Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food

Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Catherine and Luke Shanahan (she's an MD) is now in my own personal Top Ten books of all time. I could never say enough good things about this book; it's off the charts. I'm a health nut from way back, always telling my friends the latest about Omega-3's, the horrors of trans-fats, the crucial need for Vitamin D and more. I learned most of it first from my sister, I admit, but I found Barry Sears by myself. My sis actually has a 1938 publication by Weston Price, and first got going with Adele Davis. I've read countless books, magazine articles, newsletters, and manuals trying to understand what's what. I'd trade all I've ever read about diet, nutrition, and health food for the book produced by Catherine and Luke Shanahan. Regarding the massive amount of research these two have done, they have really sifted the chaff from the wheat. (Oh, but too bad about that metaphor, wheat is kind of on the outs now for me.) What we should be eating, and WHY, is what this book is all about. This narrative has unusual insights and connects things you would never expect to see in a book about nutrition. This book is so engaging and well written; you certainly come away with a bit of the personality of its authors (a couple of minor typos are not a problem for me, unlike the reviewer who gave it two stars). Your paradigms will shift! You know sugar is a problem. How bad? Pretty bad. You need to know why. Catherine and Luke explain it is so well you will wonder why candy is ever allowed in schools. But cheer-up, nutrient rich foods are nothing if not delicious! The more flavor, the more nutrition. Rich cream is good for you, and butter! Who knew? Olive oil is still OK, but I did not know how much damage the canola, soy, sunflower, and other veggie oils where doing. I had no idea. Vegans will have the biggest challenge in their path to health. Our bodies did not evolve eating soy and veggies alone. Soy has major issues, well explained here. I'm now eating liver and liking it (I am shocked, actually), making my own yogurt from raw milk and loving it (remembering trips to Greece), and learning to ferment veggies (delicious). French cooks, Julie and Julia fans, rejoice. Those French sauces, creamy or made of stock from slow cooked bones, are not only yummy, but super healthy! Young adults who are getting married and thinking about babies, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read this wonderful book before you conceive. There are way, way, too many unhealthy kids in the world. You want one that is as perfect as possible. Deep nutrition starts before conception. Boomers....do you want to be in the joint replacement brigade, dealing with cancer or heart disease, forgetting stuff all the time? Of course not. READ THIS BOOK!! Amazon readers are always told "If you liked this book, you will like _______" I didn't think it was possible to have another book out there as good as this one, but Nora Gedgaudas wrote one. Her book, Primal Body--Primal Mind: Empower Your Total Health The Way Evolution Intended, is one you probably should buy at the same time you order this one. These two books are joined at the hip. They fit together perfectly with minimal duplication. They both give jaw-dropping insights into who we are bio-chemically, and what we can do to survive in a world where profits drive food production and medical care. If you don't have heath care (I mean sick care), BUY these books. You'll be fine, unless you are hit by a truck.

With so many theories about what is the best diet to follow, in addition to the misguidance set by the medical and industrial food industry, It is good to know that dissidence like Catherine Shanahan MD and Luke Shanahan are here to dismantle misleading information and simply enlighten readers with the truth that proper diet should come from traditional foods. "Deep Nutrition" reveals that by going back to what our grandparents, great-grandparents, and ultimately our ancestors have eaten for centuries, traditional foods are what we should be consuming on a daily basis for optimal health and longevity. The authors give outstanding explanations chapter by chapter as to why traditional foods should be the mainstay of our diet. Backed with loads of scientific evidence, I am convinced that traditional foods provide great health benefits. Ever wondered why the French are among the longest living people in the world, despite having a diet rich in saturated fats, like butter and lard? The French diet is what the Shanahans consider a part of the "Four Pillars of World Cuisine" that includes a healthy diet full of the naturally saturated dairy and animal fats, meat on the bone, fermented vegetables/dairy products, and chicken/beef bone broth. All of this, however, goes against the traditional western diet that has been sickening us with disease boosting pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated oils and sugar. The ailments plaguing Americans today are all linked to a common factor- rancid vegetables oils and tons of refining sugar. One would find it difficult to escape the ingredients in processed foods loaded with vegetable oils and sugar even when it claims to be "Organic." "Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food" provides details to all of this and more. The authors' reasonably and scientifically explained findings of the health benefits of traditional foods will transform someone who adheres to American conventional wisdom about what types of foods to eat into one who will no longer tolerate the false claims about what is sup​posedly healthy from industries, like the Food and Drug Administration.

Pretty specific and sometimes not an "easy-read", but excellent in explanations and very DEEP :-)

For people who are unfamiliar with this branch of nutritional theory, this book will be way out in left field. It goes against everything the mainstream western health industry preaches. And yet I think, for many, myself included, it will just seem like basic common sense. This is the way people have been eating for generations. This is the way our grandparents and great grandparents ate. It seems so simple and basic. Shanahan presents her research in accessible easy to understand terms. There are no complicated rules or 'superfoods' or the latest fad supplement. She just advocates for real, basic food, simply cooked. My only issue with the book is Shanahan's oddly emphasized focus on beauty. I am not disagreeing with her theory that eating this way will give your body and especially your children the best nutrients so that their genes will express to their best ability and therefore result in healthier more beautiful bodies. That also seems intuitive. And it's a topic I find valid and interesting. But she presents this part of her argument almost like she has a chip on her shoulder. Her constant harping about Hale Berry and all the 'beautiful' celebrities and their advantages came across as whiny as a teenager with self esteem issues. I found it very off-putting and it detracted from the otherwise mature, no nonsense, practical presentation of her ideas. But if you can get past the celebrity envy, I think you will find this book a fascinating read and a simple and achievable way to gain better health.

Este libro desmiente los mitos sobre la nutricion moderna. Contiene todo lo que necesitas saber para mejorar tu nutricion y a su vez la de tu familia y futuras generaciones. Gracias a esta lectura me doy cuenta de la gran importancia que tiene la nutricion, y como hemos ido perdiendo tradiciones y costumbres que eran tan beneficiosas para nuestra salud. En fin, toda persona interesada en cuidar su salud, la de su familia y futuras generaciones, deberia leerlo.

Nourishing, traditional foods are indeed your best medicine. Be kind to your grains and your grains will be kind to you.

A most interesting book on nutrition and how it affects your body. What to avoid eating if you'd like to be healthy and live to an active healthy older age. Essential reading and a book to refer back to.