Food as Medicine

Farmer, Fermenter, teacher

Panchgani, India

What's On today:

• Ancestral vs Modern food ways
• Microbiome + Fermentation
• Grains: soaking + Sprouting
• Dairy: Raw milk + CULTURING
• fats: which to eat!?
• sugar: Natural vs White + HFCS
• Resources

traditional foodways

foraged + seasonal

heirloom seed as a shared commons.
a intimate communion of human and Land

dependent on animal products

fermentation instead
of refrigeration!

slow. intentional.

WEston Price and
the weston price foundation

modern foodways

lobby
influenced

industrially produced

heavily marketed

convenient

unceremonious

Characterized by:

• refined white flour
• refined white sugar or high fructose corn syrup
• industrial seed oils
• added flavors, preservatives, thickeners, colors, etc.

this inflames our guts

time to meet...
our microbiome

Bacteria are the ancestors of all complex life!

essential functions:

• immune system
• serotonin levels
• vitamin synthesis
• circardian rhythm
• efficient digestion
• pads cell walls of our guts

waging war on our bacteria:

• lysol and chemical cleaners
• industrial agriculture
• eating processed/sterile foods
• antibiotics
• antibiotics in animal products

best immune support:
restore that microbiome with easy home fermentation

easy home fermentation

Easy Vegetable pickles

• make brine of 2-5 percent
• chop veggies any style into jar
• pour brine
• weigh veggies to ensure liquid seal
• wait 3-4 days, it will bubble
• eat and refrigerate

Sauerkraut

• chop cabbage any style
• weigh it
• calculate 2 percent salt
• massage massage massage
• pack, ensure liquid seal
• wait 2 weeks

HEALTHY EATING

in 7 words:

"eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

as important as what is you eat, is how you eat.

grains

• wheat
• buckwheat
• rice
• teff, sorghum, millets
• oats
• corn
• legumes + nuts too!

the goal of that grain is not to nourish you.

phytic acid is an anti- nutrient that must be neutralized.
enter: soaking and sprouting.

the gluten problem

yeasted bread = no

sourdough bread = yes

fancy granola = no

traditional oats = yes

raw/roasted nuts = no

soaked/sprouted = yes

grains summary

• soak grains, legumes + nuts
• 'raw' forms will cause inflammation, bloating, indigestion
• rediscover ancient grains for better nutrient content
• EAT Sourdough!!!

dairy

• milk
• yogurt
• butter
• cream, ice cream, whip cream
• cheese of all kinds!

milk has nourished human populations for thousands of years

today, cows milk is the single most allergenic food in the world.

what went wrong?

raw milk as whole food

• full of bacteria!
• bacteria produce enzyme lactase
• lactase breaks down lactose
• flawless design for easy digestion
• all hail the cows complex rumen

industrial milk

• cows raised on grain, soy, corn
• pumped full of hormones + antibiotics
• milked by machine only
• mixed with milk from thousands of other cows
• must be pasteurized for safety
• kills all bacteria. No lactase production

culturing yogurt at home

• restore lactase populations
• heat milk to 115 degrees
• add spoonful yogurt
• keep in warm place, 8 hrs
• enjoy!

realmilk.com

alternative milks?

dairy summary

• make the effort for raw
• always choose whole vs non-fat or low fat
• learn to culture milk at home

fats

fat gets a bad rap

saturated fats
mono unsaturated
poly unsaturated

america wants us to eat vegetable oils

the best fats are traditional ones.

butter, tallow, lard, coconut oil

olive, peanut, flax, sesame oil

avoid

• canola
• mazola / corn oil
• soybean oil
• sunflower seed oil
• margarin, butter substitutes
• rice bran oil

processed foods will always use these oils.
seed oils / pufas

sugar

refined white sugar

• strips our bodies
• often gmo
• chemically processed
• highly wasteful industry

opt for

• honey
• maple syrup
• agave
• jaggery

processed foods
use high-fructose
corn syrup.

ever confused?
think... would my
great grandmother
have eaten that?

netflix resources

• kiss the ground
• food inc
• GMO OMG
• COWSPIRACY
• SUPERSIZE ME

want to dive in?
the odd gumnut's
guide to radical
self-reliance

THANK YOU!