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WAPF - Pros and Cons
The WAPF is a big advocate for cod liver oil, liver and high fat dairy consumption which as we know makes their advice very problematic. It is likely that many people have been very negatively affected by the advice from the WAPF. Having said this the WAPF has done a lot of work to raise awareness of the many ways modern diets differ from that of traditional ones and by doing so has given the public some very good advice along with the very bad advice.
Cons of the WAPF advice:
- Take cod liver oil.
- Eat liver.
- Consume plenty of butter and eggs.
- Argues that the unhealthy aspects of dairy are primarily to do with it being pasteurized.
- When consuming high carotenoid vegetables have them with butter to ensure carotenoid absorption.
- Whole grains are better than refined grains as long as they have been well fermented.
Pros of the WAPF advice:
- The animal fats lard and tallow are healthy.
- Consume gelatin rich foods.
- Promotes awareness of phytic acid and other anti nutrients in plant foods.
- Fermented foods have health benefits.
- Activator X is Vitamin K2 MK-4, is a key nutrient in health and development and is often lacking in the modern diet.
- Promotes awareness of modern foods that are unhealthy.
Pro advice:
Think about what your ancestors ate and avoid novel new "foods"
Find a farmer and get to know them and their practices and support them. They do a good job of connecting farmers with consumers via chapters and the website realmilk.com
The original cookbook (Nourishing Traditions N.T.) is full of quotes from other nutritional greats as well, good pointers for further reading. Personally I'm super glad I read Weston Price's book, and I of course found it because of N.T. Even Price didn't get everything right (does anyone?)
This is the diet that did me the most harm. Nothing comes close to the life altering degeneration I experienced
It's not only WAPF diet...
GAPS diet:
take cod liver oil every day
eat liver - few times per week (the children at the age of 4-5 years with low liver capacity)
consume plenty of butter and raw egg yolks
consume animal fats and tallow
consume gelatin and fermented foods every day
GAPS diet is for gut problems, for children with autism disordes and for autoimmune diseases " All autoimmunity is born in the gut " what a paradox, my gut was the worst and inflammed on the GAPS high VA diet.
"In your book (Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Natasha Campbell-McBride) it says to eat liver every day while pregnant. I spoke of this to my doctor and she said I should stop eating this because it would harm the baby. After some research it says something about high levels of retinol which can build up in your body and cause damage to the unborn baby. Can you comment on this? Answer from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride - very respected in the community of parents and children: "Liver contains vitamin A (retinol is one of the forms of this vitamin) in combination with a whole spectrum of other nutrients. In this form it will not do you any harm. When vitamin A is administered alone in a synthetic form it is easy to get damage from it. Trouble is that many processed foods (particularly made out of flour) are fortified with synthetic retinol, that is why the Western population tests too high in this vitamin. The research into dangers of excessive vitamin A has been done with this synthetic form and, as it usually happens in our mainstream, they blamed the natural foods rich in this vitamin instead of blaming the fortified processed ‘foods’. Liver has been a staple for pregnant women in all traditional cultures, it was considered to be essential during pregnancy. Research shows that their children were much healthier than our children today."
This is the greatest paradox that the sick people try to heal themselves with a "healthy diet" or protocol:
Dr. Terry Wahls diet for MS treatment - 9 cups vegetables a day, 3 cups leafy greens, 3 cups colored and 3 cups sulfur vegetables, autoimmune protocol diet, autoimmune Protocol places greater emphasis on the most nutrient-dense foods in our food supply, including organ meat, seafood, and vegetables, the root cause protocol - Morley Robbins (from RCP protocol: for adults, start slow and build up to a dose of CLO that delivers 900mcg / 3,000 IU of Vitamin A per day. For children, the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for Vitamin A begins at 400mcg / 1,333 IU and increases to 700mcg / 2,333 IU as they age; lactating mothers require up to 1,300mcg / 4,333IU) then paleo diet... eggs and egg yolks, organ meats and liver, cod liver oil, paleo - almond, nut and seed flours (oxalates), "ancestral supplements" with grass fed beef organs, liver... And these "natural toxins" VA and oxalates contribute longterm to even greater toxicity even if the diet may be successful short term - elimination of all processed foods, replenishment of missing nutrients and avoiding problematic foods, allergens, histamin, salicylates, gluten etc.. You can find ex-vegans and paleo eaters in low oxalate and carnivore group.
WAPF diet, then GAPS diet with Morley Robbins protocol for copper ceruloplasmin (stop taking vitamin D - very bad, supplemental D kills liver retinol needed for Cp, take CLO and vitamin A....) was my worst decision in the last four years.
The second bad decision... I followed Dr. Garrett Smith four years ago, I was interested about his opinions in hair analysis, mineral balancing. And he says that vitamin D supplementation is always bad and we actually are deficient in cofactors: magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, C, boron, B6, B2. After my condition was getting worse and I started having joint pains, muscle fatigue, I started taking vitamin D, my body was very deficient and it took me almost four months to get my condition better. Many people with chronic infections, cancer, chronic disease have very low vitamin D - no chance saturate vitamin D only from the sun, with cofactors too. Vitamin D megadosing is dangerous but some people really need vitamin D supplementation. Some medications interfere with how vitamin D is processed in the body and these people are then low in vitamin D.
This is good: https://vitamindwiki.com/Reasons+for+low+response+to+vitamin+D?fbclid=IwAR0fbsJWV3zpIDMNYS_eYr6qhWKXTz6GbosFyUGhtLdQ9jchKKtjqYJ4c5w
(Unhealthy body consumes a lot of vitamin D, examples: MS, HIV, some cancers, Diabetes, Depression. Drugs which consume or block Vit D: Statins, Antiseizure, Prednisone, AIDS drugs, Orlistat, Questran, Dilatin, Phenobarbital, Rifampin, Methamphetamine... ) Every lyme, cancer patient I know has very low vitamin D.
And the third bad decision: I followed WAPF and Chris Masterjohn articles about fat soluble vitamins...I tried to find the "right ratio" of A-D-K and started to supplement vitamin A and K too - from vitamin D deficiency I got into vitamin A toxicity within a few months (and it is not true that vitamin D and K will prevent toxicity A - only to some degree). Now I think NO ONE knows what the right ratio A-D-K is... they have absolute no idea - Chris Masterjohn, Paul Jaminet, Morely Robbins, WAPF, Kate Rheaume-Bleue (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox:) because there are many variables with vitamin A, how quickly the body detoxes, how much it accumulates over time, how do I eat, whether I have liver problems....
What I found good in these diets:
- fermented foods as sauerkraut
- gelatin rich foods - beef soup (not bone broth - lead and heavy metals in bones)
- awareness of phytic acid and other anti nutrients in plant foods
But there is more bad than good, they suggest that I have to eat nutrient dense foods in every meal and I must be deficient in everything...
Bludicka you are right, but it isn't just wapf and GAP's the list goes on...
Yesterday, a young man of my acquaintance started a low carb diet. Gosh, who isn't on KETO these days? It's so trendy.
The diet plan called for 3 dozen eggs per week.
The fact is that many people can and do eat LOADS of vitamin A for their whole lives. Some have a high tolerance. Others don't but will hang on (like Dr. Ron) for 30 years trying everything except dropping vitamin A to lower their inflammation.
These foods such as eggs are good foods, actually, that come with loads of benefits. (You can make a whole chick out of an egg, that has always impressed me. From beak to feathers to internal organs) Have you ever heard of Louis Cyr the strongest man in the world? He was raised on good farm foods and eventually could lift a horse with one finger(!) He got into show business and became a gourmand and got obese and his kidneys failed.
I think if we could talk to Louis Cyr he would still have said that farm foods are what gave him his strength.
I'm optimistic that Grants work will filter into all of these methodologies!!!! And fix them!
It's been a long time since I read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, let me review what I can remember in my mind:
Scotts : fisherfolk
Swiss: herders
Maori: herders
Eskimo: fisherfolk
Maasai: herders
Where are the mid-continent agriculturalists in this list? Price was looking for people eating their original diets, but IMO he left one out! (maybe wasn't easy to find)
I can totally see how fisherfolk and herder genes would have eventually adapted to a high vitamin A content of the diet.
Perhaps these people find that they tolerate or even thrive on a WAPF diet.
Bludicka, you are right, I think the notion of taking A in harmony with the other fat soluble vitamins and minerals is another notion that needs work. Especially for people with a lower tolerance.
However, when I look at my grandmother's diet, I can see that her entire vitamin A "ration" was in the form of foods like eggs, where all the other elements ARE there. (ie, not sweet potatoes)
Bludicka I am confused. Are you saying take vitamin D pills?