These are the 9 principles of an ancestral diet - according to a certain adventurous dentist

In the 1930s, nutrition pioneer Weston A. Price studied some of the healthiest ancestral populations on earth. All of them were virtually free of modern disease, yet all of them ate differently.

However, there were 9 commonalities he identified about the composition of their diets.

1. There were no refined or denatured foods.

2. They all incorporated some sort of animal products, and some of these were consumed raw - Dr. Price was disappointed he could never identify a truly vegan culture!

3. Diets were 4 x higher in Calcium and minerals, and 10 x higher in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K than current SAD diets.

4. Bones were incorporated - usually in broths - and organ meats, too! True nose-to-tail eating.

5. Diets included foods with high-enzyme content.

6. Any consumption of seeds, grains, legumes, or nuts was after they were soaked, sprouted, or naturally leavened.

7. As a percentage of calories, fat composed between 30% and 80% of the diet - but the vast majority of this was from saturated and monounsaturated fat, only 4% was from polyunsaturated fats.

8. The ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats was nearly 1:1.

9. Diets contained plenty of raw, unrefined salts.

Based on this list, are you living by the principles of an ancestral diet? In a way, looking at the health of different populations after having eaten a particular way for thousands of years can serve as the best kind of long-term nutritional studies we have available to us. That's why we at GutsyGreen put stock in not just the latest scientific literature, but ancestral wisdom as well. 

Doesn't it make sense that our bodies are finely adapted to thrive off of conditions that were present throughout the bulk of our evolutionary history? It's no wonder that as those conditions disappear in modern life, so too, does our collective wellness.