Recently I came across the following in a back-issue of the Weston Price Foundation's quarterly publication, Wise Traditions:
The Top Fourteen
According to government and media health pundits, the top best 14 foods are:
- Beans
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Oats
- Oranges
- Pumpkin
- Salmon
- Soy
- Spinach
- Tea (green or black)
- Tomatoes
- Turkey
- Walnuts
- Yoghurt
This uninspiring list reflects the current establishment angels (anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids) and demons (saturated fats and animal foods).
Our list of the 14 best top foods, foods that supply vital nutrients including the fat-soluble vitamins, looks like this:
- Butter from grass-fed cows (preferably raw)
- Oysters
- Liver from grass-fed animals
- Eggs from grass-fed hens
- Cod liver oil
- Fish eggs
- Whole raw milk from grass-fed cows
- Bone broth
- Shrimp
- Wild salmon
- Whole yoghurt or kefir
- Beef from grass-fed steers
- Sauerkraut
- Organic Beets
A diet containing only these foods will confer lifelong good health; a diet containing only the foods in the first list is the fast track to nutritional deficiencies.
Be sure to read more great info in the comments below!!
Kelly says
I’ll be doing a post about this very thing soon! 🙂
IssacsWife says
Hi Kelly,
Do you make your own yoghurt and if so, what recipe do you recommend?
Kelly says
I agree, I’d much rather get our nutrients from whole foods, not “spray-dried” fruits. Thanks for the scoop on that, though. 🙂
Local Nourishment says
Kelly, Juice+ is a spray-dried combination juice taken in capsule form. There are several formulations, the most popular being fruits, veggies and grape. My sister has taken them for years and swears by them.
Being spray-dried I know they lose all their enzymes and most of their vitamins. I also know the good fiber that slows the absorption of the sugars contained in fruits is missing. These are basically hyper-processed food-in-a-pill.
I do not fault my sister, or anyone else for taking them. The research surrounding them is voluminous and somewhat compelling. My sister eats very poorly, and her Juice+ is as close to a fruit or vegetable as she gets in any given week.
But for those of us who are able to eat better, I believe our bodies are better served by eating real, fresh (local, if possible) food.
Kelly says
Alyss, oh my, I wish my palate could take all that, but I just don’t think I could do it. Besides, oysters wouldn’t be “local” for us in Michigan anyway with the ocean so far away, darn it, guess I’d better stick to local foods!
I’m glad others are popping in with their seafood info, because I know NOTHING about it, since Kent wouldn’t come near it for years. Now he’s trying more all the time.
Annie, yes fruits & veggies are important, local and organic are best. (I just get going on the fats, because so many don’t realize their benefits, whereas most know that F & V are good for us.) Haven’t heard of “Juice+” – is it a type of juicing? I know that can be very beneficial for our health.
Kelly
Kimberly says
Jeanne,
I’m not sure about any particular research on shellfish, but I know that wild salmon is more healthy than farm raised. Also, I noted that SF recommends deep sea seafood. I would imagine that it correlates to pasture feed farm animals, in that it’s likely healthier for them and us if they are living and eating naturally. What I was wondering is whether there are certain areas of the ocean, catching and/or processing methods that may be better than others, though I’m not sure that I’ll have a lot of choice at our local markets.
jeanne says
Has anyone done research if farm raised shellfish is as healthy as what is caught in the ocean? What a great reminder of the benefits of seafood as we head into the Lenten season soon.
Alyss says
I went out to dinner the other night for my friend’s birthday and ordered alligator jambalaya and an oyster shooter. The oyster shooter was a raw oyster in a shot glass with a little tomato based cocktail sauce, some horseradish and a lemon. I squeezed the lemon juice in, stirred it all around and sucked it all down. Not the most elegant or gourmet way to get raw oysters down, but if you are worried about the taste or texture the bold taste of horseradish and lemon help it all go down 🙂
annie s says
Hey Kelly what about fruits and veggies we need these along with the fats right! I am starting on juice+ have you heard of this.
Annie
Julie says
Kimberly
Flour (just a light coating) seasoned, or corn meal is good. Bread crumbs are great–I am big fan of Panko (japanese bread crumbs). Serve the oysters with a nice tarter sauce made with good mayonaise and what a meal you’d have!
Kimberly says
Thanks Julie. I’ll check those out. I’m so glad to hear that scallops are good, too. I love them most of all. But I’m going to try the oysters like you said. BTW, what type of breading do you use?
Julie says
PS-for Kimberly. I like to bread and pan fry my oysters in butter. You can fry them quite quickly-that way they don’t get tough.
Julie says
Kimberly,
I don’t know a lot about shellfish, only that I like it. You do have to be careful about the source, that much I know. Scallops are also very rich and very good for you. I recall that AnneMarie at Cheeseslave had some posts on Oysters and Scallops and Shrimps (oh my!) so check that out, and also you can go to the Weston Price website and do a search there for archives on seafood and shellfish.
Kelly says
I love my readers!!! When I’m too tired to give the whole big picture in a post, you all come through for me!
Julie, great info! Love it!
Sue, thanks for clarifying that VERY important point. There are some good things on the first list for sure.
Day care kids are almost done with Kindermusik (an instructor comes here!), I’d better get back! Thanks again everyone!
Kel
Kimberly says
Oh, I forgot to ask! Does anyone know whether scallops are healthy?
Kimberly says
Julie (or anyone else) – What is the healthiest way to eat oysters? Raw? I was never a big fan but haven’t tried them in a long time. I’m going to give them another shot. And for that matter, is raw the healthiest way to eat shrimp? I do love shrimp! Also, does it make a difference where they are caught? And, if so, what should you be looking for? Thanks!
Sue E. – I agree that many of the foods on the first list are good choices also. Like you said, combining the second list with the best of the first list is a good idea.
Sue E. says
I think it is a good thing to blend the two (aside from the soy, that is), so I don’t think it is a good idea to dismiss the items on the first list themselves. Yes, if one only ate foods from the first list, they would have serious deficiencies in their diet. However, I often serve/eat items from the first list along with my grass-fed beef, eggs, yogurt, etc. I don’t think you were dismissing those items, Kelly, but wonder if there might be those out there who may get confused….:)
Julie says
Hi Kelly, this post is refreshing indeed–this list is one we should all have on our refrigerators!
In case any one out there wants to know why oysters and shrimp are on the list (besides being so delicious) I found out from Chris at The Healthy Skeptic that:
oysters are incredibly high in iron (about 100 mg per gram) in fact one serving a month of oysters gives you more iron than two equivalent servings of beef per week!
Oysters also supply selenium and other trace minerals; fat-soluable vitamins A and D and the long-chain omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. These long chain fatty acids in oysters make a synergistic combination with saturated fatty acids from the butter and coconut oil (also on the list!)
Shrimp have ten times the amount of vitamin D than liver.
These little oysters and shrimp pack a mighty whalloping amount of nutrition! It seems like a small amount goes a long way. I’d like to be able to at least have them once or twice a month.
Thanks again for the post.
Kelly says
Hi Kim, I’m glad it worked out that way, but you should’ve seen me last night trying to keep my eyes open and come up with another post to put up with my main one…I’d been awake a lot the last couple nights with Mom at the hospital and didn’t have a clue what else I should post. Thankfully I came across this before I passed out!
Kimberly says
Hi Kelly!
Thanks for posting this. As someone rather new to eating this way, I was actually thinking how I’d like to find a list of the foods I should stock up on and be eating the most of. You must have been reading my mind! 🙂
Kim