Weston Price was a well-known dentist and researcher who worked during the 1930s and 40s.  Many diet theories are developed and then foisted upon the people with the hope that the results will match the expectations of the nutritionist (and sometimes the hopes of the agribusiness that has endorsed the theory).  On the other hand, Weston Price started by finding healthy populations of people and asking if their diets shared any common characteristics.

In his research, he traveled to isolated populations as diverse as alpine villagers in Switzerland, the Maori of New Zealand, Inuit tribes, and Gaelic communities in the Outer Hebrides.  He started by looking for people who were free of cavities, gum disease, and orthodontic issues such as crowded teeth.  He found that groups who were free from these dental troubles usually also enjoyed generally good health, were free of mental illness, and had easy childbirths.

Clearly, the quality of food, from its production to its processing, was a strong factor in the quality of life.  This message was made even more clear when he viewed the children of parents who had abandoned their group’s traditional foods for modern, processed food.  Within one or two generations, health had deteriorated.

Animal Products and the Weston A. Price Diet

One common characteristic shared by all of the traditional diets was the importance of animal products.  This runs smack into the common beliefs of new dietary trends but it would come as no surprise to our ancestors.  In the 1920s, heart disease was still a rare occurrence but rose steadily until it came to be the leading cause of death in the 1950s and today it causes at least 40 percent of all U.S. deaths.  If the current warnings against saturated fat and cholesterol are true, then we can assume that there was an increase in animal fat consumption between 1920 and 1950—however, animal fat consumption declined by 20 percent and butter consumption dropped from 18 pounds per person per year to four.  What did increase was the consumption of vegetable oils such as margarine, shortening, refined oils (by a whopping 400 percent), sugar, and processed food (by 60 percent).

Weston Price concluded that animal fats were valued by traditional peoples because they provide a powerful, sustained source of energy.  We also know that they are the building blocks for cell membranes and hormones.  Additionally, these animal fats help to carry fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K as well as assisting the conversion of carotene to vitamin A and the absorption of minerals.  The list of foods that contain substantial amounts of fat-soluble vitamins is fairly limited: butter and whole milk products, organ meats, lard, eggs from poultry and fish, shellfish, oily fish and fish liver oils, and insects (yum).

However, it is not sufficient to load up on fast-food burgers and chicken nuggets.  And this is where Weston Price’s ideas work so well with homesteading.  Weston Price stressed the quality of animal products.  It is important to consume animals that were pasture-raised and fed “real foods”, not corn and soy pellets.  This includes chickens who have eaten insects, cows who grazed on fresh, quickly growing green grass, pigs who soaked up vitamin D from the sun, and fish that actually swam in clean waters.  Unfortunately, for most people, it is hard to find “real food” such as these.

It is also interesting that all of the traditional diets included some raw animal products.  While some of you may enjoy the European steak tartare or Japanese sushi, many of us can incorporate raw animal products by consuming raw egg yolks (Rocky, anyone?) and raw dairy products such as artisan cheeses and unpasteurized milk.  [For more on the benefits of raw milk, see “Got (Raw) Milk?”]

Weston A. Price on Carbohydrates

While some opponents of Weston Price’s work may argue that his ideas are just another version of the low-carb, high protein diet, Price did observe that most traditional peoples ate carbohydrates.  It is interesting to note, however, that the Inuits, the plains Indians, and the people of Greenland ate a diet almost entirely of animal products and their skulls show little evidence of tooth decay.  The problem lies not with carbohydrates in their natural, whole state but in the all too common refined carbohydrates of today.  These types of carbohydrates are hard for the body to digest and so the body needs to use its own reserves of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes in order to metabolize such foods.  In addition, refined carbohydrates wreak havoc on the body’s insulin regulation system.  And since carbohydrates are already depleting the body of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, the glands and organs will begin to deteriorate.  This, in turn, leads to endocrine problems such as degenerative diseases, allergies, obesity, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, and behavioral problems (sounds like modern American life, no?).

There’s another little known problem with carbohydrates.  Whole grains contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, both of which interfere with digestion.  Traditional societies usually soaked or fermented their grains; bulgur, a sprouted wheat, is used in Middle Eastern dishes such as tabbouleh, ogi flour from fermented millet is used in Africa, and most European countries have traditional forms of fermented porridges such as kiesiel and braga.  This process allows for a “predigesting” that made the enzymes more available.  This can be done through sprouting, overnight soaking, and sour leavening.

Fermented Foods

Another characteristic of traditional diets that will appeal to homesteaders is the use of fermented vegetables and fruits.  This characteristic is appealing because it offers another method of preservation that doesn’t require freezing, canning, or root cellars.  In addition to preservation, fermentation offers many health benefits.  Lactobacilli is produced in the process and this good bacteria helps in digestion, increases the availability of vitamins, produces useful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances.  Healthy flora in the intestinal tract not only improves digestion but also greatly enhances the immune system.

Again, the quality of the food is of the utmost importance.  Ideally, organic vegetables and fruits grown in healthy soil should be used.  Traditional peoples harvested the plants during their peak growing time and obviously they used plants that were available locally.

These fermented foods were used in societies all around the world.  In fact, many of our condiments, such as mustard and ketchup, were actually fermented vegetables added to the main meal.  Many of us are familiar with German sauerkraut, Mexican salsa, and Korean kimchi and many of us have pickled cucumbers, made fruit chutney, or produced fruit butter and preserves.  Like most modern food production, the industrialization of fermentation has robbed the food of many of its nutrients.  Vinegar is commonly used, which makes the products more acidic than is beneficial and most of the products are pasteurized, killing all of the beneficial bacteria.  For the greatest benefit, try making your own fermented fruits and vegetables.

Foods to Avoid According to Weston A. Price

Opponents of Weston Price’s work argue that the people of the WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) are only touting his work because it appeals to the population’s desire for meats and full-fat foods.  While it is true that people following this way of eating do get to partake of delicious foods like bacon and, this way of eating will not appeal to the vast majority of Americans.  Why?  Because Price’s work definitively illustrated the ill effects of packaged convenience foods and “white” foods such as bleached flour and sugar.  The switch to this type of diet leads to a degeneration that was visible within one or two generations.  However, most Americans are not going to give up box food and sugar anytime soon. Furthermore, this type of eating, as you can guess, requires extra time in either food production or finding quality sources as well as in food preparation.  But homesteaders aren’t known for taking the easy way out!

So what foods should be avoided?  We have already discussed the detriments of vegetable oils and of pasteurized, homogenized dairy.  We also know why we should avoid white flour products and other hard to digest, over-processed carbohydrates.  Other foods to avoid as much as possible are sugar, food additives such as MSG and soy.

Hard to believe that in 1923, a U.S. Farmers Bulletin recommended one pound of sugar per person per week.  Most people are now aware of the dangers of sugar, but our sugar consumption has actually increased.  Here is just a short list of the dangers of sugar:

• Compromised immune system
• Severe mood changes
• Tooth decay
• Body’s minerals are stripped away in order to digest the sugar
• Spike in insulin levels
• Obesity
• Pancreatic damage
• Premature aging
• Osteoporosis
• Autoimmune diseases

Of course, the devilish thing about sugars is that they are found in nearly everything you purchase from the grocery store or restaurant (even more reason to eat at home).

While it is best to eliminate the use of sweeteners as much as possible (remember, our ancestors ate sweets very rarely, only during truly special occasions or festivals).  However, an easier transition is to begin using natural sweeteners such as raw honey, maple syrup, stevia, raw fruit, and Rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice).  Do not replace a bad sugar habit with an equally bad artificial sweetener habit!

Like sugar, most of us know that MSG is a no-no and, also like sugar, MSG is in many, many foods under aliases such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein and “natural flavoring”.  Among other problems, MSG can cause damage to the brain, retina, and the hypothalamus.  It kills glutamate receptors and the neurons connected to them and has been implicated in the rise of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and more recently, in the rise of autism (it can cross the blood-brain barrier in unborn children).  Other additives to avoid are food coloring (do you really want to eat something that is named with a number?), sulfites, nitrites and nitrates, artificial sweeteners, BHA, and BHT.  Unfortunately, there are over 14,000 man-made chemicals approved by the FDA for food production.  Home cooking is starting to look better and better, no?

Okay, most of us already know that sugar and food additives are best avoided.  But soy (edamame)? Isn’t that the new magic health food?  First, you may have heard that soy contains phytoestrogens (components in plants that act like the hormone estrogen).  These phytoestrogens disrupt the endocrine system, which in turn may cause hypothyroidism, infertility, and breast cancer.  Highly processed soy products also usually contain high levels of aluminum, MSG, phytic acid, and toxic chemicals such lysinoalanine and nitrosamines.  Furthermore, the consumption of soy increases the body’s need for B12 and vitamin D while reducing the assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc.  Note that we are talking about processed soy products, not fermented miso or natural edamame.

Summary

The diet recommended by Weston Price and WAPF is based on good science but also on good old common sense.  Avoid processed food and nourish your body with whole, natural foods.  If you are not raising your own animals and growing your own produce, look for sources for pastured, humanely-raised animals free of antibiotics and growth hormones, and enjoy fresh meat and raw dairy.  Find a local farm that sells produce free of pesticides and artificial fertilizers and prepare some fermented dishes for the best absorption of those nutrients.  Experiment with “alternative” grains such as millet and amaranth and enjoy old favorites with a new flavor lent from soaking in yogurt or whey.  You have looked to your ancestors to learn how to garden in the traditional way, how to preserve the harvest, and how to live a simpler life.  Now follow your ancestors’ traditions of feeding the body and soul in a nourishing way.

Most of the information in this article and all of the recipes are from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, or from the Weston A. Price Foundation website.

The post Weston A. Price: Introducing the “Real” Way of Eating appeared first on Homestead.org.

Fermented food has been enjoyed for thousands of years. There is evidence of wine-making dating back to eight thousand years ago in the Caucasus area of Georgia and seven-thousand-year-old old wine jars have been discovered in Iran. The Babylonians were fermenting beverages 7,000 years ago, the Egyptians 5,200 years ago, the ancient Mexicans 4,000 years ago, and the Sudanese 3,500 years ago. Furthermore, some of these cultures were fermenting bread and milk. So this way of eating is not a new thing.

Our culture is working hard to sterilize our environment as much as possible—we spray bleach and chlorine all over our houses, we keep our children indoors for much of their time, we cover our bodies with harsh, bacteria-killing beauty supplies, our first defense in sickness is to “kill off everything” and we sterilize our food through irradiation, heating, pasteurizing, packaging, and chemicals. But what about the “good-guy bacteria”—can we live without it?

Here are seven reasons to consider adding some fermented foods into your diet:

1. Fermented foods and drinks bring beneficial bacteria to your digestive system. This, in turn, helps to improve digestion, bowel health, and overall immunity. Healthy bacteria boosts your immune system in three ways – it “takes up space” in your gut, which crowds out the bad bacteria, it “talks” to the immune system’s lymph nodes and helps the lymph nodes know which bacteria are invaders, and it aids in the growth of important immune system organs such as the thymus (www.marksdailyapple.com). This improvement of the immune system can help with ailments such as asthma, yeast infections, and eczema, and scientists are beginning to suspect that an unhealthy gut is the root problem of nearly all illnesses.

2. Fermented foods help you to better digest, absorb, and use the nutrients in your food. Even if you are eating real, whole foods, if your body is unable to absorb those nutrients properly, you won’t receive the most benefit from that good food. These enzymes are also what allow people to eat some foods that are normally intolerable; for instance, some lactose-intolerant individuals can eat fermented dairy foods such as yogurt and kefir and some celiacs can eat traditional sourdough. But more about that later.

3. Higher levels of vitamins and nutrients are found in fermented foods as compared to their “regular” counterparts. For example, fermented dairy products were found to have higher levels of folic acid (particularly good for women in their childbearing years), biotin, riboflavin, and B vitamins such as pyroxidine.

4. Fermented foods may also help prevent depression. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is closely linked to moods and a deficiency in this neurotransmitter may produce depression. Five percent of serotonin is found in the brain but the other 95 percent is found in the intestines—so a healthy gut flora can translate into a healthy amount of serotonin which, in turn, can translate into feeling good!

5. A point near-and-dear to most homesteaders—fermented foods are easy on the wallet! First, better absorption of your food means you’re getting more “bang for your buck” every time you eat. Secondly, fermenting your own food is a cheap hobby; you can begin fermenting some foods with some homemade whey, salt, veggies, and a mason jar. Fermented foods are also such “super-foods” that you may spend less on supplements, medications, and doctor visits—always a good thing!

6. Fermentation provides an easy way to preserve food. Bountiful produce can be turned into homemade pickles, sauerkraut, and salsa that lasts for months. Excess milk can be turned into yogurt or kefir. And lacto-fermentation retains more nutrients than traditional canning.

7. And, finally, fermented foods just taste good. Just think, sauerkraut on hot dogs, buttermilk pancakes, tortilla chips with salsa, and stinky cheese with a bottle of good wine. Eating these foods is not a hardship, that’s for sure!

Making Kefir

Let’s begin our look at our first fermented food with an interesting, and true, story. Kefir is one of the oldest fermented milk products and is similar to yogurt. Legend has it that Mohammed gave kefir to the people of the northern parts of the Caucasian Mountains and thus they became known as “Grains of the Prophet”. Since they were so special, the grains and how to prepare them were guarded very carefully; Marco Polo mentions kefir and its “magical properties” but the grains were not available to outsiders. Knowledge of kefir almost vanished until a rumor spread that it could be used in the treatment of tuberculosis and intestinal and stomach disorders.

Russian doctors decided they had to have some kefir. So they hired the Blandov brothers; they, in turn, hired a beautiful young woman named Irina Sakharova. Her mission was to visit a local prince, Bek-Mirza Barchorov, and convince him to give her some grains. The prince didn’t want to be in trouble for giving away the grains but neither did he want to lose Irina. As she and her entourage were traveling back home, the prince had Irina kidnapped, and, in accordance with the local custom of stealing brides, told Irina she must marry him. She was saved in a rescue mission and the Tzar ordered Prince Barchorov to give Irina ten pounds of kefir grains in compensation. Thanks to Irina Sakharova, kefir is the number one fermented milk drink in Russia and has made its way to our shores.

While kefir is similar to yogurt, it contains five times more friendly bacteria and it has some different types that are not found in yogurt, such as the species Lactobacillus acetobacter, Caucasus, and, Leucononstoc. Kefir also helps colonize the intestinal tract with friendly bacteria whereas yogurt contains more transient beneficial bacteria. Finally, kefir has a smaller size curd and this makes it easier to digest for babies, the elderly, and the ill.

The shepherds of the Caucasus region discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would sometimes ferment. This lead to inoculating milk with kefir grains; the milk was then poured into skin bags, hung by a doorway, and knocked by anyone passing through so that the milk and grains would mix well. Here is the modern, homemade way:

You’ll need:

• 1-2 tbsp Kefir grains
• 1 quart whole cow or goat’s milk (Raw and unpasteurized is preferable, but at least use whole)
• 1 liter jar
• lid for jar or clean cloth
• plastic strainer
• plastic spoon
• cup

Instructions:

Place kefir grains in a jar. You can order kefir grains online but many kefir makers will gladly share some with you. It is good to establish a “kefir community”; if you mess up your grains somehow, you will easily be able to get another supply.

Add the fresh milk. There is no need to do anything to the milk.

Lightly cover the jar. Do allow some space at the top of the kefir milk and do allow for some oxygen to reach the kefir and feed the grains. I just use a cloth napkin and a rubber band.

Place jar in a room that is about 65–75 degrees and away from direct sunlight. This range of temperatures promote the fermentation of the 30 different bacteria and 25 different yeasts found in the kefir.

Leave for 1-3 days. Kefir is mild tasting after 12 hours, tart at 24 hours, and “zesty” at 48 hours. My kefir is consumed by kids, so I only leave it overnight so they don’t suspect it in their smoothies.

Separate the kefir milk from the kefir grains.

Using a plastic strainer, pour out the mixture into the cup. It is important to use plastic or glass. Kefir is acidic and can react with reactive metals such as copper, brass, and aluminum. The remaining solids caught by the strainer should be used for your next batch of kefir making. Place these grains in a glass container, cover with some milk, and place in the refrigerator if you’re not ready to make more kefir. If you find you have too much kefir and you can’t give any away, the grains are healthy food and can be eaten by themselves.

Drink your kefir/milk kefir.

The liquid you strained into the cup is now your kefir. You can drink this right away, refrigerate it for later or use it for some other recipes such as kefir cheese, bread, smoothies, or soups.

Sourdough

Sourdough, one of the oldest leavened breads, dates back to around 4,000 BC in Egypt. Probably by accident, some beneficial bacteria fell into some bread and the baker noticed that, while the bread did not rise as much, it had a light texture and a good taste. Once bakers figured out what was happening, they would commonly leaven bread by adding a piece of dough from each day’s baking to the next batch. It is said that sourdough starters were carried in Columbus’ ships and by the 1800s, they were of great importance for the gold miners and pioneers making their way west.

Having a sourdough starter allowed the prospectors and pioneers to make bread or biscuits whenever necessary, without a trip to town for yeast. The leavener was so important that the miners slept with the starters during cold weather to keep it from freezing. Many cabins had a tin for the “sponge” hanging over the woodstove. The starters were passed to friends and to family and by 1849, sourdough was famous for its unique aroma and tart taste.

So why sourdough over “regular bread”? Because of its friendly bacteria, sourdough is easier to digest, even for gluten-sensitive people. First, the bacteria help your gut absorb nutrients more efficiently. Secondly, sourdough contains less phytic acid than most grain products; phytic acid robs your body of nutrients and blocks nutrient absorption. In addition, sourdough produces protein enzymes that break down gluten-forming proteins such as albumin and glutelin—these proteins cause most gluten intolerance. Finally, diabetics should be able to tolerate sourdough better because it depletes the damaged starch in bread.

Making Your Own Sourdough Starter (from L. Kevin Johnson):

If you can’t find a source for a sourdough starter, you can make your own. Mix together in a glass or stainless steel bowl 2 cups of flour (use whichever type of flour you plan on baking bread with—you can’t use the starter in different types of flour) and 1-1/2 cups water. Cover with cheesecloth and place outside for 4-5 days. Be sure to stir a couple of times a day. After 2-3 days it should begin to bubble. When it does, feed the starter 3/4 cup water and 1 cup flour and stir well again. Let it continue to ferment. After 4-5 days it should produce about an inch of foam. If it doesn’t rise or smells bad, throw it out and start over in another spot. When the foam is formed, stir the mixture well and place one cup of it into a glass or plastic container. Feed it 3/4 cup water and 1 cup flour as before. Use the remainder to make bread or discard. Let the storage culture sit out another 2 or 3 hours then place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Each time you use it, replace 3/4 cup filtered water and 1 cup flour. This will make a well-hydrated, thick storage leaven. Let the culture sit out for at least 2 hours before replacing the lid and returning to the refrigerator. Revitalize it at least once a week by either using a cup of it or removing a cup and throwing it away. Feed it as above: 3/4 cup of water and 1 cup of flour.

Instructions for Bread Baking from CulturedFoodLife.com:

• One cup (8 oz) sourdough starter
• 1 1/4 cup of water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 to 5 cups flour

Add ingredients in order to the bowl, kneading to form a smooth dough. Let rise until double. This can be four to seven hours depending on the warmth of the kitchen and the strength of the starter. Then punch down and shape into a loaf and place the loaf on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about two hours or until doubled. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425. Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in the bread. Bake until it’s very deep golden brown; about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Making Fermented Vegetables

You probably already enjoy some fermented vegetables if you like sauerkraut and DIY pickles. Consider adding more fermented vegetables to your diet by using some “nontraditional” vegetables and by making some fermented relishes, sauces, and condiments. These recipes will get you started:

Ginger Carrots from Sally Fallon

For every quart:

• 4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pound with a fist or wooden pounder to release juices. Pack into a wide-mouth quart-size jar and press down until juices cover the carrots. Cover tightly and leave them at room temperature for three days, but if your carrots bubble fiercely, let off the pressure several times per day to prevent the jars from exploding. Leave more than a 1-inch space between the carrots and lid to avoid explosion, also.

Lactobacillus, bacteria that produces the natural preservative lactic acid, are present on the surface of all living things. It is especially prevalent in whey, which can be obtained from yogurt with live cultures. The salt is added to inhibit unwanted organisms just until enough lactic acid has formed to preserve the vegetables. This is why less salt can be used if the fermentation process is jump-started with whey.

Fermented Salsa from CheeseSlave.com

Ingredients:

• Chili peppers (1-2 serranos or 1/2-1 jalapeno, depending on how hot you like it)
• 4 medium fresh tomatoes, or 2 pounds canned tomatoes, organic if possible
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, organic if possible
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 lemons or 3 limes, organic if possible
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
• 1 bunch oregano, fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) – optional
• 1 bunch cilantro, fresh – optional
• Filtered water – optional

Equipment:

• Rubber gloves
• Quart-sized mason jar with lid
• Food processor

Instructions:

Wearing gloves, cut open the chilies and discard the stems and seeds. Set aside.

If using fresh tomatoes, peel and deseed them: Fill a large saucepan halfway with water, set on high heat and bring to a boil. Carefully set tomatoes in saucepan and let sit for 5-10 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon or tongs. Cool and peel. Cut tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out the seeds, or scoop out with a spoon, and discard. Set aside.

Peel and quarter the onion and peel and smash or crush the garlic.

If using fresh herbs, rinse, dry and chop them, discarding the stems.

Place the peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and optional herbs into the food processor or dice by hand.

Squeeze the 2 lemons or 3 limes and add the juice.

Add the sea salt and whey.

Pulse several times (more or less for desired consistency).

Transfer to a quart-sized mason jar. Add a little filtered water if necessary (if you like it more liquid and it’s too chunky). If you add water, put the lid on and shake it up so it’s incorporated. Make sure to leave at least an inch of space from the top of the jar.

Cover and keep at room temperature for 2-3 days before transferring to the fridge. Salsa will keep for weeks or months in the fridge.

~~~~~~~~~~

According to Carolyn Bohach, a microbiologist at the University of Idaho, there are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than human cells. All that bacteria would fill a half-gallon jug. Better make that colony beneficial bacteria—start making some fermented food today!

Resources:

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon-Morell

Kefir.net

Sourdough info from KingArthurFlour.com

WellnessMama.com

The post Fermented Foods: Beneficial Bacteria for the Health-conscious Homesteader appeared first on Homestead.org.

But recently I’ve begun to rethink this. There’s a great deal of sense in eating what our bodies have naturally evolved to process. We haven’t changed much at all from the fully human Paleolithic hunter-gatherer that emerged some 200,000 years ago. In fact, since agriculture took hold about 10,000 years ago, our species has actually declined physically. We are now shorter, less healthy, and have a smaller brain capacity than our Paleo ancestors. Jared Diamond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel, has called agriculture “the worst mistake in the history of the human race”.

Not great news for farmers or homesteaders. We have outgrown the world’s capacity to support our immense human population solely on a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Besides, cultivating a staple diet of grains is what has made our species great: created a stratified social structure that allowed for artists, thinkers, traders, administrators, builders, and scientists to develop and eventually create our amazing modern civilization.

The problem is what’s been good for civilization isn’t always so swell for the individuals living in it. Our Western culture is plagued by obesity, diabetes, heart disease, allergies, and bowel disease to a degree virtually unheard of in our ancient past. The biggest killers of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers were the environment, childbirth, infectious disease, accidents, and murder (more common than you’d think). It’s a myth that cavemen and women were designed to live only thirty years. The few who did survive calamity had the potential to live as long as we do now.

So why are we beset by diseases unknown to our deep ancestors? Could it have something to do with our food? Just what is our digestive system designed to digest? Recent studies are uncovering some amazing facts about our guts and what we put in them.

Our Gut and How it Evolved

It’s been discovered that our gut has a brain of its own. If you gathered up all the 500 million nerve cells and 100 million neurons that direct our digestive system’s efforts to convert food to energy, you would wind up with a brain about the size of a cat’s. Now I don’t know about you, but the thought of an intelligent brain living within my abdomen that is as smart as my cat is rather eerie. This brain is what communicates to that “other” brain in our head, letting us know when it’s hungry. Rather like a cat yowling at her bowl, come to think of it.

If that isn’t strange enough, it turns out that our bodies, cell for cell, are mostly bacteria. There’s a teeming bacterial population living in the gut called the microbiome. According to Dr. Siri Carpenter of the American Psychological Association, bacteria actually outnumber all the human cells in our bodies by ten to one. The gut brain “leverages th(is) living bacterial ecosystem for the sake of both physical and psychological well-being”.

Yes, the state of the bacteria in our gut can actually affect the state of our mind.

Research done by neuroimmunologist John Bienenstock, MD, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario reveals that a healthy microbiome can make animals in a lab bolder, smarter, more relaxed, and more tolerant of pain. Effects on learning, memory, and mood are caused by neurochemicals produced by gut bacteria. 95 percent of the body’s supply of serotonin is produced by the microbiome. In reverse, even a mildly stressed mind can affect the balance of bacteria in the gut, leading to disease.

Microbiome bacteria have evolved alongside their human hosts. Because they are bacteria with very short life spans, their potential for rapid evolutionary change and adaptability offers us the advantage of flexibility of diet—a great boon for omnivores on the move. Bacteria can evolve to break down new foods, or dismantle newly encountered toxins. They can become distinct population groups, swapping genes and pieces of DNA. Michael Pollen in a recent New York Times article describes how researchers discovered that Japanese people can digest raw seaweed, something the rest of us can’t do as well. This is due to a certain microbe in their guts acquired 40,000 years ago when they first arrived on the islands of Japan and began ingesting a marine bacterium gene in the seaweed they found there.

So, is our ingenious gut and its army of bacteria adaptable enough to handle our modern post-Paleo diet? What about grain?

Is Too Much Grain Bad for Us?

As soon as you attempt to research this question you discover grain is either the best thing since, well, sliced bread, and something our bodies naturally benefit from, or grain is a villain that causes a plague of troubles. Proponents of both sides have persuasive arguments. Both “sound” right.

Grains are the seeds of grasses that have been cultivated by humans for millennia. They include wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, and millet among others. However, even with Asia’s rice and Mesoamerica’s corn, wheat is Queen, taking up more than 590,000,000 acres on the planet and trading more on the worldwide market that all other grain crops combined. Although advocates of the Paleo Diet recommend not eating any grains (paleoplan.com bans wheat, rice, millet, oats, spelt, kamut, quinoa, buckwheat, wild rice, amaranth, sorghum, rye, barley, and corn) we will focus on wheat in this article as it’s the grain North Americans are most familiar with.

Those who support wheat as a staple in our diet offer ideas that are not new. We grew up thinking cream of wheat was a healthy breakfast, fortified white bread puts roses in your cheeks, and wheat is a “complete” food, dense with vitamins, minerals, energy rich starches and proteins to build healthy bodies. References to wheat are in the Bible (give us this day our daily bread), in our history books (think ancient Egyptians and their bee-hive shaped grain elevators), and is deeply rooted in American culture (O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain). However, just because something is “ingrained” doesn’t make it good.

It seems one of the problems with wheat is it isn’t what it was. According to cardiologist William Davis, MD, author of Wheat Belly, all forms of wheat product North Americans now consume, from refined white bread to sprouted multigrain cereal, are both addictive and toxic. It isn’t the same grain people ate as little as fifty years ago. The new strains were created not for nutritional benefits, but to resist fungi and drought and increase yield per acre. Worse, wheat is now super gluten-ized to make dough more elastic and create fluffier bread, flakier pastries and enhance characteristics of wheat additives for a cornucopia of commercial products.

Some years ago I wanted to lose some weight and gave up starches for awhile, including bread. Within four days, although I was eating plenty of food, my body was screaming for sugar. Now, I rarely eat sweets, I just don’t have a craving for them. However, when I stopped eating bread I actually started to dream of candy bars. The intense cravings I had were identical to those I experienced when I gave up smoking many years ago Luckily this craving subsided after about four weeks on my diet. But wheat was one of the hardest things I ever gave up.

I’ve since learned that wheat now contains a special protein called gliatin. Gliatin is highly addictive – the body reacts to it in the same way it does to opium. Eating gliatin makes you incessantly hungry and creates cravings for more wheat products and refined carbs. Try cutting all wheat from your diet and you’ll see just how true this is.

According to Carolyn Akens, a NY holistic health coach, “Wheat intolerance is consistently rising in huge numbers.” She states that humans don’t fully digest wheat the way herbivorous ruminants like sheep and cows do. Undigested wheat gluten fermenting in the human gut causes gas, bloating and leaky gut that releases toxins into the bloodstream”. This opinion is shared by many in the holistic health field.

A Chicago Tribune article written by Josephine Marcotty quotes a Minnesota study that found wheat gluten intolerance, a debilitating digestive condition, is four times more common today than it was in the 1950s and mortality rates have also increased. About 1 percent of the population has been diagnosed with Celiac disease, where gluten damages the intestinal walls. Many more, about 12 percent, have gluten sensitivity, which means the body produces antibodies in response to what it sees as a foreign substance in wheat, rye and barley protein.

The immune system is then directed to attack the lining of the small intestine, which causes diarrhea, nausea and pain. It’s likely there are many more people who have minor reactions to wheat but who don’t know the source. After all gas, bloating and indigestion are so common we simply consider it part of daily life.

On the other hand, many nutritionists believe that not only are we able to assimilate grains, but they are actually very good for us. Kimberly Snyder, a New York Times bestselling author and nutritionist for many celebrities, says “We’re designed to eat grains. We’ve evolved to eat them because the human body adapts in order to survive, and can get vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and even antioxidants from whole grains… humans have evolved to have more amylase, which breaks down starchy foods.”

The USDA supports wheat consumption, although it recommends eating whole grains to get the most nutritional benefit. The Canadian Food Guide recommends up to 7 servings of grain per day for adults, although they do recommend a variety of mostly whole grains. The original American Food Guide Pyramid proposed grain in the form of bread, cereal, rice and pasta as the foundation for our diet. This gradually changed until 2011, when the pyramid was replaced by MyPlate, which recommends around 30 percent grains in daily intake, with at least half of these to be from whole grains.

Anthropologists have found evidence of grain consumption as far back as 105,000 years ago. This only makes sense. We evolved on the grasslands of Africa. Grasses would naturally have been on the menu. But comparing these ancient grains to modern wheat strains would be a mistake.

The first known wheat grains to be consumed by people were two Wild Einkorn varieties and Goat Grass. When hunter-gathers first arrived in the Fertile Crescent they discovered these grasses growing among the open woodland. They chewed the raw grains, roasted them, pounded them to mush and certainly would have fermented them. They didn’t cultivate them. Einkorn and Goat Grass have tough shells protecting the thin seed so extraction was time-consuming. Combined with the fact the ears would readily shatter, a technique the plant uses to spread its seed, meant collecting and eating a lot of grain would be problematic. These grasses would be picked and relished, but they’d hardly be a staple of the Paleolithic diet.

About 30,000 years ago, before we had anything resembling modern agriculture, Wild Einkorn and Goat Grass combined their genes to create a hybrid called Wild Emmer. Emmer still had tough seed coverings and fragile ears, but the grains were larger, making the effort of gathering them more rewarding. It was Wild Emmer that was selected for cultivation once agriculture began in earnest some 10,000 years ago. New farmers favored traits that would be a disadvantage to any grass in the wild—bulkier grains, thinner seed casings, and the tendency to hold onto their seed rather than disperse them with shattering. Eventually, wheat began to look more like some of the grains we’re familiar with today. Cultivated Emmer gave rise to spelt and eventually to modern Durum and bread wheat.

Did ancient hunter-gather peoples eat grain? Certainly. So why was it good for them and bad for us? Probably because they didn’t eat the 146 lbs of refined, modified wheat products per year that each of us do. The amylase in our guts may have evolved to process some grain, but even our amazing gut can’t handle that kind of onslaught.

Many believe a return to the foods of our early ancestors is a return to health. But, what were these ancient foods? Are they still around? How do we obtain them?

What is (and was) the Paleolithic Diet?

Try to imagine someone from the Paleolithic era and you’ll likely envision a fur-clad cave man, club in hand, on the hunt for his next meal. This might be a wooly mammoth or one of the large wild herbivores painted on cave walls. We tend to think of pre-agricultural people as eating a lot of meat. Meat is important in our evolution, but big game was rarely the staple food.

Evidence found in ancient camps and dump sites (and observation of modern hunter-gatherer peoples) supports a diverse diet based on wild vegetables, tubers, fruits, berries, mushrooms, seaweed, nuts, and meats. Some groups relied more heavily on hunting big game animals, but the majority of protein for most humans came from other sources like fish and shellfish, snakes and reptiles, birds, small animals, nuts, eggs, grubs, and insects.

For the last 100,000 years or so, people cooked their food and this enhanced the variety of foods they could eat. However, many of the species of plants and animals they ate are now rare, extinct, or forgotten. Reproducing a similar diet would be very challenging in today’s kitchen.

However, there are many who believe we should try. According to Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, most of what ails us today is directly due to the food we now grow. “The Paleo diet is the healthiest way you can eat because it is the ONLY nutritional approach that works with your genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic!”

There’s some debate even within the Paleo community about what is acceptable to eat. Most avoid dairy, grains, legumes, refined sweeteners, and highly processed oils. They restrict coffee, chocolate, dried fruit, alcohol, caffeinated teas and natural sweeteners such as honey. They advise getting plenty of vegetables, fruits, grass-fed and free-range meats and eggs, fish, shell fish, eggs, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, and fats from animals, nuts and olives.

On the Homestead: Can We Grow Hunter-gatherer-type Crops and Animals?

Well, yes and no. It depends on your interpretation of Paleo, what ancient foods are still available, and what you want to eat (snake, anyone?).

Grain as a staple is out. However, since grain was a part of ancient people’s diets, Spelt and some other ancient grains might be feasible as long as it’s grown as a small component of the diet and not as its foundation.

Aurochs, the wild ox that gave rise to our domesticated cattle is now extinct. Wild boars are notoriously hard to handle. Many of the wild animals we used to hunt are now gone. However, there are thousands of animals kept on farms or ranches that have changed little from their ancestors over the millennia. These include yaks, bison, goats, llamas, emu, ostrich, reindeer, honey bees, pigeons, elk, quail, deer, and pheasant. Domesticated heirloom breeds of pigs, sheep, fowl, rabbits, and cattle produce a higher quality of meat and by-products than more modern breeds.

We may not eat much sea asparagus anymore, but we can still grow “forage” crops of berries, tree nuts, mushrooms, and heirloom varieties of herbs, vegetables, and fruits. A browse through many of the new heritage seed catalogues opens up many exciting options for getting earlier varieties of food on our plates.

And that’s the key: Variety, Variety, Variety. Hunter-gatherers were opportunistic nomads, following the seasons, eating whatever they found along the way. We can reproduce much of that variety of unadulterated, natural foods. Herbivores that eat grass the way their ancestors did are healthier and provide better nutrition. Permaculture produces foods that access nutrients from a naturally rich soil ecosystem. Multiple small plots with a variety of organic heritage foods offer the diversity our bodies were evolved to utilize. Homesteaders getting “back to basics” are already on the right track to creating a more natural, healthy way of eating.

Our ancestors would be proud.

The post Against the Grain: The Paleolithic Diet appeared first on Homestead.org.

I was riveted by Dr. Lustig’s presentation. It wasn’t just what he said, though that was compelling. It was also the way he said it: with conviction, even, at times, a spark of righteous indignation.

Among the statements he made, the repeated mantra was: all sugar is bad for you, all sugar is bad for you, all sugar is bad for you. BUT fructose, as it occurs in “food products” (as distinct from “real foods”) is much, much worse, because of the way the body metabolizes it. So my ex was, per Dr. Lustig, both right and wrong, and so was I. Fair enough.

Trying to process what I heard Dr. Lustig say, I thought back to my early hippie years when I first figured out that white sugar was bad and brown sugar or honey was good. Then my understanding grew to the point where I saw that brown sugar is just white sugar with more molasses, or sometimes, molasses flavoring and brown dye (the functional equivalent of mixing sugar and a dash of tasty shoe polish). And later, I learned that bees make honey from—sugar! Then came the fanatical phases in which I was determined that no sweet flavor should cross my lips (usually these were times when I wanted to lose weight, so as soon as the pounds left, the sweet stuff returned). Later, I came to my view that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the devil, the devil we know and mistakenly trust, since it is has insinuated itself into so many things we like to eat, and don’t want to give up forever. Check the label on any processed food you enjoy. If you have not already discovered this, you may be dismayed to see how much HFCS is in meat, vegetables, even products advertising themselves as “healthy” and “whole.”

And remember, the bottom line regarding HFCS as distinct from the sugar that naturally occurs in an apple or a glass of milk is that HFCS is a genetically engineered substance. The sugar in an apple has not been genetically engineered, whereas the addition of HFCS to any food is a chemical modification of that food.

I was beset with a low-pitched foreboding, not unlike the feeling I recall from childhood just before my older sister told me that Santa Claus was “just our parents.” What to do? Love the parents for bringing gifts, or hate them for telling a lie?

What to do? Love sugar for being a food? No poisons, Dr. Lustig says, are sweet, so our long-ago ancestors knew they were “safe” when they ate something with a sweet taste. Sugar was trustworthy. You could eat it. It was food.

Or hate sugar for being so destructive, causing obesity, diabetes, and a host of other ills that are sapping the vigor of American society?

Love it for providing calories—after all, we have to have calories to stay alive, right?

Or hate it for its empty promise—energy without lasting strength and health?

If my language seems strong, the language Dr. Lustig uses is stronger; and he is a scientist. Here are some of the facts he presents in his book, Fat Chance (many of these points are also developed in his compelling YouTube lecture, Sugar—The Bitter Truth) :

* Fructose (this includes all sugars apart from lactose, the sugar naturally occurring in milk) is “inevitably metabolized to fat.”

* Fructose consumption has doubled in the past thirty years and increased six-fold in the last century.

* Most of us, regardless of weight, release twice as much insulin today as we did thirty years ago for the same amount of glucose; this leads to a condition called hyperinsulinemia and that leads to insulin resistance. The body experiences hunger, leading to over-eating, especially to the consumption of foods loaded with sugar. This is the classic portrait of addiction.

* The processed food industry has turned to increased sugars of all kinds to improve the flavor and shelf life of “food products”; we continue to eagerly purchase and consume these processed foods. About a quarter of all calories we consume on average, come from sugars; in adolescents this percentage can approach forty.

* High fructose corn syrup, made from corn that has been chemically tweaked, came on the scene in 1975. Since its inception, that day before any of us had ever tasted it, its consumption has sky-rocketed. Americans consume almost 70 pounds of HFCS a year. Most people are probably unaware that they do this. A quick check of any grocer’s shelf will reveal that most “food products” contain some HFCS, sometimes as a primary ingredient. HFCS is sweeter than sugar by 20%, yet manufacturers of “food products” add more HFCS to their products than they used to add sugar.

I knew this information was important; important enough to share. And there’s more, information I had gleaned at first hand.

I lived for a year in the Dominican Republic, where sugar cane is king. It’s been that way since the island was first discovered and most of its native population destroyed by the Spaniards, who were so cruel that the natives, called Taínos, gladly joined hands and walked into the sea rather than serve them. So the Spanish overlords (and on the western, Haitian portion of the island, the French) imported Africans to do the work of harvesting sugar cane.

Sugar cane, for centuries the most potent supplier of sweetness to desperate Europeans, is a dangerous customer, designed by Mother Nature to keep its treasure secure. Sucrose clings to the inner stalk, and the outer stalk is covered with razor-sharp leaves. Harvesting by hand is still prevalent because of cheap, Third World labor that has replaced slavery and indenture as a means of exploiting the poor. In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, hired laborers, mostly persons of African descent, generally referred to as “garçons” (boys), harvest by burning the cane fields and cutting the canes as low as possible to the ground with deadly machetes. I was told that accidents—loss of digits and limbs—were common in the cane fields and in the equally dangerous processing area where cane sugar is converted to granules.

Sugar was known in the Far East before the Europeans found out about it, and carried West by Arab traders. Once known, it became the predominant source of sweetness for wealthy Europeans who measured it in milligrams, like a precious metal. Once it was linked to the slave trade and the territorial greed that afflicted 18th and 19th century Europeans; there was no stopping it. The only hold-up was the processing—if possible, more grueling and time-consuming than harvesting—and no European could be inveigled to do it. The climate required to grow the cane was warm and humid, which Europe is not. So importing slaves from warm climes to work for a few years and die in an unknown land was deemed damned good business. The common wisdom among the happy capitalists of the time was that it was cheaper to buy new slaves than to feed the old ones.

The statistics on sugar consumption in England in the 1700s read not unlike the statistics for the consumption of HFCS in the U.S. in recent years. From having almost no sweet flavors, the Europeans who could afford it went sugar mad. Wikipedia states that, “Britain, for example, consumed five times as much sugar in 1770 as in 1710. By 1750 sugar surpassed grain as ‘the most valuable commodity in European trade—it made up a fifth of all European imports and in the last decades of the century four-fifths of the sugar came from the British and French colonies in the West Indies.’” No one thought of it as an addiction.

Published in 2010, Elizabeth Abbott’s book, Sugar: A Bittersweet History, tells the sugar backstory, laying bare the despotic methods of the desperate European nobility to produce and procure sugar, at any human cost.

We love statistics, it seems, and like to have them readily available; but it doesn’t take statistics to figure out that people who consume a lot of sugar are generally less healthy than those who don’t, with an exception being highly motivated athletes for whom sugar can provide needed energy—because such people already have the needed energy to burn the calories sugar produces.

Dr. Lustig sees, and abhors, this pattern in the children he treats. Sugar death is a slow one. It takes a lifetime, a lifetime marred by the burdens of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and, according to Dr. Lustig, something worse. Fructose, as in High Fructose Corn Syrup, as in sodas, as in soda crackers, ice cream, packaged puddings, meats, and so on, metabolizes as fat. Fat in your liver. It does this because large quantities of sugar (note “large quantities”—Dr. Lustig does not necessarily advise complete curtailment of sugar) drive up insulin secretion, and insulin wants to be used as fuel or as fat. If you are already obese, you are unlikely to be able to do enough exercise to get rid of the insulin by burning it off. Instead, your body will store it as fat, especially fat in the liver. A fatty liver is a dying liver. Not irreversibly moribund, but moribund. And fat in the liver is not easily detectable.

Some of Dr. Lustig’s claims are not accepted by his fellow scientists, and anyone interested in this subject should read his book (Fat Chance—it’s easy to remember), watch his YouTube presentation, and balance it with the views of other medical authorities. Nonetheless, thoughtful people, especially parents struggling to keep their children healthy enough to survive in these toxic times, welcome his advice, any advice, about the dangers of sugar consumption. Dr. Lustig admits it’s hard to do the kind of research that hard science requires on substances that have the approval of the FDA; moreover, a quick “Google” on the subject of HFCS reveals that corn growers are a powerful lobby, especially with the interests of government behind them. Don’t ever discount the significance of the Iowa caucuses when the subject of corn is bruited: politicians will do almost anything to entice Iowa’s corn farmers to their side. HFCS even had its own website called “Sweet Surprise”.

What Dr. Lustig wants us to understand about sugar isn’t totally new. In fact, scientific, medical, and casual observers (parents) have been concerned about the deleterious effects of sugar for some time, certainly for the second half of the twentieth century. During and after World War II, in response to the deprivations of rationing, the American public was being advised by the sugar industry that no other substance could offer them as many calories (energy) for so little actual food intake. Fascinating, as Mister Spock might say.

According to the Global Healing Center website, “In 1957, Dr. William Coda Martin tried to answer the question: When is a food a food and when is it a poison? His working definition of ‘poison’ was: ‘Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease.” Dr. Martin classified refined sugar [the buzzword of the day as HFCS is today] as a “poison” because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals.” This website reminds us that so-called primitive people who consume no processed or altered foods, have strong, healthy, gleaming teeth, while we, with all our gathered scientific wisdom, struggle to keep ours clean and white. In 1986 William Dufty wrote the best-selling Sugar Blues and like Dr. Lustig, was criticized for going too far, for implying that sugar is a drug and its consumption, an addiction.

Dr. Lustig, then, is the latest in a long line of crusaders. He works with children, and he’s sick of seeing them being sick, sick of seeing obese babies and almost non-functionally overweight kids. When he says that sugar is a “poison” he may be pushing the envelope, too far for good science. But when he says that over-consumption of sugar, whether in cola drinks or breakfast cereals or bread or fruit juice cocktails, is bad for us, and especially for our young ones, he’s thinking of a generation of children (with a 40% obesity rate) whose adulthood may be burdened and their lives shortened by metabolic malfunction.

I’m thinking about them, and I believe you are, too. Let’s keep the sugar debate alive. And whether you want to call it sugar, sucrose, fructose, refined sugar, or high fructose corn syrup, let’s keep it out of our cupboards and off our tables. You never know when the grandkids might come for a visit.

The post The Devil We Know: Keeping Sugar Off the Table appeared first on Homestead.org.

Keeping the livestock clean, housed and fed, the gardens weeded and tended, the tools clean and serviced and our family clean, housed, fed, tended and serviced all take a toll on the most important asset we’ve got—ourselves.

That some countries have a better history of people living healthy and well into deep senior-citizenship is no surprise. So I looked up the list of Countries with the Highest Longevity (Figures are from the 2009 CIA Factbook and from the 2006 revision of the United Nations World Population Prospects report, for the period 2005-2010) with the intent of waltzing through the meadows of said countries 10 through 1 on the list, collecting healthy rural facts along the way.

But when I delved into the reasons for these people living a long time, the things I assumed I’d find were sometimes not there. And things I’d never thought to string together became common threads in the quilt of longevity—but they did turn out to be things we can all do or adapt our lives to include.

A lot of these places are heavily urban, and there’s not a shared climate between most of them. What they do have in common with each other, and more specifically, what they do NOT have in common with the United States is the following:

• A lack of availability of big box stores and fast food joints
• A preference for whole, real foods instead of artificially lowered fats, sugars and calories
• Access to free or very low-cost healthcare that’s considered a right by their governments

The yardsticks I used for big box stores and fast food were Walmart and McDonald’s.

I have nothing personal against either one of these businesses, and this is not an article about whether or not Walmart is killing our small towns or pumping money into them, whether McDonald’s teaches young people about work ethic or is causing them to be diabetic fat people, and for sure it’s not a debate on Universal Government Mandated Healthcare.

I’m just saying…

So, pack your virtual bags and come along with me to places where people live long and prosper—I’ve included a tasty snack from each country for provisions and thanks to the magic of imagination, I promise to have you back by feeding time…

10. Israel

First on our trip, and number 10 on our list, is Israel. I don’t know why I was so surprised about that, but I was. I guess all those bible stories having to do with deserts and Dead Seas and whatnot made me think that Israel would be kind of a difficult place to live a long time.

However, Israelites may expect to live to a ripe 80 years, and there are 7,411,000 Israelites who inhabit their land at the rate of 839 per square mile.

The topography of Israel is a lot more varied than I had thought—from mountains that are almost always covered in snow, to the steaming summer coastal cities, and considering the lack of heavy rainfall, it’s a wonder that fully 20% of the land is given to agriculture. Thanks to intensive development and irrigation, Israel manages to be not only totally self-sufficient in the way of farm products, but it’s an exporter of many fruits, vegetables, flowers and sheep’s milk.

The cuisine of Israel is diverse and changing constantly as the population, mostly Jewish, bring new eating habits and ideas from all over the world. Traditional foods from the Jewish faith along with recipes that incorporate the produce that’s now grown there make for fine eating in the Land of Milk and Honey.

Getting out our societal yardsticks out we find that there are zero Walmarts in Israel, and though there are 131 McDonald’s, that’s only 1 per 56,752 people, over double that of the U.S. where the number is 1 McDonald’s for every 22,996 people.

Healthcare in Israel is both universal and compulsory, and all citizens receive the same Uniform Benefits Package, no matter their financial means. Israel’s quality of healthcare ranked 28th worldwide in 2000, the last year available for these figures.

I know we’ve just started out, but I’m feeling the need for a little snack. You?

Sweet Raisin Challah Bread

• 1 1/2 cups dark or yellow raisins, plumped (soaked in water)
• 3/4 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• pinch sugar approx, 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6-7 cups flour
• Egg wash:
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk

In a large bowl stir together the yeast, water, and pinch of sugar. Let stand five minutes to allow yeast to swell and dissolve.

Briskly stir in remaining sugar, honey, and salt. Then add oil, eggs, yolks and about five cups of the flour. Stir and let stand 10-20 minutes to absorb flour. Knead, by hand or with a dough hook, adding remaining flour as needed to make a soft and elastic dough (about 10-12 minutes). Dough should leave sides of the bowl. If it is sticky, add small amounts of flour until dough is soft but no longer sticks.

Let dough rest on a lightly floured board ten minutes, then flatten and press in raisins as evenly as possible into the dough, folding dough over raisins to “tuck” them in. Place dough in a greased bowl and either cover with greased plastic wrap and a damp tea towel or cover with a damp tea towel and place entire bowl inside a large plastic bag. Let rise until doubled and puffy looking, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.

(If you are doing an overnight, cool rise, place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and insert this in a large plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight. If you see the bread rising too quickly, open the bag, deflate dough, and reseal. Next day, allow dough to warm up then gently deflate and proceed.)

Divide dough in three sections. Shape to each to a round ball.

Place on cornmeal dusted baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together egg glaze ingredients. Brush loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise until puffy, around 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake bread 12 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 25 minutes or until bread is evenly browned.

Can be frozen baked or unbaked. If freezing unbaked, let bread rise slowly, overnight in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before baking.
(from JewishRecipes.org)

Fortified, we travel north to Europe, where we’ll spend the next three stops.

9. Switzerland

Ahh, Switzerland… Little Heidi yodeling to her goats up in the mountains without a care in the world or another soul in sight, except with 7,739,100 people inhabiting the country at a rate of 477 per square mile, it seems a little more crowded than that. Switzerland devotes one third of its land to agriculture, which is comprised mainly of dairies and vineyards.

The people of Switzerland enjoy a temperate climate with four distinct seasons—winters being harsher up in the mountains and foggier down in the valleys.

There’s not a Walmart in sight, and a mere 119 McDonald’s—one for every 65,034 people.

The Swiss are covered by compulsory universal healthcare, which is rated at number 20 in the world, and the average Swiss citizen can expect to live to age 80.

The cuisine of Switzerland is an amalgamation of its neighbors, with an emphasis on local specialties: cheeses, wines, and of course, world-famous chocolates.

I’m feeling like a little comfort food… maybe some macaroni and cheese, or some hot buttered potatoes, or a big bowl of warm applesauce.

In a stroke of pure genius, the Swiss have combined all three. This AND chocolate? How could life get any better?

Aelplermagaronen (Älpler Macaroni)

Ingredients for four people:

• 1lb medium sized potatoes (suitable for boiling)
• ½ lb macaroni
• ½ strong cheese, grated (e.g. Appenzeller)
• 2 fluid oz cream
• 1 fluid oz milk
• 2 large onions
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• butter greasing the pan
• salt
• flour for sprinkling
• clarified butter for frying

Oven temperature: c 310 degrees

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes (slightly smaller than the macaroni, so that they both cook in the same time).
2. Cook macaroni and potatoes together in lightly salted water until the macaroni is “al dente”. Drain well.
3. Grease an oven-proof baking dish, and lay in it alternate layers of the potato/macaroni mixture and the grated cheese
   Boil up the cream and milk and pour them over the dish.
4. Put the dish in the middle of the preheated oven, and leave for around 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted but not changed color.
5. Meanwhile, slice the onions into thin rings and chop the garlic finely. Sprinkle with flour, and fry until golden in the butter, turning constantly. Allow to drain on kitchen paper, and arrange over the macaroni.

Tip: Use the thickest possible macaroni for this dish, which remain “al dente” even after long cooking.

This dish is served with applesauce or “Ankestückli”…

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lb sour apples
• 1oz butter
• 2 fluid oz apple juice or white wine
• sugar

Method:

1. Peel and slice apples, removing the cores.
2. Heat the butter in a skillet and sauté the apples briefly
3. Sprinkle sugar over them to lightly caramelize them
4. Add juice or wine, allow to cook gently until all the liquid is absorbed
5. Serve hot with the Aelplermagronen

8. Sweden

Traveling still northward, all the way to Scandinavia, we come to Sweden, 15% of which is north of the Arctic Circle. All the agricultural land, and most of the 9,263,872 people, are in the southern part of the country. Only 7% of the land is given to agriculture, and the main products are poultry, pork, grains, and furs—mainly mink. Population is 53 per square mile, although most folks are clustered together for warmth at the southern end of the country, south of the Arctic Circle and snow-covered forestlands.

No Walmarts in Sweden, and 227 McDonald’s serving 40,810 patrons per restaurant.

Sweden is known for the excellence of its universal healthcare system with low infant mortality and a life expectancy of 80. Sweden is rated 23rd in the world for quality of care.

Sweden’s cuisine mimics the other Scandinavian countries’ with an emphasis on fish, and hearty menus that are not highly spiced. Although the typical non-Swede can’t think of “Swedish” without the word “Meatballs” after it, the recipe I’ve included isn’t the typical cream sauced variety, but it does warm the tootsies before our next stop on our quest for long living.

Meatball Stew with Apples

Ingredients:

• 30-40 meatballs (recipe below), cooked
• 3 apples
• 4 potatoes
• 2 c white cabbage
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 bouillon cube
• 1 1/4 c cider
• allspice, salt to taste

Directions:

Peel potatoes. Slice roughly into bite-sized pieces. Cut cabbage into bite-sized pieces.

Peel, core apples, cut into bite-sized segments.

In a large skillet, melt butter. Add potatoes, cabbage. Add sugar, and continue heating until mixture starts to brown. Add apple. Add cider and bouillon cube. Add salt, allspice, and cook 5 minutes.

When potatoes are fork tender, add cooked meatballs. Heat five minutes or until everything is piping hot.

Serve with crispbread. (from Gretchen’s Cookbook)

Meatballs, Ikea Style (Köttbullar)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. ground beef
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 1 egg
• 3/4-1 1/4 c milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 c fine breadcrumbs (unseasoned)
• 2 cold boiled potatoes
• 4-5 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp allspice

Directions:

In a skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter, heating until melted and just starting to brown. Add onion to skillet, sauté until onion is golden.

Mash potatoes.

To the breadcrumbs, add 2 Tbsp milk to moisten.

In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, and egg. Add onion, mashed potatoes, and moistened breadcrumbs. Add spices (salt, pepper, allspice). Add remaining milk a little at a time; stop before the mixture gets gloppy. If the meat mixture gets too gooey to form nice, neat meatballs, add a more breadcrumbs.

Use a pair of spoons rinsed in water and shape the meat mixture into small round balls.

In a large skillet, heat remaining butter over medium heat. Add meatballs to skillet, being careful not to crowd the pan. Shake periodically so that the meatballs don’t develop flat spots. Cook until meatballs are done through.

7. France

Wait… France? Where everyone smokes, drinks wine all day and eats gargantuan amounts of calories in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower?

Yep, thanks to large tracts of fertile land (over a third of the land is given to agriculture), modern methods of farming and government subsidies, France is the largest exporter of agricultural products in Europe—exporting wheat, poultry, dairy products, and beef.

With a population of 65,073,482 taking up 297 per square mile, the French look forward to a life expectancy of 80—and do so with the help of the number one rated healthcare system in the world. A Universal government-run program, care is totally free for those with chronic diseases like cancer and AIDS.

There’s no such thing as Le Walmart, but they do have 857 McDonald’s (one for every 75,931 people). I guess that’s to be expected in the land of the French Fry (I know, they’re not really French, but it had to be said).

French cuisine has been famous for centuries, but has evolved from the very complex, heavy and cumbersome Haute Cuisine of the past into Nouvelle Cuisine, emphasizing fresh foods prepared simply and beautifully.

The following recipe shows a very simple but delicious use of common ingredients.

Fast Potful Auvergnate (potee auvergnate)

If cooking for 4 people, take: 600 gr Auvergne ham (it is possible to use unsliced bacon or ham of any origin),4 country hunter’s sausage (thin smoked stiff-textured sausages), 200 gr beef broth, 400 gr cabbage, 2 medium carrots or turnips, 2 onions, 1 clove of garlic, some lard, 30-40 gr olive oil, half of a glass of dry red wine, black pepper and other spices to your liking, shallot or leek or green (spring) onion to serve ready meal.

Cut ham in pieces 1/2 inch thick and pepper them. Brown the pieces on a frying pan. If the ham is way over lean, melt some lard first. If your pan is rather large, it’s possible browning carrots, turnips and onion in the same simultaneously. When ready, dice the pieces of ham. While frying, cut cabbage into bite-size sections. Layer in the pot cabbage, dices of ham, other ingredients from the pot, shredded garlic and other spices, and hunter’s sausages cut in slices 1/3 inch thick. Pour broth in, and stew on medium fire under cover. On cabbage semi-readiness, pour in olive oil and wine. Few last minutes, cook with no cover. Serve ready meal with green onion. Incredibly fast! (from Easy French Recipes)

6. Canada

Our neighbor to the North, that big moose-filled expanse between us and Alaska, Canada comes in number 6, leaving the U.S. of A.—at number 35—in the proverbial dust.

Canada is the world’s second-largest country by total area, and the Canadian/United States border is the world’s longest.

Our Canadian friends, all 338,810,000 of them, can look forward to 81 years of roaming the vast wilderness that they inhabit at the rate of only EIGHT souls per square mile. A full 52% of Canadian lands are used for harvesting something, although a lot of that is timber. Other major crops are wheat, canola, and other grains.

The healthcare system in Canada is publicly funded and mostly free at point of use. The quality of care is regulated by government standards and it works beautifully enough to garner number 30 worldwide in excellence.

With that long border with America, it’s not surprising that Canada is home to 312 Walmarts (one for every 108,365 residents—still far behind our 4,300 Walmarts) and 1,400 McDonald’s (one for every 24,150—alarmingly close to the American 1/22,996, but our larger population gives us 13,381 McDonald’s restaurants to choose from).

Canadian cuisine is varied with a large amount of British, American and French influence. The ingredients in common throughout every region include an emphasis on baked goods, wild game, homemade dishes and wholesome foods.

One source stated that the main parameter for determining whether or not a food is considered “Canadian” is the scarcity of it in the United States.

I just realized that we’re almost halfway through our list of countries to visit and we’ve yet to have dessert! That must be remedied, and what better way to celebrate dessert than with a Canadian staple:

The Butter Tart

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup shortening
• teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup raisins (optional, or can be replaced with chopped pecans or walnuts)

Preparation:

Pastry:

Blend the shortening and the flour with a pastry cutter, or two knives, until you’ve created a uniform mixture that is crumbly and about the size of frozen peas.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg, 1 tbsp white vinegar, and 2 tbsp cold water. Add to shortening and flour mixture.

Mix all ingredients together, but only until just mixed and no more.

The key to flaky pastry is not to over-handle the dough.

For ease of handling, make a ball of the dough, wrap in cellophane and place in freezer for 10-15 mins. Roll out dough onto floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.

Using either a cookie cutter or something like a jar lid, cut out circles from the dough. Press dough circles into a muffin pan.

Filling:

In another bowl, mix well corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and egg. Add vanilla and stir in raisins.

Spoon filling into pastry shell to just below the rim.

Bake at 400 for about 10 mins until golden brown.

Makes about a dozen tarts.

5. Australia

Big. Big and with a lot of empty uninhabited areas. Both Canada and Australia have this going for them, but other than that, they’re pretty much a world apart.

Oh, wait. They ARE a world apart!

Even though Australia is home to 22,010,766 people, it’s even less densely populated than Canada—only 7 persons per square mile—and Australia claims 62% of their land for agriculture, although a major portion of that is graze-land. Cattle, wheat, dairy products and wool are all exported from this wondrous land that’s mostly arid, but also includes tropical rainforests, and many indigenous creatures and plants found nowhere else on earth.

Australians can’t shop at the Walmart, but they do have 701 McDonald’s to choose from—one for every 31,399 Aussies.

Australians’ life expectancy is 81 years and their healthcare system is rated number 32 in the world. Healthcare services in Australia are universal, with free access to hospital treatment and subsidized out-of-hospital treatments.

Australian cuisine is both global and local, incorporating items brought along with its immigrants and integrating the spice-like qualities of native plants—forming the basis of its own unique cuisine.

I’m not entirely sure what a yabby is, but they look suspiciously like shrimp in the photo, so that’s what I’d use for this recipe.

Yabbies on Green Polenta

• 30 cooked and shelled yabbies
• 3c polenta (cornmeal)
• 1c parmesan cheese
• 1c chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2c olive oil
• salt to taste
• water
• Shell the yabbies and set aside.

Bring 8 cups lightly salted water to a boil; pour in polenta stirring constantly till smooth.

Add cheese and cook for 30 minutes- adding water if necessary.

Add spinach last, right before serving. Dish up into bowls, add yabbies and drizzle with olive oil. (from Mauritius Australia Connection)

4. San Marino

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino. Seriously. That’s its name, and it’s surrounded entirely by Italy. Sort of like if Kansas decided to become a sovereign nation. At a population of 29,973, San Marino is the smallest country in the Council of Europe, but because of its small size, there are 1,275 people per square mile.

Unbelievably, 17% of this tiny gem of a country is agricultural, with the main exports being cheese and wine.

There’s neither Walmart nor McDonald’s in San Marino—and that’s just as well. The Walmart smiley face and Ronald McDonald would do nothing for the Serene Ambiance.

Healthcare is government-run universal healthcare, rated at number 3 in the world, and San Marinans look forward to 81 years in their emerald pocket of a country.

The cuisine is heavily influenced by Italy, with a few local variations, including this one:

Potato Gnocchi Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb Diced pancetta
• 2 lb Ground veal
• 1 Onion, minced
• 1 Carrot, minced
• 1 rib Celery, minced
• 1 cup White wine
• 1/2 qt Heavy cream
• 2 cups Crushed tomatoes
• 1 clove Minced garlic
• Nutmeg to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For the Bolognese:

1. Sauté the pancetta in a heavy bottomed rondeau then add the veal and the white wine.

2. Add the mirepoix, tomatoes, and the heavy cream.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the volume reduce by 1/3.

4. Add the nutmeg and the garlic.

For the Gnocchi:

1. Potato Gnocchi: Steam 3 potatoes, let rest, and rice the peeled potatoes when tender, in a bowl, mix with 1/2 cup milk, 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, I tsp salt and 1 cup flour. After a ball is formed, add 2 eggs, 1 at a time.

2. Form the Gnocchi: Roll the dough into 3/4 inch ropes 1 foot long. Sprinkle with flour and cut the dough into 1/2 inch lengths. Place on a floured parchment paper lined sheet tray and freeze.

3. Cook the Gnocchi: Drop the gnocchi into boiling salted water. They are done when they just begin to float. Toss with a sauce of choice.

3. Singapore

It’s a country, AND a city. Actually, it’s 63 islands all strung together to make a country. Singapore’s as tropical as a place can be, and as crowded as could be imagined—the population of 4,987,600 are packed in pretty snugly at 17,275 per square mile. Most of the land is rainforest that’s been converted to urban jungle, and all but a tiny fraction of the food must be imported. They do have an agricultural export industry based on orchids and tropical fish—things that thrive there naturally and can be farmed intensively in small areas.

Singaporeans’ life expectancy is 81 years old, and they enjoy an efficient and widespread system of government-run healthcare, rated number 6 worldwide.

With much of Singapore given to urban pursuits and international business, the cuisine is a veritable rainbow of gastronomical delights—blending Chinese, Indian, Malay and Tamil cuisines. All these diets favor natural fresh fruits and vegetables, more fish than red meat, and lots and lots of spice.

The worldliness of Singapore has brought some bad habits along with it; including McDonald’s as an eating choice—there are 121 Golden Arches in Singapore- one for every 41,219 Singaporeans.

Food may be gotten on the run from street vendors, and one of the most popular dishes for a quick working lunch is:

Hainanese Chicken

For Chicken:

• one whole Chicken
• salt
• spring Onion
• pandan leaves
• ginger

For rice:

• ginger
• garlic
• cinnamon
• cloves
• star anise
• chicken broth
• pandan leaves
• salt

Garnish:

• light soy sauce
• sesame oil
• cucumber
• tomatoes (optional)
• coriander (optional)
• lettuce (optional)
• pineapple (optional)

Chili sauce:

• fresh chilies
• ginger
• garlic
• vinegar
• fish sauce
• sugar
• sweet soy sauce (ready as it is)

Directions: Boil water with spring Onion, ginger and pandan leaves, put in Chicken and cook till done, do not overcook. briefly dip in cold water and set aside to cool. Keep broth heated.

Wash rice and drain. Finely shred ginger and garlic, fry in oil with cloves, cinnamon and star anise till fragrant, add in rice and fry for several minutes. Transfer into rice cooker, add chicken broth, pinch of salt, pandan leaves and start cooking.

Put all chili sauce ingredient in a mixer and grind till fine.

Slice and arrange tomatoes and cucumbers on a big plate, cut Chicken into small pieces and put on top. Splash some light soya sauce and sesame oil over, throw a bunch of coriander on top. Next, Put broth in a bowl with lettuce, get ready chili sauce and sweet soya sauce. Serve rice on a plate with spoon and folk.
(from Recipes Wiki)

2. Japan

Not surprisingly, to me anyway, Japan comes in a solid number 2 in the ratings for longevity. Long known for healthy lifestyles and attitudes, Japan is a wildly beautiful country that’s over 80% mountains and forests.

There are 127,590,000 Japanese, and though that averages out to 874 per square mile, most of the population lives in the minuscule 7% of urban areas.

Agriculture in Japan comprises 13% of its area, and faces challenges due to growing demand and simultaneous loss of arable land—though remaining one of the world leaders in coastal fishery exports, Japan struggles to supply itself with land-based crops.

Healthcare in Japan is administered by local governments and provides equality of access to all while allowing free choice of caregivers. This system is rated number 10 worldwide, and the average Japanese citizen’s life expectancy is 82 years old.

The recent history of business doings between the U.S. and Japan has included the infiltration of Walmart to the tune of 371 stores in Japan (mainly buy-outs of Japanese chains), although the Walmart magic has not been readily accepted over there and the big-box is struggling to maintain its foothold. McDonald’s is faring better, with 3,598 restaurants—one for every 35,461 residents, and part of its success is the attempts made to adjust its menu to fit the people while still holding high the beacon of the Big Mac.

Japanese cuisine has long been admired and held up as a good example for the rest of the planet—stressing a lot more vegetative matter than meat products; lots of fiber and few calories and cholesterol. Beautiful, simple food prepared and presented with a flourish is a treat for the eye and the tummy.

Egg Drop Soup (Tamago Toji)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups stock (dashi is preferable, otherwise Chicken or vegetable is fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2-3 fresh Mushrooms (optional)
• 1 whole beaten egg
• 2-3 stalks trefoil or coriander, chopped or
• 1/2 tablespoon chives, chopped (optional)
• Szechuan pepper (sansho)

Directions: Heat stock in a saucepan and stir in salt and soy sauce.

If using Mushrooms, wash and slice thinly and add to the stock.

Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Bring soup to a boil and with a ladle or chopsticks stir the soup clockwise.

Pour in the beaten egg, remove the soup from the heat and stir counterclockwise.

If using add trefoil/coriander/chives, cover pot for 30-40 seconds then uncover and add pepper. Serve immediately.

If you cannot find the sansho/Szechwan peppercorns, I imagine a pinch of standard black pepper (or a blend, which often contain sansho/Szechwan peppercorns) will do.
(from Recipes Wiki)

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for—the country whose citizens enjoy the longest life expectancy on the Planet Earth—a little place that frankly, I’d never heard of:

1. Andorra

Andorra’s a teeny little place up in the Pyrenees Mountains and bordered by France and Spain. It’s the 6th smallest nation in Europe and home to 84,484 Andorrans, who are spread out at the rate of 466 per square mile.

Being so high up, the climate is snowier in winter than its neighbors, but they enjoy a cooler summer. The sun shines an average of 300 days per year on Andorra.

Only 2% of the land is arable, and much of that is used for the main export: tobacco.

Most food is imported, although family gardens and small herds of sheep are common. The typical Andorran diet consists of fresh foods prepared with attention paid to detail and presentation, similar to its neighbors.

Healthcare is provided by a government-run social security system, rated number 4 in the world, and our Andorran friends can expect to live a full 82 years.

There’s neither Walmart nor McDonald’s to be had in this tiny country, and, like San Marino, for that I’m relieved.

Our last food offering of the day is something that could be literally picked out of the kitchen garden, and seems a good thing to be munching on while we’re summing this all up.

Andorran Catalan Spinach Salad

• 2 bunches spinach, chopped and blanched
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1/3 c golden raisins
• 1/3 c pine nuts or slivered almonds

Wash, chop and blanch the spinach. Warm the oil and cook the garlic till golden. Add the raisins and nuts, cooking till the raisins are plump. Place spinach in a bowl and top with the garlic, raisin, and nut mixture.
(from Curiosity Killed the Cook)

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So, what have we learned today?

Are we as homesteaders really on the wrong track if we want to live a long time?

Do we need to abandon our farms and move to the city?

Give up our veggie gardens and our goats in favor of tobacco and tropical fish?

Flummoxed, I was, for just a split second after taking in all the non-rural facts and figures, for it was obvious that it’s not so much a “where” we live our lives as “how”.

And that should be reassuring to those of us still working to attain rurality and a sobering reminder for those of us already “here”.

Being surrounded by miles of Nature will do our families no good if there’s still Twinkies in the pantry and we make a weekly (or more often) run thru the Golden Arches’ drive-thru after going to the feed store.

Taking care of ourselves and our loved ones through attention to healthcare—not just sick care—is paramount.

Making sure what goes into our tummies is real food, consumed in a form identical to its original form or as close to it as possible, is vital.

The secrets to long life are not really secret at all: be a part of a society that cares for all its members unconditionally, and fuel yourselves and your family with things that are organic in nature- because we are organic-based machines.

Oh…. and my fellow Americans? It wouldn’t hurt us any to step away from the deep-fried bacon.

The post Live Long and Prosper: Secrets to Attaining Old Age from Around the Globe appeared first on Homestead.org.