What foods are good for you? What foods are bad? There’s a lot of conflict over this issue; More than one would think. Is soy good or bad? Is fat good or bad? How about carbs? Artificial sweeteners? What’s a mom, who wants the best for her family, to do? Well, I think I’ve found the best answer, for my own family. It’s called traditional foods. Never heard of it? That’s not surprising! I had never heard that term before, at least not in this context. Traditional foods are basically the foods that your great-great grandmother would most likely have eaten, things like grass-fed meats, eggs from free-range poultry, raw milk and cheese, kefir, lacto-fermented vegetables, etc. The list just goes on. What you wouldn’t be eating is processed foods, pastuerized, homogenized milk and dairy, hormone-laden meats and eggs, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors or flavors.

Did you know that heart disease and obesity increased after the low-fat recommendations were announced and put into place? Why is that? Could it be that fat really isn’t the culprit? Well, I believe that it is not the culprit. Studies have shown that an increase in fat, with a decrease in carbs can help you lose weight and keep it off. When you increase carbs, you gain weight. (Read Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Sally Fallon).

The occurrences of chronic diseases keep increasing, despite our medical advances. Diseases that used to be considered as elderly diseases are showing up in younger and younger children. These diseases include diabetes type II and obesity. And let’s not forget autism and ADHD, which were hardly heard of when I was a child. Mothers know that the food that they feed their children with these problems can have an impact on that child. Artificial colors and flavors have been known to exasperate the problems, while a more whole foods approach can help immensely. Cutting out the “artificials” can have a changing effect.

But, I think it’s more than that. It’s not just what we’re putting into our bodies, but what we’re leaving out. Cultured and fermented foods contain valuable probiotics that help our digestive system to remain healthy. When was the last time you had kefir or lacto-fermented sauerkraut? How about kimchi? Raw dairy contains the “x-factor”, which is essential to good bone structure and healthy teeth. Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation.

I invite you to check it out for yourself. I am definitely NOT the expert (yet!) on the subject, so don’t just take my word for it. Here are some resources to get you started.

Two great books to get you started in eating traditional foods are The Maker’s Diet by Jordin Ruben and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Both books have a lot of valuable information. Another good place to look for information is www.cookingtf.com. KerryAnn is very knowledgable about traditional foods. I also visit the traditional foods forum on MDC (mothering.com). http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=365

I’ve just started our journey to eating traditional foods (TF) and will post more, as I go. If you have experience with a TF diet or want to take the journey with me, leave a comment or send me an email.