Nutrition Coaching
Here at Primitive Athlete, we believe in taking an educational approach to nutrition counseling. After all, fitness, health and nutrition go hand-in-hand. We are a holistic personal training service, meaning that even if you think you’re “healthy,” we’re going to take a look at your nutrition from the lens of your total body performance. Nutrition is often the driving force behind any changes we wish to make, and it’s a complementary component of your overall fitness success.
Primitive Athlete is an advanced personal training studio that focuses on holistic and total body health, fitness and nutrition. Our services include nutritional counseling for clients seeking improvements in their overall bodily health and lifestyle. Do you think you’re healthy? Are the foods that you consume the driving force in your pursuit of optimal health and nutrition, or is your diet a trigger for sickness? If you adhere to the standard garbage that has been pushed down our throats by the so-called “experts,” then do yourself a favor and keep reading!
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NUTRITION: OUR MISUNDERSTANDING OF FAT AND CHOLESTEROL
Fat has sustained cultures all over the world for thousands of years; it aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals and feeds the brain, heart, lungs, bones, cells, and nervous system the nutrients they need to function properly. Many professionals such as doctors, dietitians, and mainstream news sources have been manipulated by the food and pharmaceutical industries into promoting diets containing low to no saturated fat and which limit cholesterol intake. We have been tricked into purchasing low or non-fat foods which often contain dozens of harmful substances including, high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and interesterified fats, which are worse than trans fats.
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OBESITY and CHRONIC DISEASE
If the popular nutritional advice were valid, our disease rate should be in a steady decline. Instead, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years; which, according to the CDC, puts people at greater risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (source). There is obviously some conflicting information at play.
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WHAT’S GRAIN GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Grains, corn, soy, and vegetable oils like canola (rapeseed), cause a major imbalance of our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, and also spike our insulin levels. These are the real triggers for disease and weight gain. Insulin puts fat in the tissue and suppresses fat mobilization. When insulin is secreted or chronically elevated, fat accumulates; which is primarily due to the carbohydrates and sugars in our diet. Fat is the only thing that dose not release insulin.
THE CONNECTION WITH SATURATED FAT
Many people are surprised to learn that research has shown no connection between chronic disease and saturated fat. Studies done by The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, published in the February 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association, Nurses’ Health Study, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study show that there is no link between the overall percentage of calories from fat and any important health outcome, including cancer, heart disease, and weight gain (source).
Additionally, a 16-year study conducted by Harvard Medical School investigated the effects of fat on health factors of 85,764 women. The women were divided into two groups; a high saturated fat group and a low saturated fat group. They found that the group eating the lowest amount of saturated fat was about twice as likely to develop a particular type of stroke called an intraparenchymal hemorrhage.
Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, M.D., a psychiatrist at the National Institute of Health and perhaps the world’s leading authority on the relationship between fat consumption and mental health, has added to these findings. He notes that the imbalance between omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids may contribute to obesity, depression, dyslexia, hyperactivity, and even a tendency towards violence. Bringing the fats into proper proportion may actually relieve those conditions.
EXAMPLES
Aside from the many health benefits my family and I have experienced, many of my clients have made the switch to a high fat diet and have seen drastic improvements in their health. Out of respect for their privacy I won’t mention names, but here are some examples:
Client A had his blood work taken eight months before the change to a high fat diet. His cholesterol was 235 and his blood pressure was 140/85. Eight months after the switch he had a total cholesterol of 165 and his blood pressure was 130/70.
Client B was diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), with which she had suffered since she was a teenager. Throughout the years she went to different doctors looking for relief and all of them suggested a bland diet, recommended Imodium, or prescribed drugs like Lomotil (none of which helped or even addressed the underlying issue – they barely even masked the symptoms). This is all too common when we instill our faith in doctors who are medically trained but have no real understanding of the proper nutrition required for the body to become healthy and remain in optimal health. After just one month on a high fat diet, client B felt like a different person. Today she rarely has any stomach issues at all!
ARE YOU READY FOR A TRANSFORMATION?
So much can be achieved by consuming REAL foods that heal, instead of processed and artificial junk that destroys the human body. Primitive Athlete specializes in holistic nutrition counseling coupled with individualized personal training techniques for total body fitness and health. If you’d like a nutritional consultation, evaluation, or a sample meal plan, use our Contact Us page to get in touch.