Before the Ice Age, when the "Tribe of Man" was small, it is said that humanity survived on what they could gather from forest and field, a vegetarian-type diet. Sensing the approaching Ice Age, Antelope knew that humanity would not survive without their help, and so they approached the Tribe of Man, communicating to them:
"If you kill us, you can eat our flesh and thereby not starve,
and you can use our hide to help keep warm."
Whether that story is true or not, I would imagine there were times when plant-sourced foods were scare, and humanity
had to eat animals to survive. And so, perhaps, began our journey into an omnivorous diet, eating both plants and animals.
I've also heard that humanity is now evolving away from an omnivorous diet, and will eventually complete the circle by returning to a "lighter" vegetarian-type diet. A vegetarian or vegan diet of whole, unprocessed foods can be very cleansing and healing for some. However, some people, myself included, actually (still)
need animal products to heal.
Several years of going between a vegetarian diet, a vegan diet, a raw vegan diet, and raw juice feasting, only made my food sensitivities worse, not better. Back then I "knew" all the reason why
everyone should be eating a vegan diet, or at
least a vegetarian one. I had even given an impassioned speech at Toastmasters about the consequences of eating meat, and how it affected both the earth and the animals. However, like Penny Kelly, the author of the book, "Getting Well Again, Naturally, From the Soil to the Stomach," says, if what you are doing isn't working, then try something different. And following a vegetarian diet was not working for me; my food sensitivities were growing. So eventually I went back to eating more of an omnivore diet, and within a few months of focusing upon healing foods, such as homemade meat stocks rich in high quality, nutrient dense meats and animal fats, well cooked soups and stews, and homemade ferments, my long-awaited healing had finally begun. That was when I started the GAPS diet Intro Phase, a gut-healing diet.
If you are concerned about cholesterol and animal products, please do some research about that.
"The diet-heart hypothesis is the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century." ~ George Mann, eminent American physician and scientist
The diet-heart hypothesis has long been dis-proven, and there is actually little correlation between the amount of animal fat a person eats and heart disease. In fact, if there is not enough cholesterol in your diet for your body's needs, your body will manufacture it.
One-hundred-percent of the animal products and about ninety-percent of the vegetables and fruits I consume are from local farmers and ranchers, people I know and trust, who treat their animals as the gifts to the "Tribe of Man" that they are. It's the way our ancestors used to eat, before processed foods and factory farms. They use natural and sustainable practices that actually can help to restore farmland that had been ravaged by previous factory farming practices. Restoring farmland can be a long process without the gift of farm animals and the replenishing "fertilizer" they deposit upon the earth.
"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food."
~ Hippocrates, 460-370 BC
Eating more meat at first worked wonders in healing my gut and curing me of dozens of food sensitivities, something a vegetarian and vegan diet did not do. Now, about a year after starting the GAPS diet, I am consuming less meat, and use it mostly to "season" my vegetables with, though bone broths and organ meats are still a staple in my diet. I've heard that when large cats (lions and tigers) kill their prey, they eat the organs first because they know that the organs contain the largest concentrations of nutrition. Perhaps that is why organ meats are so important in a gut-healing diet. When the gut is damaged, the body is not absorbing nutrition properly. I remember before starting on the GAPS diet, my complexion was becoming more and more gray, probably because the nourishment in my food was not being properly absorbed through my damaged gut. That has changed tremendously now.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the author of GAPS book, states repeatedly that there is no one-size-fits-all diet, that we are all unique in our dietary needs, and what works for one may not work for another, and, what the body needs today may not be needed tomorrow. That is why muscle-testing and listening to my intuition regarding nourishment has become a valuable daily practice for me and my evolving diet.
I feel that all of life is a gift from Creator, both plants and animals. What is important is how and why I use the gifts given. Local, high quality animal products have been a very important part of my healing journey. However, if what I've been doing stops "working," then I will know that it's once again time for a change. And I will continue to listen.
However, after a year on GAPS, I have added most of these foods back into my diet. Grains and beans are more difficult to digest, so I haven't added them back yet. And cow's milk is still questionable, though I am loving my homemade raw goat's milk yogurt!
