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Few things are more mundane than picking up the phone to order a pizza or making a quick stop at the drive-through to satisfy your sweet tooth on your way from work. With processed food in the fridge and ultra-processed snacks waiting around every corner, it’s easy to forget that things weren’t always like that. For the majority of human history, our ancestors had to find nourishment in their natural environment. That’s a far cry from today’s Standard American Diet, which is loaded with refined sugar and salt, industrially processed seed oils, and convenience foods that didn’t exist just a few decades ago.
If you’re giving it your all at your local gym but can’t seem to make a breakthrough, or you’re thinking about enrolling in an athletic club in Vacaville, it’s time to rethink your dietary regimen. Without the right food choices and habits, you’ll struggle to trim the fat, find more energy, and redefine your physique. In today’s post, we take a look at Ancestral eating and how it complements high-powered personalized training programs for a healthier and stronger body.
The Standard American Diet (SAD), also known as the Western pattern diet, is the mainstream way of eating in the U.S. and much of the Western World. Its main characteristic is heavy reliance on highly processed foods, refined grains, added sugars, industrial oils, and additive-rich snacks. No nuclear science here, just think about the stuff you usually see people putting in their grocery carts in your local supermarket. Yes, we’re talking about soda drinks, frozen dinners, premade mac and cheese, corndogs, supermarket pizzas, sweets, and salty snacks.
While there’s no denying that some of these things are tasty, it’s also true that they have become ever-present in most meals people consume every day. Despite its name, SAD was never a specific diet to begin with. It slowly but surely became a catch-all phrase to describe mainstream eating in the U.S.
The result? A population struggling with obesity, chronic inflammation, metabolic disorders, and constant fatigue. Since SAD is energy-dense but nutrient-poor, it supplies plenty of calories but is often lacking in essentials like vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber that the body needs for optimal functioning. And even when it’s protein-rich, the protein quality is usually low, with healthy fats replaced by hydrogenated oils.
When we add all this up, it’s no wonder that the Standard American Diet is making us sick. Research routinely links SAD with rapidly rising rates of lifestyle-related diseases. High sugar intakes are driving the nationwide insulin resistance problem and paving the way for type 2 diabetes and world-leading weight gain.
Industrial seed oils like soybean, canola, and corn oil contribute to inflammation, leading to an increased risk of heart disease, arthritis, and certain types of cancer. Added to a lack of dietary fiber that worsens our gut health, it’s no wonder people are suffering from weakened immune response and chronic tiredness.
All in all, the way most of us eat leaves us overfed yet undernourished. Our bodies are working hard to break down all the food we put into ourselves, but are still left craving real nourishment. Then the whole process starts again, turning into a doom spiral because our bodies always seem to lack fuel. How to avoid this vicious cycle?
Before the first agriculture practices emerged and gave way to large-scale farming and industrialization of food production, humans relied on a diet centered around grass-fed meats and fish, with nuts and seasonal produce added for good measure. This type of nutrient-dense diet supplied the steady, long-lasting energy people needed to remain active, on the move, and thrive.
Just like SAD, modern ancestral eating isn’t so much a diet as a way of approaching food and our everyday routines. The key lies in altering modern eating habits to align them with our body’s need for nourishment. Eating like our ancestors did, with the added convenience of greater food variety and availability, can help us build strong immune systems and resilient bodies.
A growing number of leading health and nutrition experts are advocating a return to the ancestral and carnivore way of eating, including Dr. Anthony Chaffee, Dr. Bill Schindler, Dr. Paul Saladino, and Dr. Shawn Baker. Simply put, eating like our ancestors did in the old days supplies your body with food it recognizes as real fuel. And the benefits? They speak for themselves:
Are you tired of working out with no holds barred, only to find disappointment every time you hit the scale? At the Maximum Fitness state-of-the-art gym, our certified trainers will help you redefine your body through science-based, body-specific programs. We’ll show you how putting the right fuel in your body and working the right way can breed superior results compared to hard but ineffective workouts and bad dietary habits. We can help you keep your insulin level in check, adopt a natural diet rich in animal fats, and have noticeably more energy to burn in your everyday life.
It’s not about how much you eat and pump iron, it’s about what you eat and how you exercise. Stop by our athletic club close to Vacaville Town Hall or contact us to learn more about transformational health and schedule your free Personal Vitality Consultation today!
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