Better Health through a Traditional Diet?

Are traditional diets the key to good health?  According to what I know about bio-individuality, they might just be!  If you don't know what bio-individuality is, in a nutshell, it's the notion that:

1.  Everyone's body is different.
2. Each of us has different health an dietary needs.
3. There is no "one perfect diet" for all humans, because humans are an extremely adaptable species that evolved to not only survive, but thrive on pretty much any diet and in pretty much any environment.
4. You have to listen to your body and give it what it needs.

Bio-individuality is based on the idea that your ancestry, family medical history, current health, environment, and a lot of other factors interact to determine the best diet for you personally.  Because we're all unique, there is no one "right diet" for everyone - regardless what the diet gurus who make a lot of money writing books about "perfect diets" say - and so what may be right for one person may be completely wrong for another.  That's why a key component for improving health through diet is experimenting with different foods and ways of preparing them, and LISTENING TO YOUR BODY to see how it responds. If something isn't working, or is making you sick, stop doing it.  Pretty simple, eh?

I love to cook and explore new flavors and for the past several years have been eating whole, unprocessed, locally grown (if possible), seasonal, and organic (if possible) foods most of the time.   I feel pretty good, but I think I could be better - and sure, I still enjoy some "store-bought" foods from time to time - but only occasionally.

I've been traveling a lot lately, and since food is a topic near and dear to most people's hearts, have had quite a few conversations about food.  One in particular with a German woman who told me her health had declined since moving to North America, really got me thinking.  She said was very healthy while living Germany and eating a traditional German diet, but when she came here, she started eating "American Junk," gained 100 lbs., and developed an autoimmune disorder that left her so sick she couldn't get out of bed some days.  She told me that when she went back to eating traditional German food, she lost 60 lbs. and many (though not all) of her symptoms cleared up.   I've have heard similar stories from people from other ethnicities and food traditions, so that got me thinking about what traditional diet would be best for me.

My ancestry is a European "stew" of English, Irish, Scots and German,with a bit of Dutch and French sprinkled in.  My ancestors came to the U.S. in the 1600's, and lived on a diet that included some traditional foods they brought with them, and some they found here and adapted to their traditional recipes (for example, cornbread and other corn products, tomatoes, peppers, etc. - which aren't native to Europe).  The European lands they came from had two seasons:  "warm" (April or May until September) and "winter," which was the other 6 months.  During the "warm" season they grew root vegetables, cole crops, peas and other legumes, but in winter they didn't eat vegetables, or only ate those they could preserve in cold cellars or by drying, salting, or pickling them.  Their bread would have been baked from native grains like rye, barley, oats and wheat - which had to be planted, cared for, harvested, dried and milled first - and would have been much easier to eat and bake into bread if soaked before use.  They would have eaten apples, currants, plums, and nuts along with game animals, game birds (chickens and turkeys are not native to Europe), the cows, pigs, and sheep they raised on their farms and the cheese, butter, and cream they made from the cow or sheep milk.  Fermentation, a key element of cheesemaking and vegetable preservation, would have been common.

Of course, what you eat isn't everything - we also have to keep in mind that our ancestors were more physically active, did not sit at computer screens all day, walked where they needed to go, and spent a lot more time outdoors and moved around throughout the day as they went about their business.  So physical activity also played a role in the good health and long lives most of my ancestors enjoyed.

So I'm going to try a traditional foods diet for awhile.  I figure - if it kills me, I'll die happy because my ancestors are also well known for delicious foods like hearty stews and meat pies, delicious cheeses, and apple cake - and if it doesn't kill me and/or my health gets even better, I might have an opportunity to watch my skinny, pro-vegetarian, fat-phobic doctor's reaction.  Who knows, maybe I'll even get her to realize that there are other things to eat in the world besides vegetables, fish, and rice!

Vollkornbrot (German rye bread) is a traditional food I'm trying right now.  It's full-flavored, heavy, hearty, and chock full of whole grains.  So far I like it best with homemade apple butter or cheese, but I'm still experimenting.  The version I tried came from Weaver Street Market, our local (mostly) health food co-op.  Their version might be slightly different than this recipe I want to try, but the ingredients are simple and straightforward - whole rye flour, water, rye berries, rye meal, sea salt and yeast.  Here's a recipe I plan to try soon!

I'm excited about this new food adventure and will let you know how it goes!

Until next time!

Karen