel full faster. I'd rather eat butter any day than a honkin salad with nothing but bird food sprinkled on top. And if you don't believe me, you should see how much butter we go through in the McNeil household... 8) Equal amounts of omega 6 and omega 3's needed. 9) All traditional diets included salt. Salt is needed for ___ -Protein Digestion -Carb Digestion -Development of Brain -Adrenal Function -Cellular Metabolism Salt should be gray or pink...not white. Adult needs 1-1 1/2 teaspoons a day of salt. 10) All cultures made use of bones, usually as bone broth. If you haven't made bone broth yet...you MUST! 11) All cultures recognized the necessity of good nutrition for expecting mothers and those who would become mothers soon. Special foods for parents-to-be, pregnant women, nursing women, and growing children were of high importance. They spaced their children every 2-3 years to allow for the woman to be prepared physically and emotionally for a new baby. The elderly taught the young how to prepare, cook, and eat their food. The Life and Lore of Bone Broth - Tressa Yellig Minerals found in bone broth: -Calcium -Phosphorus -Magnesium -Potassium -Floride -Sulfur Bone broth helps the body digest food that is eaten throughout the day. Amino Acids: -Glycine -Proline Bone Marrow: Soak bones overnight in cold salted water, bake, and enjoy the marrow goodness! Gelatin: -Gives bones flexibility. -Improves digestion -Normalized stomach acid Never microwave bone broth! Microwaving the broth makes it toxic; especially to the liver, kidneys, and nervous system. Bone broth is a source of Glucosamine Sulfate. To Make Good Bone Broth... -heavy bottomed stock pot -clean water -good bones (variety) -splash of vinegar -aromatics (vegetables, herbs, spices) -time & patience (8 hours minimum on a tremulous simmer...I prefer 12-24 hours) -strainer -storage container -don't salt till done Broth will last for a few weeks in the fridge and you'll know when it's bad when the gelatin breaks down. Bone broth can last up to 6 months in the freezer. Cooking Time: -Up to 72 hours for beef or lamb. -Up to 24 hours for chicken. -Up to 4 hours for fish. -180-212 degrees while simmering - NO HOTTER! Types of Bones To Use for Broth: -Chicken: heads, backs, fat, wings, hearts, gizzards, feet, neck. -Beef: trachea, shanks, knuckles, ribs, hooves, oxtail, any that have exposed marrow. -Pork: any of above, but NOT cured bones. -Fish: heads, tails, spines. Broth is a bridge to a better diet. 1-2 lbs of bones per quart of water. If you want to have a richer broth, bake your bones first. Especially if they still have some meat on them. 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Fertility - Dr. Kaayla Daniel Trans fats affect everything, including fertility. Its best to avoid them along with all or most processed foods. We are very toxic these days due to constant exposure. Toxic Metals: -Aluminum -Mercury -Cadmium -Lead -Nickel If you are having a hard time getting pregnant, consider doing a metal detox. Look into copper toxicity which can over-estrogenize women. No matter what, avoid SOY! Tofu was originally a food for monks because it decreased their sexual desire. If a chinese woman wanted to punish an unfaithful husband, she'd feed him soy. Fertility Food: -Butter -Cream -Eggs (especially the yolks) -Raw Milk Cholesterol nourishes all of our hormones. Cultured vegetables are great for fertility and over-all health. Avoid MSG. Autolyzed yeast extract is code for MSG. Learn all the 'names' of MSG... Have a Healthy Pregnancy - Sally Fallon 1100 IU of Vitamin D is found in 1 Tbsp of grassfed lard. Moral of the story? EAT LARD. Cheese is one of our best forms of Vitamin K. Liver and Egg yolks are a must for preparing for pregnancy, during pregnancy, and baby's first year. Egg yolks should be baby's first food. Make sure you don't feed any white! Cholesterol is key to the healthy formation of your baby's gut. Eat liver and feed liver to baby when appropriate. Cook liver in butter or lard to get Vitamin D. Fish eggs are extremely healthy. To eat: -Crispy Pancake (recipe from HERE(afl)) -Sour Cream -Fish Eggs -Chopped Onions and Parsley You can eat chicken liver everyday, but you should only eat calf's liver a few times a week. You can get Vitamin b6 from raw milk, cream, and butter. Avoid industrial foods. Never has there been a case of listeria from raw milk. If you must take prenatal vitamins, take Dr. Rons Prenatal Vitamins. ******* As you can see, these are clearly notes and not in any way complete when it comes to the topics. I learned so much and probably could listen to the lectures a few more times to glean from them when I would like to. I will add a ridiculous amount of pictures to this post so you can have some more info. I got tired of writing and so took pictures of the slides. The lectures and slides will be available on the westonaprice.org website soon, but not sure when they will have it up. Here are the pictures of the slides. They are in no particular order. Too many pictures and I need to go to b-e-d.