AVOID REFINED AND DENATURED FOODS

The diets of healthy, nonindustrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or low-fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; synthetic vitamins; or toxic additives and artificial colorings. 

The first and fundamental feature of traditional diets is the fact that they contained no industrially processed or refined food. In Dr. Price’s Day, the list of processed food ingredients included white sugar, white flour, canned condensed milk, canned foods and—just coming on the market—industrial seed oils made from cotton seed and corn. Today the list is much longer.

Removing all these ingredients from our diets means that we need to learn to prepare our own foods from real, whole ingredients or learn to purchase prepared traditional foods like naturally cured meats, pâté and liverwurst, sourdough bread, and raw milk and cheese. One thing you will notice as you make the transition to a Wise Traditions Diet is that in time you will not be as tempted by junk food and fast food as you were before.

Here are some steps you can take—some easy, some more difficult—to make the transition from processed foods to wise traditional foods: 

Instead of margarines and spreads 

• Use butter-put butter on everything.

Instead of cooking oils 

• Cook in lard or bacon fat. 

Instead of commercial salad dressings 

• Make your own with olive oil and vinegar. 

Instead of Cool Whip  

• Make real whipped cream 

Instead of non-dairy creamer 

• Use real cream or real half and half 

Instead of commercial mayonnaise  

• Make your own or use a coconut oil-based mayo 

Instead of commercial dips  

• Make your own using sour cream and other healthy ingredients. 

Instead of chips 

• Enjoy plain pork cracklings or homemade chips.

Instead of typical crackers 

• Find organic crackers made with olive oil, palm oil or coconut oil. 

Instead of processed snacks  

• Eat cheese and salami. 

Instead of supermarket bread 

• Bake your own sourdough bread or find a natural one without added oils. 

Instead of French fries  

• Make your own oven (or air fryer) fries using lard or duck fat. 

Instead of fast-food fried chicken  

• Make your own, fried in lard. 

Pastries, cake donuts 

• Minimize as best you can (drink a glass of raw milk instead).

Instead of industrial dairy products 

• Consume raw whole milk, fermented milk, and cream from cows on pasture (now widely available: see realmilk.com).

Instead of soft drinks 

• Drink delicious kombucha, water kefir and other naturally fermented beverages.

Pizza 

• Save for a special treat, not every day, and order thin crust pizza (or make your own).