IS AN ANIMAL-BASED DIET HEALTHY?
OUR PERSONAL NOTE
Surely you have heard of the animal-based diet by now. Made famous by Dr. Paul Saladino, and backed by the millions of people who follow this diet. Indeed, the animal-based diet is the newest trending diet and almost a way of life. Where does the animal-based diet get its name from? It is kind of a spin-off of the polar opposite of “plant-based”. A Vegan (or plant-based diet) is a diet based on eating plants, with no animal products. But, an animal-based diet is mostly meat, organs, and raw dairy, and the carbohydrate sources are fruit and raw honey or maple syrup.
As some of you got to see through our social media platforms, we hosted Paul here on our farm this July shortly after partnering together at Erewhon Market for our first-ever and very exciting Dr. Paul’s RAW, ANIMAL-BASED Smoothie (RAW FARM Raw Kefir is the main ingredient). A few days after we launched the Erewhon smoothie, Paul came to our farm to learn, tour, and interview our family for his upcoming educational series on raw milk. As you could imagine, we were excited to nourish Paul and his team while they stayed with us.
They joined us for 3 days and we strictly ate an animal-based diet. This was a very interesting change for our diets because we learned first-hand what it was like to eat like Paul. NOW, it is important to express that our diets previously were very similar to his animal-based diet standard; however, I noted a few key differences from our original impression and stereotypes I just assumed. A surprise to me was that on this diet you only season with salt (no spices), you basically chug as much raw milk and kefir (with maple syrup or raw honey usually), and ate often and in smaller amounts (think grazing beautiful rare/lightly cooked meats, fruits, citrus, raw honey, maple syrup, raw kefir, raw milk, raw cheese, raw butter, raw cream, occasionally organ meats, but the key is never any processed foods.). Another change was that we chose to eat with a wooden board OR without any plates at all- as part of the “easy lifestyle” (we found great ones on Amazon).
LET’S KEEP IT VERY HONEST
Ok, here is where we keep it very honest and real. My assumption was that I would feel hungry, starving almost, and without a treat or goodie. My diet previously really didn’t have many goodies or treats, to begin with (I try to eat pretty clean and whole), but I had this PREMATURE “hit the panic button” fear that I would somehow crave and NEED a goodie while hosting and being strictly animal-based. I admit to you now that it never even crossed my mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this diet. There were plenty of moments when I enjoyed such delicious food that I felt satisfied! I do admit that at times I missed the garlic, spices, herbs, and complex meal recipes. At points felt like I was feeding myself as a toddler plate would be, but I felt amazing! WOW! To live that way, every day… I could only imagine what a healthy lifestyle you would experience. Looking back on my assumptions was that I would go without, but in the end, I felt the opposite! I had never had so many fresh, raw foods in my LIFE! I ate non-stop. I didn’t get my mid-day energy crash or that hungry feeling. During these 3 days on the diet, I felt AMAZING. I can see why people see transformations when kicking the processed foods and going ANIMAL!
Now, since I am being very honest and not going to hold back… it pains me to admit how quickly I crumbled to toxic food. I did eat a highly processed (junk food to the worst degree) cupcake shortly after I waved them goodbye and had to go grab my kids from a loving friend who had been caring for them while I worked/hosted. WHY, dear God why did I feel this was a smart choice after I had detoxed my body and proven to have loved this wholesome diet? Lord knows. All I know is as I grabbed gas for my car on my trip to pick up my children, I did the unthinkable and bought the chemical-based product and consumed it as fast as you can say “Don’t do it! It is BAD for you”. I will also then follow that with confirmation that I had a pimple pop up shortly after and stomach cramps of discomfort. Oh, hello bloating that I had not experienced since I had cleaned up my routine. So, in summary, I learned my lesson... directly and quickly.
HOW IT FELT ON THE ANIMAL-BASED DIET
I felt like I was consuming far more food than I had ever consumed in a day, I felt nourished and clear-headed, never bloated, and overall the diet was easy to adapt. I will also note that while grocery shopping for the hosting meal food it was extremely EASY! My cart was filled with raw, living, whole food: mango, avocado, steaks, eggs, berries, raw honey, etc. I joked with their team that it was FAR EASIER and FASTER feeding their team than had I hosted a French pastry chef and needed to create pastries and baked goods. It was almost like I was creating the most perfect kid’s foodie meal plan (I can say that with a smile as being a mother of 3).
I will say that I found myself extremely hesitant and resistant to resuming my prior/regular diet, especially after my experience with that bad-for-you cupcake. It has been just a few weeks since they flew home to Costa Rica, we said goodbye, and we have been up to our own grocery haul choices. I am proud to say that I have maintained a (about 95%) animal-based diet. I believe the only exceptions I made were adding my homemade bread, potatoes, some spices, and fresh pasta back into my diet. I will say that removing most of the processed foods from my kitchen has been an amazing feeling. I also feel like I have DRASTICALLY increased my raw dairy consumption. Specifically, I now drink 32 ounces (1 quart) of whole raw milk every single morning and that is something I didn’t always do… now it just makes me feel good. There was just something about watching Paul’s team put back gallons of whole raw milk and/or raw kefir per day that inspired me.
Shifting your kitchen helps shift your habits!
Another part of what Paul promotes is an outdoor lifestyle. I have enjoyed morning sunlight, getting more movement and fresh air, and being overall much more conscience about how much GOOD FOR YOU foods I am consuming to make sure I maintain this very clean way of eating. Now that I have maintained this “cleaned-up act” for almost a month, I would NOT go back.
In conclusion, when I changed over my refrigerator to eliminate the “against the diet” foods I have NOT seen the return of those products back into my refrigerator. My buying behavior has been shifted to focus on foundational foods, which has actually helped my household budget and overall inventories to maintain. Overall, I can see why this diet would be fantastic for many who are trying to feel healthy and want to thrive.
(I hope you appreciated my honesty:)
DIFFERENT VARIATIONS
An animal-based diet can be different variations. I eat an animal-based diet, but I also eat carbs like potatoes and bread. Meat makes up the majority of my diet, and the amount of carbs I eat depends on how I’m feeling and what my body is asking for, but typically I am eating less carbs than I am meat. Because I get most of my nutrients from valuable animal foods, I eat an animal-based, or paleo diet.
Others, like Paul Saladino, are more strict. They only eat meat, organ meats, eggs, raw dairy products, and raw honey. Paul says he feels great eating this way and doesn’t crave anything else. These are very nourishing foods!
PROS ✓ OF AN ANIMAL-BASED DIET
There are many pros to an animal-based diet! Meat, organs, eggs, and raw dairy products are nourishing. They contain B (water soluble) vitamins, proteins (creatine, carnitine), and essential Omega-3 fatty acids. Organ meats have a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals. Liver and organic meats are nourishing. Why would someone eat this way? These important vitamins and minerals are lacking in a plant-based diet. That is why so many ex-vegans are our valued customers today. Raw dairy products are full of good nutrients that plants just don’t have.
RAW DAIRY ON AN ANIMAL-BASED DIET
Woohoo! Raw dairy products are an exciting part of an animal-based diet, and they are some of our favorite parts of a diet. We have great raw dairy products! We have Whole Raw Milk, which is yummy to drink by the glass; Heavy Raw Cream, which is great for adding to coffee as a creamer, and making raw ice cream; Raw Kefir in (3) flavors: Plain, Vanilla, and Golden which are great for making pre/post working smoothies; Raw Butter which is great for cooking with; Raw Milk Cheese; and we have a Pet Food Raw Kefir Meal Topper so that your pets can eat animal-based, too! Ha!
WHO IS EATING AN ANIMAL-BASED DIET?
We have talked a lot about Dr Paul Saladino! He is one of our favorites. View his Instagram and social media channels for more education about how an animal-based diet is working for him.
DR PAUL'S RAW (KEFIR) ANIMAL BASED SMOOTHIE NOW AVAILABLE AT EREWHON MARKET
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DR PAUL'S RAW (KEFIR) ANIMAL BASED SMOOTHIE NOW AVAILABLE AT EREWHON MARKET 〰️
RAW FARM Raw Dairy Products are unprocessed and complete with bioavailable vitamins, minerals, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, naturally occurring CLA, and omega-3 fatty acids. Absolutely NO antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or GMO anything. Customers with digestion issues or dairy sensitivities have a delicious and nutritious natural alternative in this unaltered, wholesome product. The ease of digestibility of raw milk gives those that experience discomfort with processed dairy products, a delicious and natural option (isn’t that amazing).