Eat the Butter

In 2009, I documented my self-given challenge to eat only local food for 1 year.  What began as a fun experiment turned into a complete lifestyle change and a very eye opening experience. 

I never felt or looked healthier than I did that first month of January when I was eating only what was in season around Washington DC- pastured pork chops with a thick layer of pure white fat, kale and winter greens sauteed in bacon fat, dozens of pastured eggs with bright orange yolks, slabs of raw milk cheese and apples, winter squash with generous pats of butter, glasses of creamline milk from Maryland grass-fed cows, and the occasional bowl of handmade sprouted-grain pasta with veal meatballs and late summer tomato sauce.  I ate bacon every day and saved the fat for cooking.  I was happy, really happy. And always satisfied.  I lost 10 pounds that first month without ever stepping inside a gym.

Unfortunately, since then I have slipped away from my conscious and traditional eating ways and have fallen for the traps for Western diets.  Low fat, lots of brown rice, less meat and animal products, more tofu.  Or worse, unconsciously eating the Standard American Diet of pasta, bread, processed foods, lean meats and sugar.  

You know that post-Thanksgiving gut that pushes uncomfortably over the button of your jeans?  Yeah I've had that for about a year now.  I've always been fond of my belly, with our shared love of good food and all, but now it's gotten out of hand.  It's starting to want to take center stage in my life and, well, I'm too much of a spotlight diva to let that happen.  

So this is the start of a new "experiment".  I want to know if I really can get to a healthy weight and stay there on a high-fat traditional foods diet.  Even knowing all that I know about how great this way of eating is, I still have fears about really eating THAT much fat.  I am an American girl, after all, and I was raised in the low-fat, high-carb craze of the early 90s.  But I know that isn't the right way

Since I started my local food experiment and found others eating a similar way, I've believed very strongly in the benefits of this traditional, native diet, such as is promoted by the Westin A. Price Foundation and it's president Sally Fallon in her "politically incorrect" cookbook Nourishing Traditions.  I won't even try to hide my overwhelming bias towards Native people knowing best, but Price and Fallon had none and still came up with some remarkable research findings. 

Consider this:

- Raw milk is a whole, perfect, nourishing food.  And it's illegal to buy in most states. 

- Food borne illness breakouts have occurred rampantly in the industrial food system in recent years- spinach, peanuts, eggs, ground beef.  There have been no incidents of these fatal breakouts linked to raw milk. 

- Butter is one of the most health promoting foods in the world, and it's demonized by the US government. 

- Protein overload is a serious strain on the body, possibly leading to certain cancers.  Protein is very important for body development, but should be eaten with a significant amount of fat.

- Infertility and fetus underdevelopment are side effects of a low-fat, low-nutrient diet during reproductive years and pregnancy.  

- Refined sugar and grains (white flour, rice, etc) are detrimental to our bodies. They contain almost no nutrients and cause myriad problems to our digestive system and teeth.  The USDA recommends 10-12 servings of (refined) grains per day. 

- Whole grains are very difficult for human bodies to digest, and should always be "pre-digested" by soaking overnight to sprout.  

- Fermentation is a near lost preservation method in this country, and provides essential enzymes for digestive and whole body health.  Sauerkraut, kimchi, and sourdough are all fermented foods. 

There is so much more to their research and the traditional diet, and I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Nourishing Traditions, checking out RealMilk.com, and some great traditional food blogs (in additional to this one!) like CheeseSlave and Nourished Kitchen.  

So break out the butter and oysters, friends.  It's time to get real.