The first decade of my life was spent in South Alabama in the 70s with access to rural farms. Summers were spent in rural Florida on my grandfather’s farm. The food I had then was real food. Fresh from the farm food. Along the way, we moved to the big city and with two working parents, the 80s and beyond grew to a time of convenience food; Kraft Mac and Cheese, Hamburger Helper, and all those other new-fangled quick dinners. Plus, we were a long way from the farm. Fast forward to now. Eating better but still wanting convenience. In an effort to learn about the Paleo lifestyle I picked up this book by Liz Wolfe, NTP (Nutritional Therapy Practitioner).
Eat the Yolks changed the way I think about food. I learned so much about the science behind it and why I feel like I’ve been scammed by the government that was paid by corporate interests and what schools teach you about nutrition. Like it is all just propaganda. Doctors aren’t really taught nutrition in school. This book clears that up for me and you will be surprised.
I wanted to read it as I want to eat healthier. I thought I knew how to do that. But Liz has taught me things that were ingrained in my head that were just wrong. It’s not that I’m just trusting her word on it but I’ve been reading it other places too. The science makes sense to me. My trust science and not the government mind. You could easily call this a Paleo Primer.
A friend of mine, Kristine from the blog, Exploring Wellness, had this to say about the book:
This book is the most fun you can have reading about nutrition! Here’s what I love about this book: For those of us eating real food, our glee at how amazing it makes us feel is nearly always met with extreme skepticism because eating things like bacon, butter and egg yolks (!) flies in the face of conventional (read: USDA) wisdom. And, sometimes, the science isn’t sufficient to counter people’s objections. Liz offers up both top notch science (more than 15 pages of citations) and the history behind how conventional wisdom developed. Armed with both of these, we can all be better consumers and decision makers.
Liz is whip-smart, sure, but she is also wickedly funny. She weaves pop culture into the nutritional framework seamlessly and she makes serious information fun and engaging. I loved EAT THE YOLKS!
Vegetable oils aren’t made with vegetables! Margarine is nasty chemicals. Fat isn’t the enemy……..sugar is. There is right carbs and wrong carbs. Fat doesn’t make me fat!
Here are some direct passages that impacted me the most that I highlighted with my big orange highlighter:
- Cholesterol in food has very little bearing on blood cholesterol. The two are entirely different things.
- Researchers have pointed to sugar, stress, nutrient deficiency, nutrient imbalance, rancid or damaged fats (like those from processed crop oils), smoking, and the chronic imflammation that resuts from all of the above as major conribuing factors in heart disease.
- Insulin resistance – a precursor to diabetes – is also a telltale sign of heart disease risk.
- Arterial plaque is the consequence of chronic inflammation run wild, not steak night.
- Can you guess which fats are the most processed, the most highly refined, and the least healthy? Margarine. Soybean oil. Canola oil. Corn oil. Cottonseed oil. Trans fats. These highly processed plant-based fats are often referred to as vegetable oils, even though they aren’t from freaking vegetables.
- Eat whole, nutrient-rich fats, complete proteins, and truly healthy carbohydrates. It’s about eating the right foods.
- Fruits and vegetables are better choices than grains and carbage.
- Today’s grains are vastly different from ancient ones, and ancient agriculturists didn’t suddenly become grain-eating vegetarians sucking down modern wheat. Ancient grains were wild-harvested and unmodified, grown in richer soil without industrial pesticides.
- Fighting the lies means learning the truth: the truth about nutrients, food history, and how we got to a place where we considered a breakfast of boxed cardboard topped with skim milk a better choice than a breakfast of whole eggs, grass-fed steak, sweet potatoes, and greens.
I just really need to highlight the whole book.
One of the things I wish was in the book is a list of the brands that are good when you are buying from convenience or those times you can’t cook. I know it would be hard to keep it updated in the book obviously but maybe on her website. The people that are doing it right. Brands you can trust. Obviously, just real food, properly raised meat and seafood, locally sourced if possible. I get all that. But that isn’t always easy to get.
4 out of 5 stars!
Check out Liz’s website at EatTheYolks.com and Real Food Liz or listen to her Balanced Bites podcast.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. What does this mean? If you buy any of the hyperlinked items above on Amazon I get a teeny tiny percentage of the sale. Am I commenting about out it because of this teensy amount? No. Shop around if you want. You may find a better price somewhere else. But that teensy amount helps my blog costs.
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