Ethics » Full Fat Nutrition

Raw milk politics in Canada

Ethics, Health, Locavore, Raw No Responses »

Apr 052012

This is a bit of a public service announcement and a request for assistance.

My wife and I have been consuming raw milk since November, and I am thoroughly convinced that raw, unpasteurized milk that comes from grass-fed cows is one of nature’s superfoods. The milk is literally alive with beneficial bacteria and has a much higher concentration of vitamins and minerals than pasteurized milk. Raw milk is not processed in any way, there are no additives, and is just plain tasty to boot.

One of Canada’s raw milk producers, Michael Schmidt, is currently undergoing trial, again, for providing his customers with the option to consume raw milk, and raw milk products. Here in Canada we do not have the right to eat what we please, lest we harm our poor, defenceless, ignorant selves. The government of Canada, with the help of milk industry lobbyists, has been fighting raw milk producers on all fronts, with complete and utter disregard of the will of the people.

I do not argue that drinking raw milk from factory milk operations is harmful, even poisonous. However, dedicated raw milk producers do not face the same challenges as the rest of the milk industry, such as infected udders and cattle that sleep in their own feces. There have been no cases of food poisoning from clean raw milk, and this alone should prove its safety, but “common wisdom” prevails in the halls of Parliament and other places that house legislative bodies.

Raw milk producers and consumers are willing to open the discussion and fund research to prove the safety and nutritional superiority of raw milk. The Canadian Consumer Raw Milk Advocacy Group (a bit of a mouthful, I know) is one of the organizations that is spearheading the effort. Please take some time to visit the site linked above and sign the petition if you believe, as I do, that Canadians should be able to choose what they use for nourishment. Also, please contact your MP and MPP to make them aware of this discussion.

Also, please use the comment section for questions or comments.

3 month review

Body composition, Ethics, Gluten-free, Locavore, Nutrition No Responses »

Feb 032012

Three months have passed since I started this little experiment, eating a diet composed mainly of animal protein, fat, and some carbohydrate. I have been adding some carbs back into the diet after the initial restriction. These are mostly root vegetables like potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. The chart below shows the changes, but there are about 2.5 lbs missing, which is due to water loss.

	Start	Now	Change
Weight	233.6	223.8	-9.8lbs
Fat	29.2% = 68.21lbs	27.3% = 61.10lbs	-7.11lbs
Muscle	78lbs	78lbs	0lbs
Bone	10.3lbs	10.3lbs	0lbs

I am pretty happy with this change, but I was expecting a bit more weight loss. I will continue in this direction because this has been the most successful diet I’ve tried in the past 2 years. The food I’m eating is also pretty tasty and nutritious. Who would want a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast when eggs and bacon are on the menu? The choice is pretty clear in my mind.

The most amazing outcome of the diet is that I’ve started eating raw milk from grass-fed cows, as well as grass-fed and finished beef, pork, lamb, poultry and eggs. These animal products are much more nutritious than their industrially farmed counterparts, and the animals are treated ethically, which is a big plus.

I would recommend the Paleo/Primal/Archevore diet to anyone, and I think the most important component of all these diets is the elimination of wheat and other grains. Getting rid of wheat has helped my digestion tremendously, and I have unsurpassed levels of energy. These were not transient changes as seen with other diets.

I hope that my little experiment will inspire some of those who read this to try it out. The only thing you have to lose is fat

10 commandments of nutrition

Ethics, Gluten-free, Locavore, Low-carb, Nutrition, Paleo, Truth 1 Response »

Nov 302011

1. Eat only foods that can be consumed in their raw form. Another way to say this is eat only foods that are defenceless when they’re dead (credit to Dr. Kurt Harris for that phrase). This doesn’t mean you should eat only raw food.

2. Eat grass-fed meats and animal products in order to limit the intake of omega-6 fatty acids, hormones, antibiotics, and maximize the intake of omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, calcium and other trace minerals.

3. Eat plenty of saturated and mono-unsaturated fats from animal and plant sources in order to keep your body satiated.

4. Eat 2-3 meals per day and don’t count calories/amounts except for academic purposes (ie. curiosity, progress tracking, etc).

5. Limit intake of foods that provoke an insulin response. This includes refined and whole wheat flour, sugar (white, brown, raw, whatever), replacement flours (potato, rice, tapioca, etc), carb-laden vegetables, and fruit. Think of vegetables and fruit as the garnish, not the main dish and this will be easy to achieve.

6. Limit intake of anti-nutrients such as gluten, omega-6 fatty acids, lectins, gliadins and fructose. This means limiting intake of nuts, legumes, certain fruit, and eliminating gluten containing grains and their products.

7. Limit caloric intake through liquids. These liquids include sodas, diet sodas, prepared coffee products (Venti macchiato anyone?), fruit juices, alcohol, etc. The exception here is raw milk, heavy cream, buttermilk, yoghurt and kefir (from raw milk).

8. Perform high-intensity physical exercise for less than 30 minutes, 2-3 times per week. This includes olympic weight lifting, calisthenics, sprinting, high-speed rowing, and so on.

9. Perform low impact, low intensity physical exercise, such as walking, cycling, canoeing, whenever you want, but not to “get fit”.

10. Listen to your body. It knows when you’re hungry, satiated, thirsty, or tired.

Visit to Echo Valley Ranch

Ethics, Locavore, Paleo 8 Responses »

Nov 282011

This Saturday I took a trip up to Moorefield to visit the owners of Echo Valley Ranch, Brad and Donna Martin. They specialize in raising grass-fed meat and dairy cattle and free-range chickens. Their products include grass-fed beef cuts, cowshares (for raw milk, cream, butter, yoghurt), free-range pastured chickens and their eggs. Brad showed me the operation, starting with the corralled cattle, ending with the dairy operation. The chickens come in the spring, so I didn’t see any. I ended up purchasing a cowshare and took home 4L of raw milk and 1L of cream. The milk is absolutely delicious, I can’t get enough of it. I haven’t tried the cream yet, but I have never had bad tasting cream, so I have big expectations.

I had a great conversation with Brad while driving around and we agree on pretty much everything related to nutrition, politics, and probably religion. I got in their customer list at the last minute as all new customers go on a wait list. Their regular customers will have first dibs on all their products and the people on the wait list get the rest. Based on what I saw during my visit, I would be happy to be on the wait list, so go visit their site and give them a call or email.

Pictures and video of the cows are below:

What’s in your milk?

Ethics, Locavore, Nutrition, Paleo 2 Responses »

Nov 212011

Here is an extensive list of what is acceptable for dairy cattle to eat in the United States. I have a feeling the list is similar for dairy cattle in Canada and other industrialized nations. Interesting sources in red.

High-fiber sources:

Beet Pulp
Brewers Grains
Corn Gluten Feed
Cottonseed, Whole
Distillers Dried Grains
Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles
Distillers Solubles
Distillers Wet Grains
Hominy Feed
Malt Sprouts
Soy Hulls
Straws
Wheat By-Products

Medium-high protein sources:

Canola Meal
Corn Gluten Meal
Cottonseed Meal
Crambe Meal
Linseed Meal
Lupin Seeds
Safflower Meal
Soybeans
Soybean Meal
Sunflower Seeds, Whole
Sunflower Meal
Urea

Animal and marine sources:

Blood Meal
Feather Meal, Hydrolyzed
Fish Meal
Meat and Bone Meal
Poultry Meal

Unusual by-products sources:

Bakery Waste
Beans (or Peas), Cull
Candy
Fat
Molasses, Cane
Pasta
Potato Waste
Screenings
Starch
Wastes, Animal
Whey

Source: North Dakota State University, Agriculture Dept.

Why are we feeding cows all this crap (urea, animal waste, CANDY ffs) when all they’re designed by nature to eat is grasses?

DISCLAIMER: Cows actually like a bit of corn, but if they overeat corn they will bloat up because their bodies aren’t ready to metabolize it (I have seen this). Corn is technically a grass, but the grains don’t count as grass, just the stalk and leaves.

“Pizza is a vegetable”, says US Congress

Diet, Ethics, Truth No Responses »

Nov 192011

Tuesday, by act of Congress, pizza was declared a vegetable. The Spending Bill before our elected officials contained an Agriculture Department provision recognizing that school kids are dangerously obese, and that subsidizing school lunches of frozen pizza and french fries is unwise and unhealthy. The Congressional response: a slice of pizza = a serving of vegetables.

Why some vegans don’t eat meat

Ethics, Veganism No Responses »

Nov 042011

First, full disclosure: I respect anyone who can be a ‘true’ vegan just because of the sacrifice they are making in order to minimize suffering. Also, the article I will link to will make you laugh a bit, so put that drink down.

“One of the major worries that vegans have about humanity’s meat habit is that an advanced alien species will come to Earth, see that we’re eating animals, and then think it’s okay to eat us. ”