How to Get Started with Weston A. Price Diet- Nourishing Traditions the Easy Way

I once read somewhere that all disease begins in the gut and ends in the gut. For me, my disease DEFINITLY began there, but I had zero idea how to begin “healing” it. Enter Weston A. Price. My husband was the one that introduced me to Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, and cod liver oil. He easily convinced me to just start with cod liver oil, fermented cod liver oil. I was totally unaware that the simple act of introducing healthy oils into my gut biome would dramatically change my health for the better. Let’s dive in deeper into getting started with a WAPF and Nourishing Traditions diet.

At the time, I had zero knowledge of WAPF or the work that they did. It was not even a second thought for me to try something new like supplements. I had been experimenting with my diet and doing A LOT of trial and error to see what worked best. I had been in an ongoing fist fight with ulcerative colitis that landed me in the hospital every three years, like clockwork. Every three years, I’d be admitted for at the least a week for malnutrition and ulcerative colitis. I was convinced that was going to be the routine, no matter what I tried. The doctors all said this was a “chronic” illness and one day I may have to remove part of my colon to cure it essentially. That was an option for me a few years before I met my husband. I decided against it and moved forward.

When I began taking cod liver oil, I didn’t see much of a difference in the day to day. It’s absolutely been a long-term solution for me. I had no idea that the healthy oil was helping to coat my gut with a good, protective layer and healing the scar tissue and ulcers I had within me.

If you’d like to read more about healthy fats, how they work, science based studies and an incredibly informative article, check this one out on the WAPF website.

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Where to begin with WAPF & Nourishing traditions

Start with healthy oils. Sally says this herself in one of the many appearances on the Wise Traditions podcasts. Start with replacing bad oils (hydrogenated, processed seed oils) with good, unprocessed saturated fats and oils.

Begin with fermented cod liver oil. That’s where I started and didn’t do much else. I had a typical diet that wasn’t a lot of whole foods, but it wasn’t McDonalds every night. Later I began to cut out the foods harsh on the stomach and gut (this was just my personal issues) so most raw veggies, dairy, coffee, tomato-based foods, nuts and alcohol. Those seemed to have the most issues with my stomach. I began eating a more whole food diet and slowly reintroduced raw milk dairy products, very slowly and within the budget.

From there began fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha, homemade gelatinous bone broths, and more healthy fats such as coconut oil and grass fed butter. After that my food convictions became even stronger.

I look at ingredients, I know what to watch out for, and I understand what all of this is really about.

Fixing the root of the problem instead of a temporary solution.

I’ve been in ‘remission’ for almost seven years now. I only have any issues if I eat out where they don’t use good oils or if I eat too much refined sugar.

I don’t drink alcohol. My coffee is now espresso because that is surprisingly less acidic and doesn’t bother my stomach as much. I eat sugar in extreme moderation because I have crazy sweet tooth that one year landed me 14 cavities. Not kidding. I still can’t eat trolli gummy worms to this day.

Is this lifestyle expensive?

I’ve read a few articles where people say its expensive to have a traditional diet like the one suggested in the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook.

I disagree. Your health, long term, is worth it. Mine is at least.

We don’t spend money on a lot of packaged/processed foods. Eating out is a very infrequent part if our meals. We buy whole ingredients and I cook just about three meals a day seven days a week. We chose our food very deliberately and intentionally buy some things organic and some conventional.

For example, my son eats oatmeal like it’s the only food in the world. So, we buy organic, local, non gmo, all the ‘crunchy’ label stuff oats, in bulk of course.

There is so much information out there on what is healthy and what is good for you. That’s just it, what’s good for me and my family. Your family may choose to have grass fed beef as your main organic intake. Or maybe you don’t choose to buy organic at all. I truly believe that eating a simple, whole foods diet would help in numerous ways.

Overall, it is not expensive to buy ingredients and make your own food.

It’s more expensive to eat out, buy prepackaged /precooked food and pay a visit to the doctor more than you need to. But it is time consuming. And my time is valuable just as my family’s health is.

Is it a lot of work?

Yes. In short, it is. Making three meals a day, seven days a week is a ton of work. It is a discipline, a skill, an art, a dance. I don’t cook every single meal because there are almost always enough leftovers for at least a lunch the next day.

I’ll admit, soaking the nuts and grains takes an effort in time management. Our family doesn’t eat a lot of nuts so that eliminates that. We do eat a lot of beans and I batch cook those weekly.

I don’t buy only organic, we can’t always have grass fed and raw dairy products, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s still far better than processed, fake food. I buy the high quality when I can. We are a one income household also attempting to be food independent where we can.

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In conclusion, having any lifestyle change and habit shift is going to take tremendous discipline, budgeting, and time management. All things everyone could always be better at anyway.

I have never been healthier in my entire life, seriously. I was sick A LOT as a kid, hospitalized three times in my life, and dealt with so many medical issues.

This is just my two cents. There was a point in my medical rollercoaster when I didn’t believe I could have children because one of the drugs I was on had a long-term side effect of infertility. Now, my kids are healthy as can be, I had wonderful pregnancies, and we rarely see the doctor.

I attest all of that to my husband, who introduced this lifestyle to me, and to the wonderful work of Dr. Price and Sally Fallon for making all that accessible for everyone.

Plus, now I get to pull him down the rabbit hole of EMFS, earthing, dirt cures, herbalism, artificial fragrances and all the other wonderful aspect of the ‘crunchy’ lifestyle some people like to label me as. I just call myself sensible and natural.

Cheers to your health my friend!

In gratitude,

Tayler