Primal 101

If I were telepathic, I would reach across the expansive void of the Internet and interpret your thoughts as you read my blog. That would be pretty awesome. Unfortunately, I'm not clairvoyant, but I bet that I can make a guess as to some of the thoughts swimming in your mind:
1) I can't wait for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald to be released!
2) Did the dog seriously just pee on my favorite hoodie?
3) A cup of tea sounds really good just now.
Oh wait- those are my thoughts. What you're thinking is:
Okay, Maya. So you've posted two recipes - great. They both look yummy, and they are both "primal." But what on Earth does that even mean?
It's a good question. And as a Primal lifestyle is one of the most significant ideologies on The Avocado and Me, I think it's probably rather important that I convey precisely what it is. Today we will be looking into the basic foundation of the Primal movement, so as to obtain a general comprehension as to how it works and why it's totally amazing. And now, brew a cup of tea, sit back, and prepare to be amazed.
Imagine that you are in a time machine, traveling back thousands of years. When you exit, you are greeted by our ancestors, and are shocked by what you find: unlike humans today, they lived their lives in constant motion. Whether they were sprinting at full speed away from a fanged tiger, lifting heavy rocks to construct a shelter, or chasing down a rabbit for their next meal, primitive humans were far from idle. Now imagine the foods on their daily menu. Probably no Spaghetti-O's, Wonder Bread, or Kraft Mac n' Cheese. No sugar-bomb PSLs or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I know... I'm sorry). Instead, our forebears consumed meals rich with fats and protein from the animals they had tailed, as well as leafy greens and berries they had gathered. Australia's Aborigines gobbled up insect foods, fish and eels from streams, and birds. The ancient Inuit peoples thrived on the meats of seal, bowhead whale, and walruses, and foraged for wild berries. Ancestral Persians enjoyed lamb, goat, fruit, and a variety of herbs and spices. Sounds pretty wholesome to me. Here we are, centuries later, living completely different lives. Pasta is a staple, potato chips are a vice, and we have a sugar addiction. Obesity and diabetes rates are rising. So what should we do? According to "Overview of the Primal Blueprint" on www.primalblueprint.com, American fitness author Mark Sisson discerned that "...eating Primally...[was]... the first layer to the blueprint for building a healthy body. The more Mark studied our primal ancestors, the more he realized that lifestyle behaviors beyond diet also contributed to a healthy—and happy—life. The foods our primal ancestors ate, the amount of sun they got, and the sort of movement they engaged in to survive shaped their genome. While the world has changed in innumerable ways in the last 10,000 years (for better and worse), the human genome has changed very little and thus only thrives under similar conditions. Simply put, if you want a good future, you'd better listen to the past." So Mark went on to create the Primal Blueprint: a set of 10 rules that promote living each day to its full capacity. The article "Definitive Guide: The Primal Blueprint" on Mark's Daily Apple conveniently lists out these rules for us:
"1) Eat lots of animals, insects, and plants
2) Move around a lot at a slow pace
3) Lift heavy things [this includes your own body weight]
4) Run really fast once and awhile
5) Get lots of sleep
6) Play
7) Get some sunlight every day
8) Avoid trauma [injury and stress]
9) Avoid poisonous things [things like sugar]
10) Use your mind"
Hence, the Primal way of life is a lot more than just what you eat, setting it apart from other diets. Maybe because the Primal Blueprint isn't a diet - it's a lifestyle! In short, "The essence of the Primal Blueprint is this: Most of life is really much simpler than modern medicine and science would like to have you believe. You can have a tremendous impact on how your genes express themselves, simply by providing your cells the right environments. All you need is a basic understanding of how your body works and a simple philosophical roadmap you can use to find answers to just about any questions of health and fitness – whether it involves personal choices or lifestyle adjustments or whether medical intervention might be appropriate. With this simple strategy, you will forever be able to examine or evaluate any food choice, any form of exercise or any other behavior in the context of how it impacts your genes!" (Sisson) This is Primal in its simplest form. I promise you, it gets deep. It delves into the dangers of simple carbohydrates and processed foods. It maligns vegetable oils and sugar, and provides a hearty debate over legumes. It (and rightfully so) denounces the Standard American Diet (SAD), and teaches that fat does not cause fat. The Primal way of living is a simple key to a more vibrant life, with a lot of layers that we won't go into just yet. I'm sure you've still got tons of questions, but they are future posts. Plus, my tea has gotten cold. And Charlie Brown Thanksgiving starts in half an hour. Have a lovely evening, my friends!
-Maya

Links to articles mentioned in this post:
Overview of the Primal Blueprint
Definitive Guide: The Primal Blueprint

Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash