Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

An extremely interesting web article on the American Indian diet as it has changed over the years...from the healthy hunter to the unhealthy modern Indian...and linking this dietary change with physical decline. This article is a wealth of information...for it goes into great depth into the once traditional Indian diet. As it is very skeptical of the USDA program (a federal program) being applicable to the American Indian, I would recommend this article as a reference to come back to as needed....for it raises some very good points.

Here is but some samples from the article,

Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans

That the hunter-gatherer was healthy there is no doubt. Weston Price noted an almost complete absence of tooth decay and dental deformities among native Americans who lived as their ancestors did.

Skeletal remains of the Indians of Vancouver that Price studied were similar, showing a virtual absence of tooth decay, arthritis and any other kind of bone deformity. TB was nonexistent among Indians who ate as their ancestors had done, and the women gave birth with ease.

What kind of foods produced such fine physical specimens? The diets of the American Indians varied with the locality and climate but all were based on animal foods of every type and description.

According to Dr. Eaton, these foods supplied plenty of protein but only small amounts of total fat; and this fat was high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in saturated fats.

The difference is that the whole animal was eaten, not just the muscle meats.

The Indians of Canada revealed to Dr. Price that the adrenal glands in the moose prevented scurvy.

Animal fats, organ meats and fatty fish all supply fat-soluble vitamins A and D, which Weston Price recognized as the basis of healthy primitive diets.

A variety of plant foods were used throughout the North American continents, notably corn (in the temperate regions) and wild rice (in the Great Lakes region).

Use of sour-tasting fermented foods was widespread. The Cherokee "bread" consisted of nixtamal wrapped in corn leaves and allowed to ferment for two weeks.23 Manzanita berries and other plant foods were also fermented. The Indians also enjoyed fermented, gamey animal foods.

The basis of the Indian diet was guts and grease, not waffles and skimmed milk. When the Indians abandoned these traditional foods and began consuming processed store-bought foods, their health deteriorated rapidly.

Meanwhile, be skeptical of government guidelines. The Indians learned not to trust our government and neither should you.

The web site is located here to be read in full: http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/native_americans.html