Even before we had a baby I was interested in how ancestral nutrition influences fertility and fetal and child development.
It struck me as crazy that, in accordance with conventional “nutrition” advice and mainstream marketing, babies are often fed things like rice cereal, cheerios and little cookie biscuit things as their first foods. (It says “for baby” on the package so isn’t it good??)
And then we wonder why toddlers (and then kids and teens) are grumpy, tired, have dark circles under their eyes and behavior issues, just to mention a few…
So when our daughter Isla was around 4 months I started researching what we should feed her when she starts solid foods. This was especially of interest because I’d never really made enough breastmilk for her, and we had been relying on donor milk to help her grow.
I didn’t want to give her conventional formula considering I wouldn’t eat most of those ingredients myself. Luckily I found out about the Weston A. Price Foundation baby formula, which is designed to provide similar nutrition to breastmilk but with whole foods. We make the formula with high-quality milk that we get from a farm nearby.
The WAPF formula and pumped breastmilk make up the majority of her diet, and then I wanted to make sure we were introducing the right foods for her. I had heard of people feeding babies things like avocado, banana and sweet potato.
Although WAPF recommends root vegetables such as sweet potato, carrot and beet as first foods, other research indicates that root vegetables and leafy greens are higher in nitrates, which should be avoided until 6 months and should make up a smaller part of baby’s diet to start.
Best First Foods for a Primal Baby
soft-cooked egg yolk (from free-range eggs, with a pinch of real salt)
avocado
broth
pureed meat and liver
butternut or acorn squash with butter
banana
Foods That Should Wait Until Later (ie After 1-Year)
cooked leafy green vegetables
raw salad vegetables
citrus fruit
whole egg
grains
nuts and seeds
Should you do baby-led weaning?
I assumed baby-led weaning would be our approach, as it seemed to be what most crunchy parents do. Then I read this article by Sally Fallon from Weston A. Price and changed my approach a bit.
In a nutshell she says that the foods most people prepare for baby to eat by themselves are not actually the foods that baby needs most (ie little sticks of soft vegetables, most of which don’t actually end up in baby’s mouth anyway).
Since the most important nutrients for a baby to get from 4-6 months are iron and zinc, we need to ensure they actually consume some of these important foods.
I get the idea behind baby-led weaning, and definitely do want Isla to feel exploratory and independent in the way she interacts with food, but I also agree with the WAPF commentary linked above.
I learned that:
Food before One is NOT just for fun
As a result we do a mix of spoon-feeding (without ever forcing or even encouraging her to eat more than she’s interested in – I find it’s VERY obvious when she wants more, she opens her mouth and slaps her hands up and down) and also letting her explore food on her own.
Although at this point, she nearly 6 months and doesn’t actually put food in her mouth at all. I think it’s very important to do at least some spoon-feeding to ensure she’s getting that iron.
I believe with this approach we are setting her up to enjoy whole foods and have a nourished body for life.
As health-savvy humans, we have the ability to take our digestive wellness into our own hands. We can consciously think about what we eat, knowing the choices we make will affect not only our digestion, but our overall health. Unfortunately, your dog is not so lucky. As utterly loyal and trusting companions, they’ll eat almost any food you give them, whether it’s good for them or not.
I’ve lost count of the amount of people I’ve met who are in tip-top shape themselves, but who own dogs that appear to have serious health issues. While those people might have made a commitment to stay away from the doctor by eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, they don’t think twice about taking their pet into the vet whenever their beloved pooch falls ill.
The fact is, you are responsible for ensuring that your dog receives the best possible food you can get your hands on. Combined with a suitable exercise routine and plenty of TLC, cleaning up their diet will ensure they can achieve optimum health, and you’ll ultimately save big on vet bills and worries. Not a bad tradeoff, when you think about it!
Your dog’s ancestors hold the key
Today’s everyday pooch has had about as much time as we humans to adapt to the typical “modern” diet. For most people (and most dogs), that means lots of grains, lots processed foods, and all manner of additives, coloring agents, and synthetic who-knows what. And like us, all of these ingredients are doing them far more harm than good.
Most canine experts now believe that humans began to domesticate dogs around 30,000 years ago. Around the same time that the agricultural revolution was taking place, as it happens. From this point on, the diet of your dog’s ancestors began to slowly but surely change, as those dogs began to eat whatever was available in and around human settlements. Dogs are opportunistic foragers, after all – they’ll eat almost anything, especially if they’re hungry.
The problem is, the digestive systems of domesticated dogs haven’t been able to evolve at the same rate that their diets have changed. Evolution just doesn’t work that quickly, unfortunately! If it did, gluten wouldn’t be an issue for our gut (which would make an estimated 18 million gluten-sensitive Americans very happy), and we could chow down on sugary treats without any ill-effects. The point is, the digestive system of your dog is still designed to process the foods it’s ancestors ate in the wild, rather than the humanized diet he or she receives today.
How to simulate a wild diet for your dog
Obviously, short of removing your dog’s collar, giving it a slap on the rump and watching it grudgingly trot into the mountains, it’d be rather difficult to exactly simulate the diet that your dog’s ancestors ate. There’s plenty of other factors to consider as well, such as different lineages, cross-breeding, and slight digestive adaptations that are bound to have occurred over 30 millennia or so. With that in mind, you need to work with the tools you’ve got, and as usual paleo is definitely best.
Before we dive in, I’d still advise discussing any planned major dietary changes with your vet. They’ll at least be able to tell you whether any of the foods you plan to give your dog are recognized as unsafe for their digestive systems. Best to play it safe, people!
After doing a whole heap of research and examining the eating habits and responses of my own family’s border collie, I was able to get a good idea of what a modern version of that ancestral wild dog diet might look like. Here’s some of the foods that make up the staples of our pup’s paleo diet:
raw meat (beef, lamb, venison, chicken…basically whatever. Grass fed/pastured and organic is best. This should comprise the bulk of your dog’s diet)
bone broth (usually around 1/4 to 1/2 cup per day, to maintain healthy bones, joints and skin)
raw, uncooked bones (beef, lamb and venison bones are best, as they provide a lot more chewing capacity and don’t run the risk of breaking off into sharp pieces like chicken bones tend to do)
organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, brain, etc. Similar to us humans, eating organ meats once or twice a week can make a big difference to your dog’s health)
eggs (only occasionally, however. Dogs are foragers, and there’s no doubt that they would have wolfed down the occasional egg when it fell out of a tree. Again, make sure the egg is at least free range, if not organic)
certain vegetables and fruit (this one is a little controversial, and experts continue to argue about whether dogs should eat vegetables or not. We occasionally give our pooch the ends of carrots, the odd blueberry, and the odd apple core (seeds removed!). She loves vegetables and fruit, and has never had any digestive issues from eating them)
probiotics (this is purely optional, but it may make a big difference to your pooch’s digestive health – especially if they’ve ever been put on antibiotics)
Keep in mind that the digestive system of your dog is designed to thrive on meat, organs and bones – basically everything they could tear off an animal they hunted down or carrion they came across in the wild. They would, however, have supplemented this primarily meat-based diet with other things, which is where your vegetables, fruit and eggs come in. Once again, put anything wacky past your vet before you give it to your furry friend!
Another thing to remember is that your dog’s stomach might get a little bit upset if you suddenly switch it from a lifetime of processed kibble to just raw food. Start slowly, introducing raw meat into his or her diet a few times a week, then daily, then make the full transition when you think they’re ready. Don’t rush, unless you want to have your carpet ruined!
For more information on this, I’ve examined the issue in further detail on our sister blog, Healthy Paleo Pets. Check out the post here!
When in doubt, observe
While we may not be able to ever really know EXACTLY what it was that your dog’s ancestors ate in the wild, we have a fairly good idea. And for any grey areas, there is always the power of observation! I make a point of closely monitoring my dog when she’s sniffing around outside, how she acts in the kitchen when I’m preparing food for myself, and how she reacts to the food I give her. If she runs outside with violent diarrhea after eating something, it’s obviously not good for her to eat. And if she actively seeks a certain type of food out, and makes considerable effort to eat it, that food should probably make an appearance on her weekly food rotation.
A couple of examples:
we took our dog around to a friend’s place a couple of weeks ago, and she was off like a rocket in the back yard. I followed her over and she’d found a large walnut tree. She then proceeded to sniff out walnuts that had fallen on the ground, artfully crack the shells and eat the walnut flesh inside. Clearly, this was a desirable food for her, and she didn’t seem to react badly to eating them.
my parents have something of a rabbit infestation on their property. Our dog occasionally manages to catch a rabbit (or find a dead one) and wastes no time in chewing it to smithereens. The only parts she seems to leave are the legs and the ears….she even eats the guts! This to give you an idea of just how much of an animal your dog’s digestive system is designed to eat. Each different part (organ, muscle, bone, skin, etc) would provide different vitamins and nutrients essential to the dog’s health.
Keep a notepad handy, and start watching your dog’s every move when it comes to food. He or she won’t get creeped out, I promise.
Foods your dog should stay away from
Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list…once again, if you’re unsure of anything, run it past your vet!
Here’s a list of some of the more common foods that your dog shouldn’t eat. The thing to remember is that their digestive system is very different to ours, so what is safe for us to eat may not be safe for them.
chocolate (everyone knows that one!)
caffeine
onions
garlic
avocado (I’m on the fence about this one. Some experts say dogs should stay away from avocados altogether, and others say the flesh might be fine for them to eat. For more on the matter, check out this article.)
macadamia nuts
milk and dairy products
xylitol
grapes and anything containing grapes (including raisins!)
salt (apparently they get all the sodium they need from raw meat etc)
yeast
Do your research, and know the limitations of your dog’s stomach. It just might save you a costly emergency visit to the vet.
Making your own dog food at home
There’s two ways you can go about ensuring your dog gets the best nutrition: thoroughly researching each manufacturer to determine whether their products cuts the mustard, or making it yourself. For buying dog food, we’ve compiled a selection of paleo-friendly dog foods and treats here. For making your own, it’s up to you what you put in their food – just make sure it is primarily meat-based.
You can also throw a whole lot of ingredients in a blender, then pour the mixture into molds and freeze for later use. Doing it this way, you can prepare as much as a whole month of meals for your dog, and just take them out of the freezer the night before. Here’s a few of the things you could consider throwing in the mix, ordered from most to least:
raw meat – try to get a mix of at least one red meat (i.e. beef) and one white (i.e. chicken). Don’t be afraid to buy the cheapest, weirdest cuts of meat at the supermarket or butcher – they’re often healthier than the typical steak, breast and ground meat you get for yourself anyway!
organ meats – again, raw. A little goes a long way here, and try to put a range of different organs in, as each contains different levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
bone broth
raw eggs
Each time you feed your dog, observe how they react – and if necessary, change up the ingredients to better suit their digestion. Good luck!
Do you have a super-healthy dog food recipe that you’d like to share? Are there any foods your dog has eaten that didn’t go down so smooth? Comment away, we’d love to hear from you!
The topic of this post is a controversial one, and is bound to get a few of our more “plant-inclined” readers a little riled up. But here at Thrive Primal, we strive to provide our audience with useful, possibly life-changing nutritional information, regardless of how indigestible (excuse the pun) that information might be.
Humans evolved by increasing uptake of animal products
Meat and animal products. I hear a collective gasp from our vegetarian friends, but the fact is that we need these food sources to function at our best. Today, humans are arguably at the top of the food chain because of our dietary switch to animal-based nutrition millions of years ago. We evolved from our early plant-eating hominid ancestors when we began supplementing plants and vegetables with meat and animal-derived products, which resulted in marked increases in brain size.
The downside to this was a reduction in the size of the early-human gut system. This is due to the dramatic energy requirements of both brains and guts – development of one is inversely proportional to the other, thus as our brains grew and began to demand more energy, our guts shrunk. This essentially had a feedback effect on our evolving diets, as early hominids turned to the most nutrient-dense foods available – you guessed it, meat and animal products! – to support our brain development and make up for the loss in digestive capacity from our shrinking stomachs.
As such, humans have been evolving with the aid of nutrient-dense meats, organs and animal-derived products for millions of years.
Why modern diets have failed us
In recent decades, food consumption has changed dramatically from fresh, locally grown, whole foods to mass-produced, GMO, non-organic, semi-synthetic foods which have seen a dramatic increase in health problems, most notably in the US. Here, obesity rates have gone through the roof in the last 30 years, with one in five deaths associated with obesity, primarily as a result of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and liver disease, all of which are correlated with misaligned metabolic function (i.e. an unhealthy diet!).
Subsequently, many people have turned to vegetarianism and/or veganism as a means of avoiding consumption of so-called “dangerous” saturated fats, which the US government seems to have a personal vendetta against. The issue here is that, contrary to mainstream nutritional teachings, well-sourced saturated fats are necessary for healthy metabolic functioning in humans. They are vital in the absorption of important vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, D and E, and actually help to support optimal heart and organ function. As a general rule of thumb, vegetarian diets are very low in saturated fats, with the exception of the odd fat-savvy veggo who consumes suitable levels of coconut oil and avocado, and so many vegetarians are severely lacking in this important dietary component.
Many vegetarians might read this and argue that they feel just fine eating only plant-based foods, and that a switch to vegetarianism has improved their health. And it’s true that many people experience marked improvements in their health and well-being with a switch from a modern, processed foods-based diet to a vegetarian one. This is because vegetarian diets do, in fact, have many benefits, particularly in that they bring people back around to eating organic, fresh, whole foods which help to replace many of the nutrients they lost while relying on processed foods. The problem is that, in the long term, our bodies cannot remain at their best on a vegetarian diet, as our digestive system is simply not designed to obtain all the required vitamins and nutrients from plants alone. This is why many vegetarians experience an initial improvement in health but then dramatic declines in health in the long term. This may manifest within as little as a few months, or take a number of years to become apparent.
Eating high-quality meat and animal products is essential
The fact of the matter is, we need animal products in order to thrive. But, and we cannot stress this enough, your meat and animal products MUST be from quality sources. In a nutshell, this means products from animals which are happy, healthy, and thriving in their optimum environment. It makes sense that food sources which make us thrive should also thrive themselves, right?
So, what are the key elements determining high-quality animal products, such as meat, organs, eggs, and dairy? The first one is a no-brainer, and one which you’ll probably roll your eyes at: it must be organic. This means free from pesticides, insecticides, herbicides (anything with the word “cide” in it, really!), artificial hormones and antibiotics. Do not automatically assume, however, that “organic” implies “non-GMO“. In many instances it does, such as in the case of USDA Organic, but not always.
Second, the animal from which your food comes from needs to be either grass-fed or pastured. “Grass-fed” applies primarily to cows and sheep, while “pastured” applies primarily to poultry and pigs. “Grass-fed” is not always synonymous with “100% grass-fed”, however, and many labels will claim that your beef or lamb is grass-fed, when in fact it may have been raised on grass and then “finished”, in the weeks leading up to slaughter, with grains in order to fatten it up. This is a nutritional no-no, and many of the benefits which can be gained from eating grass-fed products (see more on this here) are lost if the animal is grain finished. Therefore, do your homework – avoid, if possible, anything which says “grain finished” (or even “grass finished”), and consider researching your particular brand online before you buy. Sometimes this is the only way to really be sure.
“Pastured” essentially means a “free-range” diet, i.e. one which allows the animal to roam over a comparatively large area and choose foods at-will. This means that the animal chooses to eat only those foods which are best for its own nutrition, and as such the meat is of a much higher quality. This term applies a little more loosely than “grass-fed”, as pigs and poultry have a far more varied natural diet than cows and sheep, which subsist primarily on grass.
Finally, the meat or animal product should have been produced in a humane way. Typically, the previous requirements of organic and grass-fed/pastured would ensure that this is automatically the case, but not always. Therefore, always look for the “certified humane” sticker on your product before you buy it, as this will ensure that the animal was treated with compassion, kindness and not put under undue stress during slaughter.
If you follow the above principles while buying meat and animal products at the store, you’re helping to drive a market which supports sustainable, humane farming practices. This means that farmers have an actual economic incentive to raise their animals in the best possible way, ensuring those animals are given happy, healthy lives. Boycotting the meat industry altogether through vegetarianism is not the answer, as meat producers will continue to supply low-quality, factory raised, inhumanely slaughtered animals to the majority of the population who only cares how the meat tastes in their greasy McDonald’s burger.
The health benefits of eating meat and butter
Provided your meat or animal product is sourced based on the above criteria, it will be some of the healthiest food you could ever eat. Grass-fed beef, for example, contains the perfect composition of fatty acids (think more Omega-3, less Omega-6!), super high levels of Vitamins A and E, and bucketloads of important micronutrients like potassium, zinc, iron and phosphorus. Furthermore, grass-fed butter is loaded with saturated fat, which can improve your blood lipid profile, raising levels of HDL (aka “good”) cholesterol and providing large amounts of Vitamin K2, a nutrient virtually absent from most other foods and which helps to de-calcify your arteries.
The bottom line
Meat and animal products are the bee’s knees. Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to extract optimum nutrition from animal sources, and we function at our best when we obtain the right amounts of these on a daily basis. Make sure, however, that you only buy organic, grass-fed/pastured, humanely-raised meats and animal products.
I’ll be the first one to put my hand up and say I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my life struggling against my body. Having a naturally stockier build, or ‘sausage body’ as I like to lovingly call it, I definitely went through a chubby phase in my tween years.
Struggling to lose weight & feel good
It’s a classic story a lot of people can probably relate to, men and women alike. Working through puberty, wanting to look good and feel attractive, all while being bombarded by all sorts of confusing, conflicting and media-hyped messages about fitness and nutrition. I remember always being told that if I exercised enough, I could eat whatever I want. However, being a bookish kid, I usually didn’t exercise much, but still wanted to eat tasty snacks. So I would feel guilty about food and always be trying to “eat less and exercise more”.
How guilt-inducing, frustrating and exhausting is the Eat Less & Exercise More approach?!
All too many people, myself included, find that that whole thing only ends with disappointment and hating your body even more. It’s high time for a better strategy.
Surprise: you’re an animal!
Here’s a thought: last time you went to the zoo and you were looking at those chimps and gorillas, did it strike you how similar they are to us? How despite all our fancy clothes and perfumed soap, we’re really just animals too?
Animals don’t sit around stressing about whether they ate too many bugs or leaves, they just know what’s right for them to eat, and how much, and they just go on enjoying life with a fit, muscular, healthy body. Shouldn’t we feel that way too? Wouldn’t that be incredibly liberating?
If we look at ourselves as the ‘humanimals’ that we are, living in our habitat, we can gain insight into what our genes are programmed to thrive on, and understand why we may seek out or crave certain foods. From that basis of simple knowledge, we can move forward eating and enjoying food care-free, while having that fit, healthy, happy body.
Understanding the ‘humanimal’ mind
You’re going to be so relieved after you read this. There is a solid scientific reason you crave, dream about, and feel drawn to all those tasty sugary naughty junky foods. Your brain is literally programmed to be able to pick them out of a crowd.
The reason is that we’ve evolved very little since we were hunter-gatherers, living off of the land and what we were lucky or clever enough to find/kill that day. Therefore if we were scanning the landscape and there is a calorie-rich food source visible (let’s say some nice sugary berries) our eyes snap right to it and we feel alarms in our brain like “FOOD! RIGHT THERE! OMG FOOD! EAT! EEEEEAT.” This is because in general the hunter-gatherer approach would be to eat more when food is available, since we don’t know if it will be available tomorrow.
Well, your brain has precious little, if anything, different from that hunting-gathering ancestor of yours. So you get precisely those same EATRIGHTNOW signals when you slap eyes on an ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwich, or a picture of a chocolate cake. (I started drooling typing that, wow. There’s the animal brain for ya!)
Cravings are not a bad thing
We’ve been taught and guilted into feeling like whenever we crave a food, we are naughty naughty bad and we should just quell that down and control ourselves. If we give in to cravings we will just be fat and ugly forever.
Newsflash: those cravings are literally programmed into your DNA. They are your body telling you what it needs right now.
But, this message comes with a very important caveat. These days, our body’s signals can be a liiiiiittle bit confused, what with our modern flashy environment and unnatural foods and chemicals and distractions, etc. So, your body may be telling you that you “need to eat 2 burgers and an ice cream after yes definitely the ice cream”, however there is a lot at play there.
You also may crave more food after you’ve just eaten because the food may not have been very nourishing, or you may be needing water. Therefore your body sends signals to eat more because it is seeking more water or nutrients.
It doesn’t know how to tell you “I need vitamin C!” or “Feed me some omega 3’s!”, all it can say is “eat!” and hope that it can get some of what it needs from there.
Our ancient brains are overwhelmed in this modern world
Studies show that historically food would definitely not have been constantly available, and we would have been a lot more programmed to be able to survive off of fat stores. We would be easily able to switch to burning our body fat to get us through a few days of not finding much food.
The problem is nowadays we have food available constantly. Our monkey brains are programmed to pick out high-carb, sugary foods to be able to survive and get energy fast, but now we’re literally surrounded by those foods, at arm’s reach, ALL the time. And our monkey brains still want them just as bad.
Foods high in carbs and sugars convert to fat the fastest when we eat them. They are a quick easy source of energy and our bodies just love to store them away for later use. That includes a sweet potato or whole-grain cereal just as much as a cupcake or chocolate bar.
Because these foods burn the fastest, they often leave us in the lurch. We swing from “Mmm yummy i’m full that was delicious” to “OMG I am HANGRY, FEED ME NOW”, waaaay too fast.
The thing is, once you understand WHY you have cravings and get hungry way too often, it’s so easy to re-program your approach to work WITH your genes and that crazy monkey brain.
It doesn’t need to be complicated. The monkey brain is simple, and we can have it in our palm in no time. How to get there you ask? It’s all about breaking the sugar/carb addiction, and choosing more nourishing foods.
Eat good quality protein – Organically raised, happy, free-range animals and fish. Dairy and eggs from the same.
Get good sleep – Those hunger signals we were talking about before get just sooo much more confused when you are tired. The energy has to come from somewhere, and if you’re not rested, you’re going to be mighty tempted to get it from a chocolate chip muffin.
Use a proven plan – I love programs like the 21 Day Sugar Detox, which is wildly popular and gets rave reviews left right and center. It’s a fast and well-tested way to press the reset button and learn how to work WITH those genes instead of against them.
Lose the body shame! – Once you understand what you’re genetically programmed to want, you realize it’s not your fault. Using a simple program like the 21DSD teaches you to be confident in the right food choices, enjoy eating, and get on with living life! Enough said!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these guidelines on how to make your genes work for you.
If you want a well-engineered plan to take away all the mind-sweat and give you an excellent kickstart, more info on the 21 Day Sugar Detox can be found by clicking the image below! Cheers!