Hello Fellow Primals!

[carla]

Glad to find this forum. I'm sure I'm the winner in the age category so far~ I'm 66 and feelin' good! I went from the SAD as a child to modified vegetarianism as a hippy chick in the 60s, to eating no fat and total carbs on the McDougall diet (THE WORST!!)
My husband had a major heart attack 3 years into that and spent 2 months in the hospital and they told me I was taking him home to die. THEN, I came across a book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and our lives started to get happier and healthier. When I started cooking meat again, my poor hungry husband handed me a big wad of bills and said, " I like what's coming out of the kitchen....go buy whatever you need to keep it going!!" He died last year at age 83, but he died a happier man. So I've been
a member of the Weston A.Price organization and leaned to make bone broths and fermented food (sauerkraut) but was still eating
grains and beans (all of which I soaked (to get the phytates off) and dehydrated) After my husband's death, I started hearing and
reading about paleo/primal living and it makes SO MUCH SENSE! I've completely eliminated grains and pulses from my diet, but
still love raw dairy. I buy milk from a local family with 2 cows (a2 a2) and I kefir it. Love raw butter and cheese. I understand
that the eating of dairy didn't come until the advent of agriculture....but it's my last hold out. Would love to hear a discussion on
this issue. If I'm anything, I'm a seeker of truth when it comes to the optimum diet for man. The other thing I need ....encouragement to get away from this monitor and go outside and move.

[tribecalledfit]

Hi, Carla! My name is Marc, and I just joined too. I also struggle with giving up dairy, so I can totally empathize. For what it's worth, I have read comments from many people indicating that they're content on a Paleo Plus Dairy program. So I wouldn't say we're alone.

As for encouragement, consider this: "You are going to really love yourself for getting out and moving." Go do it now! I don't care if it's just a five-minute walk or "drop and give me twenty" - just do it!!

[carla]

Hi, Tribe, With your encouragement, I just went outside in the dark and cold and ran up and down my steps 5 times. Not much and I'm a bit out of breath, but I'll go to sleep feeling
better about myself tonight. And tomorrow, because of you, I'll do that at least twice! Thanks for the little push...and the commiseration!

[pkafka]

Hello Carla, welcome to the Primal Tribe! We are a diverse community in terms of age and beliefs, but not in interests - we are all interested in being as healthy as we can be. It is nice to have someone, like you, who has experienced so many different eating styles. I, myself, am only 23, and am just starting my quest to lead a vital and optimum existence. At the moment, it seems our eating styles are very similar. I look forward to having you in the community.

best,

-pk

[celtia]

Welcome, Carla!

So glad you were able to have a couple of "happier and healthier" years with your husband after his heart attack!

What does being a member of WAPF entail? Are there local chapters that meet from time to time for mutual support in living amidst our CW and SAD society?

[Posy]

Hi Carla! Cute story about your husband handing you the bills because he liked what was coming out of the kitchen :) I’m so sorry for your loss and the difficult times you both went through (((hugs))). Interesting the different paths that have lead us all to this one place huh. Looking forward to seeing you out and about. Oh and Barbey has a walking challenge going…15 miles a week. So you might be interested in joining in if you're looking for some outside time. I plan to join in this next week as well.

[carla]

Thanks for your kind words, Posy! And thanks, too, for the heads up about the walking challenge. Sounds good to me!....I'll be joining in.
Just got my computer out of the shop. Was missing this forum.....great group

[carla]

Thanks, Celtia! I'm glad, too, my husband and I had more time. I really wasn't ready to give him up!
You asked about WAP (Weston A. Price Foundation) Well, I'm happy to elaborate. it's based on the work of Dr. Price (a dentist) who lived and worked in Minnesota (I think) in the early part of the 19th century. and who was noticing that his patients were getting more cavities and their faces were
narrowing, causing the crowding of their teeth. He suspected that it had to do with their diet, so for the next 10 (or so) summers, he and his wife traveled to far flung points on the globe
at great trouble and expense (remember, this was about 1910 and these small villages weren't exactly easily accessible!)
to study the teeth and the diets of people who hadn't yet been exposed to the foods of modern civilization. He did extensive research and took many photos of the faces and teeth of the
people he studies. What he found was very interesting. Almost no cavities and broad straight smiles and wide faces. Also no heart disease, cancer, diabetes and all the other modern
plagues. But the same people who moved into villages and started to eat the foods of
modern commerce quickly began having dental problems. He also found that the whole skeleton narrowed making childbirth much more difficult. He hoped to find a healthy vegetarian
culture, but never did. What all these healthy people had in common was that they ate good proteins and fats ,especially organ meats. Those in chilbearing years were especially given
the best of the animals (the fats) All cultures had some kind of fermented food, ie. sauerkraut in Germany, kimchee in Korea, poi in Hawaii, kefir & beet kvass in eastern Europe, etc. Some cultures did eat grains (the Swiss) but always they were soaked or fermented before eating, as were nuts and seeds. All cultures made bone broths to extract the minerals and collagen.
I do make a lot of stock and thus great soups and gravies. I make my own sauerkraut in a big German crock....also sauerruben which is like sauerkraut, but made with turnips. Oh,
how I cherish sauerruben, but it's hard to come by all those turnips! I've quit using grains of any kind, but do soak and dehydrate all my nuts to remove most of the anti-nutrients (phytates) I buy my milk raw directly from a farmer who has two A2 cows (he's one of only 2 farmers in California who have A2 cows) which give milk that's much more agreeable to
the human. European countries know the difference and refuse A1 cows, so I feel safer buying French cheese . I kefir my milk rather than drinking it
sweet, and just love butter. I know dairy is not a primal food, but it's my one main concession to the last 10,000 years. I like combining what I know about Weston Price's work and
my new understanding of what went on long before he did his research. BTW, it was really fortunate that Price lived at just that small window of time when we had cameras
and before most of the indiginous tribes were wiped out by industry. Sally Fallon and Mary Enig have written a book called Nourishing Traditions based on his work. His long and
extensive findings were almost lost, but now are found. You can learn more at www.westonaprice.org Be sure to click on the work 'enter' to get to volumes of amazing info.
So there you go, more than you wanted to know about WAP!! ;)

[BMcD]

Hi Carla. Thanks for sharing your story. I think Nourishing Traditions needs to be the next book I read.

[carla]

Hi Carla. Thanks for sharing your story. I think Nourishing Traditions needs to be the next book I read.

Great choice! The first (introductory) chapters on fats, proteins, carbs etc. are especially worth reading. The rest of the book
is full of recipes using the WAP principles and quotes from various sources in the margins. I actually hosted Sally Fallon for
lunch along with some of my fellow WAP members and told her that I'd found I had an intolerance to grains. She said that the
Carbohydrate chapter was her weakest, but she doesn't have time to re-write the book. if you do use grains, the preparation
techniques help make them a little more friendly...I'm certainly not recommending them, tho.

[BarbeyGirl]

Hi and welcome, Carla! I was going to invite you to the walking challenge, too, but it looks like Posy beat me to it. :D C'mon down!

[carla]

Thanks, Barbey, First of all, I want to say that with all the farmwork you do, I'm amazed you also want to do this! I think the ideal would be to get our exercise in the normal
work of our day.....like you do. Alas, not all of us have a farm and buckets of water to be hauled. Is there a place on this forum to formally sign up? I haven't don't diddly squat
yet. We (like most of the country) are having a cold snap....plus I've been having holiday guests frequently this week. Excuses, excuses, I know!! I'm so much more into the food
piece of primal than the excercise piece. So thanks for the inspirational model!