Nourishing Traditions is a diet philosophy that focuses on whole, unprocessed foods, prepared in traditional ways to improve nutrient content and digestibility. It is totally free of additives such as colours, flavours, flavour enhancers and preservatives. The importance of unadulterated fats, healthy proteins, raw dairy (where appropriate), fermented food and nutrient dense real food is emphasised.
Ten Basic Hints for a Nourish-ing Diet:
- When changing the way you eat, just make one change at a time. This makes the process easy and sustainable.
- Eat organic and locally grown produce whenever possible.
- Have a daily intake of fermented food, whether it is cultured vegetables, young coconut kefir, kefir cheese or milk kefir.
- Avoid sugar – Processed sugar is very damaging to immune health and cholesterol, depletes the body of B vitamins and puts stress on the pancreas, liver and cardiovascular. Instead, on the occasion you do cook with sugar or feel like something sweet, use real maple syrup, rapadura, stevia, xylitol, molasses or raw unfiltered honey.
- Cod liver oil daily (grandma was right!) for essential fatty acids and natural vitamins A and D to promote immune health, reduce the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and eyesight problems and aid in the development of a healthy foetus (the latter for expectant mothers of course!)
- Coconut oil, butter, ghee and animal fats are the only healthy fats to cook with.
- Avoid all processed fats: no generic vegetable or cooking oils, margarine or oil spreads.
- Use raw extra virgin vegetable oils such as olive, pumpkin, flax and walnut to make salad dressings, dips, cold sauces and add to smoothies, kefir or yoghurt.
- Avoid packaged and processed food. Buy fresh unprocessed foods whenever possible, and do as much of your own cooking as possible.
- Make your own soup stocks / meat broths from the bones of organic beef, lamb, chicken, pork or fish – it’s easy! Home made broths taste delicious and are loaded with minerals and nutrients such as collagen that assist digestion and heal irritated digestive tracts.
Recommended reading: “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon and “Changing Habits Changing Lives” by Cyndi O’Meara
