I Thought I was Eating the "Right" Things

I was health conscious, and faithfully maintaining a diet that consisted of what the experts were telling me were the right foods to eat. My grain based, high carb diet was supposed to fuel my body in a “healthy” way, so I could maintain an intense professional schedule and the long distance bike rides I took for fun and relaxation. The problem was, that along with other people who were eating the same way, I was getting inexplicably sick. It didn’t make any sense. I was eating the “right” things, taking care of myself and was, by all appearances, physically fit. Yet, I was still getting sick, very sick. I felt frustrated, confused
and desperate. What was going on?

One of the things I found very odd was despite how much I was eating, I was hungry all the time and had to stop to eat frequently throughout the day.  Little did I know at the time, the very things I was eating were not only making me hungry but causing me to feel sick. The resulting symptoms were so intense they could take me out for days at a time. I remember saying to my doctor, “I feel like my immune system is having trouble fighting things off.” It didn’t make any sense. I knew I had to do something. It’s just that, at the time, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do.

Wisdom from My Mother and Grandmother

I grew up listening to my mother and grandmother lovingly tell me to listen to my body and pay attention to how I was feeling, especially when I ate. They explained, that doing this was how we could get to the root of the problem when we didn’t feel well.

Then, we could make adjustments to correct it and bring ourselves back into balance. No one knows your body better than you do. Their knowledge and understanding rivals any doctor. Their wisdom is priceless. 

“Listen to your body!”

“Honor the signals your body sends you.”

 

My Mom was always very health conscious and holistically oriented, so it wasn’t hard to make tweaks in my diet. I started to eliminate things from my diet that I thought could potentially be bothering me to see how they might be affecting me. I had heard somewhere that people can often eat or drink a great deal of the very things they might be intolerant or allergic to. In my case, I was carbo loading for energy, so I stopped eating carbs, in particular wheat. At first, I thought, “How am I going to do this?” But, I was so tired of getting sick that it really wasn’t difficult to stop eating wheat. Though, I have to admit, I sure did enjoy eating it.
What was amazing was once I did that I felt so much better! 

I knew I was on the right track. I have to say though, I felt somewhat confused, “Wasn’t wheat supposed to be good for us? Each time I tried to reintroduce wheat, I got sick again. I reasoned, the wheat we are eating nowadays can’t be all that good for us. I found out later, that was exactly right. While I did have to come up with healthful substitutions for some of the foods I had been eating, as it turned out, it wasn’t all that hard to find better quality, more nutritious and delicious food. I just had to look for it.

What is Healthy Eating Really?

Part of the challenge for me was the medical community was not at all helpful in my quest for better health. It took me years to figure out that I had a wheat intolerance. No one even considered the role that diet might play in health.
But, I came to understand, it was the foods I was eating that were making me sick and I wasn’t the only one having this experience. What I didn’t know at the time was these foods were metabolically damaging to my body and can initiate symptoms that we might not necessarily connect to what we’re eating.
Much of what I was eating back then were “healthy whole grains”, lots of carb based products and “heart healthy” vegetable oils, which are now known to be highly inflammatory foods. Not only was this the diet recommended by the U.S.D.A. dietary guidelines but it was also highly recommended for peak performance, energy and athletic pursuits. Something here clearly wasn’t right!

Help From Our Ancestors

This was the beginning of my learning about eating in the ways of our ancestors without really knowing what it was called. There were certain things that, for me, made sense, so I started to do more of them, like not eating grains, eating better quality meat, fish and poultry, and buying some organic fruits and vegetables. I called it “eating the old fashioned way”. 

It was during this process of finding what worked for me that I became aware of the term ancestral health. I came to understand that living in the more natural ways of our ancestors and adopting many of their lifestyle habits could benefit our health even in our contemporary lives.

 It seemed so simple,

a holistic approach to food and eating with lots of room

for flexibility and personal preferences.

I was delighted to find that new scientific studies supported what I had been learning. Other people too, were having similar positive experiences. It affirmed what I had already come to believe to be true in my own life. 

Eating this way was so easy to do and it made me feel great.  As I came to understand the effect that food was having on my body, eating in this more natural way just seemed like common sense to me.

A Simple, Natural Way of Living

Once I started to learn about this way of eating and living, I began to share it with others. They were interested and relieved at the same time! I found most people confused and frustrated by the contradictions in all the diet books on the market. They would begin a regimented eating plan, get some good results for awhile and, then, find that they couldn’t maintain it. It just wasn’t practical or sustainable. Emotionally, this was hard on them. They felt as if all their time and effort had been wasted. They would tell me they felt like failures, unable to stick to things, not able to achieve their goals. The more I spoke to people, the more I realized that I wanted to share this information to help people feel better and achieve the positive outcomes they had been looking for all along. 

I have found living according to ancestral wisdom to be such a natural, healthful way of life. Once I started living and eating this way it all made sense. My daily life didn’t have to revolve solely around when I was going to be able to eat next. It was as if this is what my body, mind and spirit had been looking for. My life took on a simpler, more relaxed rhythm. Things don’t have to be so mysterious, complicated or difficult. There are certain things that our bodies are suited to that will help us to live healthy, happy, fulfilled lives.

We really can make changes in our lives

that will help us feel better!