Eating Like Our Ancestors Did & The History of Dieting
We can learn a lot about food and eating from our ancestors. I'm not talking about the paleo diet here, nor any one diet in particular. Just want to make that very clear. But, learning from our ancestors, those who lived before dieting was a thing or where dieting doesn't exist, can help us get back to feeling our healthiest and eating in a way that fuels our bodies with nutritious foods but also accompanies the fact that stress with eating is a detriment to health.
Today we're going to be talking about nutrition from a gentle and non-diet perspective. But I will caution you to check yourself with any diet-clinging tendencies that you have. I repeat, this is not intended to be taken as a strict diet, but only as a way of thinking about the food that we are eating from a place of self care. Also, be sure to read the entire post and not just the beginning to get a full understanding.
To start off, let's do a quick history lesson. Dieting as a way of changing one's body can be seen way back in history. From women wearing corsets in the 1800s to calorie counting and the "cigarette diet" in the 1920s all the way to where we're at today with so many diets "on the market". There's been a battle on women's (and men's) body image for a very long time!But if we look back before dieting really caught wind, what did our ancestors eat? How did they look at food?In my own recent research on this topic a couple of things come to mind...
Food was served on a table and eaten with the whole family.
Meals consisted of whole foods rather than processed.
Meat and dairy was eaten and drunk in its purest form, from cows that grazed on grass, and in it's full fat form.
Butter was the preferred fat for cooking and baking.
WHAT CAN OUR ANCESTORS TEACH US ABOUT HAVING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD?
When you read through the list above, what are some things that come to mind? For me, I think, rarely is it that anyone spends time to actually eat at a table, much less with family these days. And full fat dairy has been demonized so much so that nut "milks" have replaced what many cultures value for it's nutritional benefits. Not to mention the rage for boneless-skinless meat products, which, if you've ever tried meat with the fat, with the skin, you know there's no comparison!
What stands out to me, also, is that there are no "rules" for how to eat except that food is prepared according to what’s availability and what’s used in its full potential. That means eating fruits and veggies that are local, in season, freshly grown without pesticides as well as eating meat and dairy from animals that have grazed on grass and or been cage free during their lifetime and then utilizing the whole animal.We can't neglect talking about the fact that food was not a "big deal" back then, except for the fact that there were times it was scarce. There was not fear associated with eating and food was enjoyed as part of culture and spirituality.
TUNING INTO YOUR ANCESTRAL WISDOM
I feel the biggest takeaway that we can have with looking back to times and places were dieting didn't/doesn't exist is recognizing that even in our 21st century world today your body is fully equipped to handle quite a lot! Think back to stories in history books that you've heard of people foraging for food and hunting animals. There was a lot of stress on those human's bodies, no doubt! And yes, nutrition is important and we can apply the knowledge of how people ate back then to help us eat in a way that promotes health of our bodies. But, we can also trust that eating things like a few oreos here and there, or enjoying non-organic, non-grass fed yogurt is not going to kill us. Your body is fully capable of dealing with so much more than I think we oftentimes give it credit for. And the greater factor here is if stress of going all local, organic, grass fed, what-not is going to affect your health in a negative way then know that it's ok to not be 100% __________ (grass fed, organic, local, etc) all the time.
HOW TO MAKE CHANGES PRACTICAL...
So practically, what can we start to do to improve our nutrition from a gentle perspective?
Budget for organic produce if you're able. This is something that can take some planning and rearranging of finances because it can be more expensive. But it shouldn't be a demand of you 24/7. I recognize that the unfortunate fact is that not everyone is able to buy organic food and that is something I hope changes in the future. It's better for you to eat veggies and fruit that are not organic than to eliminate them altogether. So know that it doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. If one month you have the finances to spend a little extra and get organic, awesome! But if not you don't have to stress about it. It's A-OK!
Second, choose full-fat dairy products from grass-fed animals...again when/if able. Fat from these animals is rich in vitamins which are readily absorbed and used by the body and, not to mention, fat in dairy makes it soo much more satisfying and delicious!
Lastly, but certainly not least, make eating an enjoyable experience. Set the mood...I say this often but it's so important and costs zero dollars! Make dinners special by gathering family together. It may take effort but it is worth it! Make the environment you're eating at pleasant by doing things like setting the table with a place setting (plates, forks, knives, etc). Place a candle on the table if wanting to make the mood romantic (or if you're like me and just love candles :) ). Play some soft dinner music that'll help you relax.
WHERE DOES PROCESSED & CONVENIENT FOOD COME INTO PLAY?
I love it when I have the time to actually make a full dinner and sit down to eat it with my husband. But the reality is, that doesn't always happen. To be quite honest, it probably only happens a couple of times each week. What happens on the days I get home from work late and don't want to go through all the to-do's of making dinner is we oftentimes enjoy pre-made dinners. Yup! My go-to's are typically from Trader Joe's and we always have a couple of them in our fridge for those emergent evenings where we have to eat but don't have time to cook.
All that to say, there is a time and place for processed foods and convenience foods. Even though our ancestors didn't eat Trader Joe's palak paneer for dinner (they probably wish they did!), you're looking out for your mental health and stress level by allowing yourself the freedom to do so. Again, as I've said many times before...it's not always about the food. There are so many more aspects of your life that attribute to your health. Food is only one of the facets. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! Have you ever thought about what life was like before diet culture invaded society?