Nutritional Anthropology

The Bond Effect
The science and art of living the way nature intended

www.naturaleater.com

DEADLY HARVEST
The Intimate Relationship

GEOFF BOND

Geoff Bond's  

Home Page

The most recent Newsletters are available by private subscription

Info and Order

Now Buy the
Hard Copy!

Nutritional Anthropology's Bible:

DEADLY HARVEST

by

Geoff Bond

COOKBOOK 

Healthy Harvest Information Page

Chapter 7
Eating the “Savanna Model” Way

Our Pleistocene ancestors were not following any feeding strategies—they just followed their instincts. Their eating patterns would have changed from day to day according to the hazards of foraging. From season to season, they would have changed according to the availability of flora and fauna in the environment. Even so, the possible variations would have fallen within fairly strict limits.

Today, “what is there” is mostly artificial. The artful food manufacturers are masters at giving us taste without food value at all, and our instincts are readily duped by the divorce of taste from nutritional quality. The fluctuations of “what is there” fall within much wider limits. There is virtually no external discipline of what, and how much, we eat. So, we are obliged to adopt eating strategies.

Here, we look at ways for realizing the Savanna Model pattern. The objective is to give an example of the thought processes, the questioning, and the discipline that it is necessary to adopt it. Do not get fixated on the patterns described here. Within the boundaries of the Owner’s Manual, there is a wide variety of ways you can organize your eating day. Use the examples given here to limber up the brain and begin working in a new paradigm. This is one aspect of the “Bond Effect”, the art of putting the Savanna Model into practice.

We favor eating at home whenever possible, because you have the most control over your food supply. Nevertheless, there will be times when you are obliged to eat away from home—in restaurants or at the homes of friends and family. Try to rid yourself of notions about which foods are to be eaten at which meals: for example, eggs are often thought of as being purely a breakfast food. In fact, you can eat them at any meal. The same goes for just about every dish: they can be eaten at any time of day. The following strategies are to help you make these changes to your way of eating. Refer back to the Owner’s Manual in chapter 6 for specific information on food groups.

EATING AT HOME
Morning
Our Pleistocene ancestors would rouse themselves with the sunrise and gradually get organized for the day. By mid-morning, the first groups, having set off

Page 159 Above

Page 160 Below

on foraging expeditions, would start to feed on what they found. We should be doing the same: not rush into eating a heavy, early breakfast. Don’t worry about hunger cravings—there won’t be any unless your blood sugar is out of control (in which case you need to be particularly careful to follow these recommendations). Suppress any prejudices you may have about the desirability of eating a “hearty” breakfast. Commercial interests, perhaps more than for any other meal, have manipulated our ideas of breakfast. Just in the last 50 years, public relations consultants have manipulated the American public into accepting corn flakes and bacon as breakfast foods.

A common reaction when people hear about the Bond Effect for the first time is: “What on Earth can we now have for breakfast?” In fact, there are many options, many of them being simply a return to what our grandparents ate as children.

Breakfast Ideas
Strategy A—Eat Conforming Fruit (Food Group 4, “Green”). A good time to eat fruit is a short time after waking up in the morning. Your stomach is empty (or should be). You can then eat small portions of conforming fruit all through the morning until lunch time. You will feel a little empty as the morning progresses, so you can then eat another portion of fruit. Eat until the feeling of emptiness is gone. You may have eaten a little or a lot, but it doesn’t matter because nobody is counting. Remember that an important part of feeling satisfied has to do with putting our eating apparatus to work. That is, feeling the fruit on the lips and teeth; tearing a bite out, chomping it, grinding it in our mouths, and feeling the sensation against our tongues, gums, and mouth linings.

Strategy B—Eat Conforming Vegetables (Food Group 3, “Green”). An alternative that is practiced in many parts of the world is to start the day with a vegetable stir-fry. This is what many societies in Asia do. Just take a bag of frozen, mixed vegetables and cook it in a saucepan using the “oil and water” method. Don’t forget, you are using large quantities—at least 12 ounces per person. If you like, you can add a few shrimp, for example.   

160 Deadly Harvest Above

161 Below

Strategy C—Eggs Any Style. Omega-3-rich, free-range eggs any style are fine to start the day. Make a hearty vegetable-filled omelet or grill some tomatoes and mushrooms with eggs any style. Don’t forget that plant food should form the major part of the meal, and no backsliding—definitely no bread.

Strategy D—Salad. The idea of eating salad for breakfast does indeed run counter to our Western cultural programming, but it is something that many societies do, notably in Africa. A copious mixed salad with some avocado, tuna flakes, or shrimp makes a great start to the day. Again, make it a large portion— at least 1 pound per person. It is not really so much: one large tomato, one cucumber, some onion, and some lettuce leaves make 9 ounces of plant food. Round it off with 3 ounces of canned tuna and you have a hearty breakfast.

Strategy E—Old-Fashioned Haddock Breakfast. This used to be a good stand-by in many parts of the English-speaking world. Many people are old enough to remember, perhaps, when their grandparents used to eat like this. They would lightly poach a piece of haddock (or kipper or any other appropriate fish) in simmering water for about 5 minutes. They would accompany it with lashings of sautéed onion, grilled tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Strategy F—The Savanna Model Continental Breakfast. In the companion food preparation book, Healthy Cooking for the Bond Effect, we present a number of recipes to make conforming dishes. They are all free of flour, dairy, butter, and sugar and are fully safe, even for diabetics. Some of these, such as chocolate brownies, orange cake, and Nicole’s apricot tart make excellent and tasty substitutes for croissants or Danish pastry.

Mid-Morning
Depending on how you started the day, you can snack on an avocado, a handful of raw unsalted nuts, or a big bowl of homemade vegetable soup. Select vegetables from Food Group 3 (Vegetables, Non-Starchy). Get used to making extra large quantities of everything and make sure that the fridge/freezer has a ready supply of easily accessed foods.

Lunch Time and Afternoon Tea
A suitable choice for lunch is a mixed salad, and an appropriate quantity might be 12 ounces. Weigh foods until you are used to estimating the quantities by eye—it’s larger than you are used to. Get in the habit of thinking that a salad is often in two parts: the salad vegetables, comprised uniquely of foods from Food Group 3 (Vegetables, Non-Starchy) and some additions of protein-rich foods from Food Group 6 (Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Fish). You can add tuna or chicken breast, for example, to the salad or eat as a side dish. Use a homemade vinaigrette.

Preferably, eat the salad before the side dish, because your appetite will be more readily satisfied by the bulkiest part of the meal. Eating the low-density

Page 161 Above

Page 162 Below

plant food takes time. This gives time for the complex signaling from stomach to brain to catch up and tell you to feel satisfied.

Through the afternoon, you may begin to feel hungry. Keep ready prepared in your fridge some raw broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots, and also have some containers of preservative-free dips such as guacamole. That’s all you’ll need—a raw vegetable dip. Get used to taking your fuel with you when you are away from home for several hours. Above all, overcome any inhibitions you may have about pulling it out and eating it when the occasion calls.

Dinner Time
Dinner involves the same decision-making process as at lunchtime. This time you decide to do some cooking. Maybe 12 ounces per person of stir-fried vegetables accompanied by two eggs, any style. Or a grilled trout with a head of steamed broccoli. It’s as easy as that. The stir-fry can be ready frozen; season with garlic, lemon juice, and herbs. Note that we are escaping the tyranny of the starter, main course, and dessert regimen. Instead, it’s just the one course. As ever, try to eat the vegetables before anything else. A glass of dry, red wine is okay too.

Bedtime (Supper)
For a snack before bedtime, if there has been a sufficient gap after the last meal, eat a low-glycemic fruit (as much as you like). If not, try 2 ounces of nuts. Avoid bad carbohydrates this late in the day—they provoke a hormonal reaction that disturbs sleep and interferes with the body’s nighttime repair processes. If you fancy it, have a mug of cocoa or 1 ounce of dark chocolate (at least 75% cocoa solids). 

162 Above

163 Below

EATING AWAY FROM HOME It is one thing to be organized at home for eating in accordance with the Savanna Model, but it is quite another matter when away from home. However, by planning ahead, being assertive, and being prepared, it is quite possible to stay close to the ideal regimen. 

Restaurants
In reasonable quality restaurants, it is relatively simple to find items on the menu that can form the basis of a meal. “Form the basis” because there will still be clarifications and negotiations to be conducted with the waiter. You have to ask questions and request changes: “What exactly does the salad have in it? I

Page 163 Above

Page 164 Below

don’t want any croutons, pasta, rice, or fruit.” So it goes, until you have selected the starter, main course, and dessert.

Pay close attention to the vegetables that accompany the main course and refuse potatoes, french fries, and rice, which the restaurant often offers as “vegetables.” If green beans, broccoli, spinach, or any other green vegetable is available, ask for double portions. You will firmly wave away the bread basket and leave on the plate any sweet corn that may have intruded in spite of the negotiations. Most of the desserts will be off limits. When you have finished such a meal, you can congratulate yourself—you have eaten healthily and within the margins of tolerance.
Eating in fast-food restaurants is just the same, only harder. Resign yourself to ordering the burger and throwing away the bun. Find a salad, if you can, but discard the packet of salad dressing (consider carrying a bottle of your own vinaigrette). Or eat the all-day breakfast: eggs with tomatoes and mushrooms are acceptable, but avoid the sausage, steak, hash-browns, toast, waffles, syrup, and muffins.

Many fast-food restaurants have salad bars. This is good news and, with care, one can eat reasonably correctly. They do tend to drench the salads in sweetened dressings. Often they mix in fruit or combine starches and proteins. Be selective: pick out and put aside the offending ingredients. Be suspicious of all salad dressings—the manufacturers invariably make them with low-quality ingredients, fillers, and sugars. Do the best you can.

Dinner Parties
In some ways, this is the hardest situation to manage. You don’t want to put your hosts under pressure and you want to be invited another day. If you know your hosts well, it is all right to call in advance and mention that you have special dietary requirements. Say that you prefer fish over red meat or that you don’t like to eat fruit after a meal. Mention that you like green salads and lots of green vegetables. Then, dig into your meal and enjoy it for what it is. You will certainly have to compromise, but then your basic eating habits are natural and healthy and the occasional lapse is not going to be the end of the world.

If you don’t know your hosts well, or the dinner party has a set menu, then it is best to act defensively. You don’t want to go hungry and you don’t want to be churlish. So, before setting off, eat a light meal of conforming plant food (salad, vegetables, nuts, and so on). Then, when you get to your dinner, eat lightly—enough to preserve appearances and to flatter the cook. The “allergy excuse” is always accepted when you want to leave a significant portion on your plate. People also understand if you are watching your waistline and don’t want to eat much of the dessert. You can escape from this challenge in pretty good order.

Page 164 Above

Page 165 Below

COOKING AND FOOD PREPARATION
In our African Pleistocene past, our ancestors did indeed have fire, but they had no way to boil water. They generally ate plant food raw, although they sometimes roasted nuts and other materials. Animal matter, according to convenience, type, and body part, was eaten raw or roasted. Eggs were also eaten raw. These are generalities, but we can combine this with what we know about how cooking affects nutrition.

In the Savanna Model, the emphasis is on keeping meals simple and cooking as little as possible. Vegetables should be used as fresh as possible. Store them in a cool, airy place like the vegetable rack of the refrigerator. Most vegetables can (and should) be eaten raw. Frozen vegetables are acceptable. Canned vegetables are acceptable in controlled situations where the convenience outweighs the nutritional drawbacks. Canned tomatoes, for example, are still quite wholesome and are useful in “quick-fix” dishes. Think big for your utensils. The food quantities are at least double what you are used to. Get a really large salad bowl, frying pan, and saucepan.

With regard to plant food, it is always best to eat it as soon as possible after harvesting and to eat it raw. That is why we put the emphasis on the consumption of salads and for them to be as fresh as possible. Be imaginative— many vegetables can form part of a mixed salad, including chopped broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini, and leeks. With that big salad in place in your diet, it is acceptable to consume cooked vegetables too. However, the process should be quick to avoid leaching of nutrients. Always use the minimum cooking possible so that the vegetable is still “al dente,” that is, cooked to keep its crunchy texture.

The best method is steaming or blanching. For example, you can cook broccoli florets in boiling water for 3 minutes and that will minimize nutrient loss. Microwave steaming is acceptable, although it is more aggressive on nutrient loss. Light stir-frying is also an acceptable cooking method. Stir-frying in the traditional Chinese method uses no oil, just a couple of teaspoons of water. Steaming, steam microwaving, and blanching are all good ways to cook vegetables. Avoid lengthy boiling, deep frying, and roasting.

Frozen, chopped vegetables are a good standby. They can be stir-fried, just as they come, in their own juices. No need to use a wok—just heat rapidly and stir constantly for 5–6 minutes in a large saucepan. Always use plenty of herbs. The basic stir-fry herb mixture contains oregano, crushed bay leaves, basil, and thyme. You can make up your own mix using equal parts of these herbs, or find a product that conforms closely to this recipe. Use the “oil and water” cooking method.

Foods of animal origin can be cooked. In general terms, there are few nutrients that might be destroyed by heating. Even oily fish retain their good omega-3 oils intact after baking, grilling, or barbecuing. One of the reasons we recom-

Page 165 Above

Page 166 Below

mend avoiding red meats is not only their high content of fat (particularly bad fats) but that the fat oxidizes under high heat. Oxidized fat is a biochemical disaster for health. Meat, poultry, eggs, and fish (Food Group 6) can be cooked using the most appropriate method: microwaving, steaming, grilling, baking, or sautéing. Avoid deep frying. If using oil, just use a light coating of olive oil. You do not need to make fancy dishes every day. In fact, we encourage you to eat simply. Nevertheless, there are many occasions when such dishes are appreciated, particularly for dinner parties and even as useful snacks at home, school, or work.

Preserved Foods
“Fresh is best” is a familiar slogan and it is good for us too. However, that is not always possible, so how do we prioritize? Broadly speaking, the “least bad” alternative to fresh plant food is frozen. Frozen plant foods, such as cauliflower, spinach, and chopped onion, have been quickly prepared in the field, and then blanched and frozen nearby. Blanching is designed to destroy certain enzymes that cause discoloration, softening, and bruising. It is likely that these are background micronutrients that are useful to the human body and which we lose in the process. So, here we make a compromise: in the absence of an alternative, freezing is the least of all evils.

The other methods of preserving plant food are to be avoided: freeze-dried (packet soups), canned (peas, green beans), pickled in salt (gherkins), syruped (fruit jams and jellies), and fermented (sauerkraut). That is not to say you can never eat these things, just do not think that they are proper food. Foods pickled in vinegar (such as onions) have lost many nutrients, but at least the pickling does not add undesirable chemicals.

With regard to animal matter, many methods of conservation are acceptable. Canned oily fish (such as sardines) are, in nutritional terms, just as good as fresh. Just choose the versions that are preserved in olive oil, canola oil, or unsalted water. Smoked salmon or kipper are good, although watch out for high salt content. Frozen poultry, fish, seafood, and exotic meats are fine too. Pickled fish (like herring) are acceptable, but be watchful of the salt and sugar content. Cured meats (such as bacon, ham, sausage, and bologna) are to be avoided simply because they contain high levels of fat, bad fats, and sulfites.

Processed and Manufactured Foods
Eat food that is the least processed as possible. Processing destroys fibers and leaches out valuable micronutrients. Processing increases the glycemic index and almost always means the addition of unwanted, useless, and sometimes harmful compounds—artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and fungicides (like sodium propionate). Harmful ingredients like sugars, salt, trans-fats, and hydrogenated fat are frequently added.

Page 166 Above

Page 167 Below

The manufacturers adulterate and thin down their products with a variety of junk fillers like whey, modified starch, and unbleached wheat flour. Government authorities allow meat packers to inject saltwater into products like ham, bacon, and chicken breasts. You do not need the salt and you might object to paying up to 25% of the price just for water. Take your fine reading glasses with you to the supermarket (even health food stores are not necessarily safe) and read the ingredient labels. Avoid the bad carbohydrates, shy away from products that have lengthy ingredient lists, and avoid oils and fat additives, particularly animal fats and hydrogenated fats. As a rough guide, if a product is sold with an ingredients label, then it is processed and you should thoroughly vet it.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Biotechnology companies have genetically modified plants for many reasons but rarely to increase nutrition. Governments and the industry hasten to reassure the public that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe, but that is not the point. Volcanic ash might be safe to eat, but is it food? Already our current food supply is too far removed from the Savanna Model. After all, we are organic creatures that have grown up in harmony with a particular pattern of naturally occurring vegetation and fauna.

Most Americans do not realize how much of their food supply is infiltrated by GMOs—some 60% of it—in particular, anything containing tomato, soy, and corn (maize). In America, no authority requires the presence of these GMOs to be labeled. In contrast, the European Union (EU) requires all foodstuffs containing GMOs to be so labeled. However, all is not lost for Americans. After an outcry from consumers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) backtracked and agreed that the “organic” label could not be applied to genetically modified foods.

As things stand, genetically modified food is probably “safe” and nutritionally similar to plants produced by regular intensive farming, but no one knows for sure. Nevertheless, avoid GMOs where you can and consume them when you must. There is also a stronger reason to avoid GMOs: the ethical one of combating the agro-industry mentality that recklessly dumps fake food onto our plates.

Organic Foods
Organic plant food is usually much richer in micronutrients than food from intensively farmed plants. [1] It is less likely to contain pesticides and other chemicals. Moreover, its production methods are kinder to the landscape and its animal husbandry practices are usually more caring. Organic foods of the Savanna Model will always be best. But is “organic” the first priority? Not necessarily. One of the greatest dietary errors in the West is the low consumption of plant food. The adverse health consequences are grave and

Page 167 Above

Page 168 Below

measurable; the consequences of eating agro-industrial versions rather than organic are smaller. Therefore, the highest priority is to eat more Savanna Model food from whatever source. Eating organic is better, but it is a second order of priority.

A second point is that the designation “organic” does not turn a bad food into a good one. Organic sugar, organic milk, organic butter, and organic pork are all just as bad as the regular sort. Does a cigarette smoker worry if his tobacco is organic? Of course not—the main problem is the tobacco itself.

So, choose organic when you can, otherwise select conventionally produced foods when you must. For this to happen, your attitudes will have to change. In particular, be prepared to pay a little more. Also, be prepared for produce that is more misshapen, bruised, and discolored—buy organic and shun the Technicolor perfection of supermarket produce. You will be rewarded by glorious, rich flavors and the comfort of knowing that you are nourishing your body with genuine nutrients.

DIETARY TIPS
Fruit
As a general rule, fruit should not be eaten at the end of a meal. However, strawberries and raspberries seem to be an exception and most people do not have any digestive difficulty with them. You can make them, therefore, into attractive desserts. Cooked fruit, while less nutritious, is not problematic. Many people have digestive difficulties if they drink on top of fruit. Definitely avoid drinking tea, as it contains certain compounds that reduce the effectiveness of the range of micronutrients in fruits.

We do not recommend that you liquidize fruits. Juicing, pasteurizing, concentrating, and reconstituting are processes that destroy the nature and utility of the natural fibers, strip out the nutrients, and increase the glycemic index. It is much better to eat the fruit itself: when we eat an apple, for example, it requires chewing and it takes time. As a result, our brains register the process at its true value, gastric juices are mobilized, and we feel satiated more easily.

You should treat dried fruit (raisins, currants, dates, figs, apricots, peaches, etc.) as sugars. They are, therefore, bad carbohydrates. In addition, the drying process destroys some of the micronutrients, so in no way can dried fruit be a substitute for the fresh variety.

Candy
Almost all confectionary is high in sugar and you should avoid it. However, all is not lost: cocoa powder is low glycemic. Moreover it is a “Green” plant food, rich in a wide range of antioxidants and other micronutrients. If cocoa is combined with “safe” ingredients, it can make an excellent chocolate. The dark, bitter

Page 168 Above

Page 169 Below

chocolate made with a minimum of 75% cocoa solids is low glycemic. Read the fine print—if “cocoa solids” come before sugar on the list, then this is probably acceptable. Really good varieties will have the exact percentage of cocoa indicated. You can eat this kind of chocolate safely at the end of a meal, but discipline yourself to eat just a couple of squares (about 1 ounce). Some enterprising makers of diabetic chocolate (sweetened with “Green-Amber” sugar alcohols) have rebranded their chocolate as a “low-carb” or “diet” chocolate; these are fine in moderation.

Caffeine
Caffeine is sometimes demonized in health circles. Nevertheless, almost all vegetation contains some caffeine and the body is quite capable of processing it without distress. It is only in certain plants that the concentrations reach mind-altering proportions. In modest quantities, caffeine can give increased mental performance and improve mood. Increasing the dosage doesn’t bring increased benefit and some unpleasant symptoms start to appear: irritability, anxiety, jitteriness, headaches, and insomnia. In addition, at higher doses, caffeine drives up insulin levels, increases insulin resistance, and makes it harder to lose weight. [2] However, the harmful effects of caffeine are reduced when it is present in tea or coffee. Scientists speculate that other beneficial nutrients in these beverages compensate. Researchers have also found that a high consumption of micronutrient-rich plant food mitigates the harmful effects of caffeine on its own.

So, how quickly do we reach this safe limit? The average cup of American coffee contains 100 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, whereas coffeehouse strength can be 180 mg. The caffeine content of tea varies, but it averages about 40–50 mg. There are also about 40 mg of caffeine in a 12-ounce can of cola. In a cocoa drink (2 teaspoons of pure cocoa powder), there are only 10 mg. Our view is that caffeine in modest amounts is well within the normal range for human consumption. For a 165-pound adult, that works out to 4 cups of American coffee per day or 8 cups of tea. Be sensible about it, watch how your caffeine intake affects your mood, and avoid overdosing. If you are diabetic, caffeine in the form of moderate tea or coffee drinking might even be helpful. [4]

Page 169 Above

Page 170 Below

What about Supplements? Many people think that it is a good idea to take supplements, particularly if they have a medical condition, but this is a very narrow way of looking at nutrition. There are thousands of compounds that are important to the harmonious functioning of the body, and they all need to be working together. It is unrealistic to think that we can compensate for dietary errors by cherry-picking this or that supplement.

Worse, dosing up on one compound can have unforeseen and detrimental ramifications. This is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice syndrome mentioned in chapter 4. Nevertheless, we are obliged to eat foods that are produced chiefly by agroindustrial methods. Farmers grow lettuce hydroponically (the technique of growing plants with their roots not in soil but in nutrient-dosed water), only using nutrients that are essential to lettuce. Ordinary soils too might have reduced levels of micronutrients, either from intensive farming or just because they are made that way. Does it matter? When we say “reduced levels,” that still means that there are enough nutrients. The main problem with the average Westerner is that he or she is only consuming about 12% of the ideal amount of plant food. Just by doubling consumption, this will double the intake of micronutrients and they will be a lot better for it.

If you are eating according to the Savanna Model, what is the likelihood that you are suffering any deficiencies? The answer is, highly unlikely. You will be consuming eight times the weight of non-starchy plant food compared to the average American. So, even on plant foods with “reduced levels” of micronutrients, your intake will be well into the healthy intake comfort zone. (The one nutrient that it is hard to get this way is omega-3 essential fatty acids.)

The central tenet of the Bond Effect is that we will find all the nutrients we need by eating the right kinds of foods in the right patterns. The whole thrust of our message is to discourage people from the prevailing idea that they can avoid hard choices, keep their bad eating habits, and compensate by “taking a pill.”

ADOPTING THE SAVANNA MODEL IN THREE STAGES
Put in place the new, healthy eating habits of the Savanna Model in Stage 1 and then move on to the other stages. Step by step, you will gradually modify your habits in the right direction, substituting healthy choices for your current unhealthy one. Over the course of the three stages, you will slowly wean yourself from the foods that are not good for you and start to incorporate more and more of the Savanna Model.

Take it at a pace that is comfortable for you. You can even decide to stop at some intermediate stage. Each stage is a summary of the more detailed advice already given in the book. If in doubt, refer back to the earlier chapters. For each stage, there follows examples of foodstuffs in the various categories used in the Owner’s Manual.

170 Above

Page 171 Below

Note: Earlier in this chapter, we gave an example of how we might eat during the day. Typically, we would eat less at a time but more often. Some might be light meals taken at regular mealtimes like lunch or dinner, others are light meals taken between them, like afternoon tea and supper. In the following segment, we talk about these eating occasions as “sessions.”

Stage 1: The Lift Off
This stage is the most important—you have opened the portal to a new world, one that will change your life. Most of the changes are not difficult: much of it is the simple exchange of one food for an equal substitute. Other changes have to do with the order in which foods are eaten. None of it demands a lot of willpower.

Cooking and Food Preparation
• Avoid deep-frying.
• Reduce consumption of processed foods, fast foods, ready meals, etc., to no more than 1 serving per day (none is best).

Dietary Tips
• Eat fruit on an empty stomach.
• Avoid protein/starch combinations—Group 6 foods (Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Fish) with Group 2 foods (Grains) and/or Group 3 foods (Vegetables, Starchy).

Accumulation of Lapses
• “Red” foods—limit to no more than 4 per day (none is best).
• “Red-Amber” foods—limit to no more than 6 per day (none is best).
• “Amber” foods—limit to no more than 8 per day (none is best).

STAGE 2

Stage 2: Escape Velocity
In this stage, we turn the screw a little tighter, but when you have mastered it, you will have escaped the gravity of your old earth-bound ways. You are “over the hump” and already fueling your body in ways that it recognizes and responds to.
Cooking and Food Preparation
• Avoid deep-frying.
• Reduce boiling and roasting.
• Prefer stir-frying, steaming, and microwave steaming.
• Reduce consumption of processed foods to no more than 3 servings per week.
• Keep meals simple.

Page 173 Above

Page 174 Below

Dietary Tips
• Eat fruit on its own.
• Avoid combining Group 6 foods (Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Fish) with Group 2 foods (Grains); that is, protein/starch combinations.

Accumulation of Lapses
• “Red” foods—limit to no more than 1 per day (none is best).
• “Red-Amber” foods—limit to no more than 2 per day (none is best).
• “Amber” foods—limit to no more than 3 per day (none is best).

Stage 3: Infinity and Beyond
By the time you have completed this stage, you will be in conformity with the Savanna Model and you will be feeding your body in its comfort zone. You will discover the good things that happen when your biochemistry and digestive system are functioning as nature intended. Fighting a life-threatening degenerative disease? Then this stage is for you. Get to the center of the comfort zone, where your body is not just coping, it is positively rejoicing with its newfound ability to hum along like a perfectly adjusted machine.

 Cooking and Food Preparation
• Reduce consumption of processed foods to no more than 3 servings per month.

• Prefer organic foods wherever available.

• Avoid deep-frying

• Reduce boiling and roasting.

• Prefer stir-frying, steaming, and microwave steaming.

• Keep meals simple.

• Eat little but often.

• Spend at least 30 minutes, three times per day, feeling slightly hungry.

Dietary Tips
• Eat fruit on its own.
• Avoid combining Group 6 foods (Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Fish) with Group 2 foods (Grains); that is, protein/starch combinations.
Accumulation of Lapses
• “Red” foods—limit to no more than 1 per week (none is best).
• “Red-Amber” foods—limit to no more than 2 per week (none is best).
• “Amber” foods—limit to no more than 3 per week (none is best).

Page 178 above
Page 179 below

WHAT TO EXPECT AS YOU CHANGE YOUR DIET
When you start to eat naturally, you are making major changes in the structure of how and what you eat. These changes have repercussions and during the transition phase may be uncomfortable. That is why it is wise to introduce the changes gradually.

Your digestive system will be in a state of shock, at least temporarily. For years, you have, probably unwittingly, been abusing and mistreating it. Many of its functions will have shut down. Your new way of eating will bring some immediate benefits: for example, elimination of bad food combining will dramatically reduce digestive problems. The increase in soluble fiber from fruits and vegetables will force lazy and atrophied intestinal muscles to limber up and become operational again. But be prepared for bouts of diarrhea or constipation for several weeks—this is normal during the transition period.

You will also start to lose excess fat from your body—that is the good news. However, as the glucagon machinery swings into action, fat will dissolve into your bloodstream, delivering its cargo of unpleasant chemicals. While the body eliminates them, you may suffer discomfort from their presence in the blood. Be prepared for symptoms, such as increased allergy activity, headaches, and feeling “one degree under,” during the transition period.

Food is a potent factor for modifying the hormones in the body. As you shift the emphasis on what you eat, particularly from “bad” carbohydrates to “good” carbohydrates, you will be modifying your hormonal balance. During the transition period, you may feel the effects: mood swings, sugar cravings, and headaches, for example. This is normal.

Once you have restructured your way of eating, you will find that bowel movements will occur once or twice a day. They are soft and easy to expel, do not have a noxious odor, and are copious in quantity. Food will have a rapid transit time through the digestive tract. When you get to this point, you will know for sure that you are eating correctly. Rejoice at the wholesome feeling of health and tone in your intestines. The friendly flora and fauna will flourish, providing most of the bulk in the feces. Instead of having a clogged-up sewer system for a gut, your digestive system becomes an efficient toxic waste disposal unit.

When you eat in accordance with the Savanna Model, mouth hygiene is also vastly improved. The mechanical action of chewing a high volume of raw vegetable matter stimulates and hardens (keratinizes) the gums. Saliva quality is also improved; most people on a Western diet have a deregulated saliva composition. The saliva should contain a balanced cocktail of enzymes and antibacterial agents. Once you are eating in accordance with the Savanna Model, the saliva finds its equilibrium and fulfills a major role: keeping the mouth sterile, wholesome, and sweet-smelling. If you have poor tooth and gum health, do the best you can to get it fixed: often people are pushed into poor food choices just because they cannot chew the right foods comfortably.

Page 179 Above

Page 280 Below

HOW DOES THE SAVANNA MODEL APPLY TO ME?
The Savanna Model applies to everybody, but here we look at the specific implications for various groups. Everyone should read the next section on babies/toddlers—not only does it set the tone for everything that follows, it will guide you in your relations with those who have infants even if you do not have any of your own.

Babies/Toddlers
Up to the age of about four years, human babies are “lactivores” or milk drinkers. Nature designed them to nourish themselves on human breast milk. In primitive societies, babies are not fully weaned until they are about four years old, although solid foods, sometimes partially pre-masticated by their mothers, are introduced slowly from about 12 months of age. That is the ideal, but what to do in the modern world? Mercifully, the breastfeeding movement has made this practice not only acceptable but also practical.

Today, mothers can give breast to their child in public places, something unthinkable as recently as the 1960s. The vast majority of mothers in the industrialized world, nevertheless, find it hard to breastfeed after about 12 months, let alone to pre-masticate pap for a two-year-old.

Fortunately, the companies that make formula milk are getting very good at making a product that imitates human milk as closely as possible. Reminder: in America, you have to avoid soy-based formula milks. Most other countries ban them because their antinutrients harm babies’ health. [5] In other respects, formula milks have come a long way in the last 50 years: no more cow’s milk allergens, a healthier ratio of fats to proteins, and a much better composition of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. They now have products that mimic the fact that the composition of mother’s milk changes as the baby gets older. For example, in the first weeks of life, a baby’s biochemistry cannot use the essential fatty acids linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. During this time, the mother’s milk (and now specialized formula milks) contain compounds that compensate for this.

However, mother’s milk contains antibodies and other compounds that protect the baby from disease early in life; formula milk cannot provide these. So, breastfeed if you can and for as long as you can, then move onto, and supplement with, the best formula milk you can find.
What about solid foods? The first principle is to follow the Savanna Model. The more the baby eats in accordance with the general principles formulated in this book, the better. Second, since people like to eat what they have always eaten, the best start in life for your baby is to give him or her the taste for healthy foods. When they are used to eating healthy foods at this stage, that liking will stay with them for life.

The first good habit to instill is the eating of plant food. No need to make special arrangements: just take what you, as a Bond Effect practitioner, eat every day and reduce it down to a form appropriate to the child’s stage of development. Today’s food blenders are a good substitute for the masticating jaws of the mother.

Page 180 Above

Page 181 Below

The next solid to be introduced should be fruit. However, take the precautions that we make for everybody: focus on the lower-sugar, lower-glycemic fruits (the “Green” category). Do not give too much at one time and give it on an empty stomach. No point in making your baby’s life a misery by bad food combining. Give fruits to your baby every day.
What about animal matter? Of course, many people bring up their children successfully as vegetarians. However, staying with the Savanna Model, fish and fowl are fine. Free-range, omega-3-rich eggs are always good in any quantity. Just remember, you don’t have to give your child anything that, as a Bond Effect practitioner, you would not eat yourself.

In addition, a baby has a bigger need for the essential fatty acids (in a ratio of 1:1 for omega-3s and omega-6s) than an adult. There are at least two other fatty acids that their immature bodies are not capable of manufacturing for themselves: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid). However, don’t worry about them too much because the infant fed in accordance with the Savanna Model will not be deficient in either DHA or ARA.

There will certainly be times when it is just not possible to prepare your own baby food. What about the commercially available products? Here, again, food manufacturers have gotten a lot more clever about formulating reasonably healthy substitutes. When you go shopping, the same rules apply—take your reading glasses and scrutinize the ingredient labels. Don’t be misled by the attractive marketing labels proclaiming “healthy,” “low-fat,” “no artificial additives,” etc. The food manufacturers always put the advantages of their product in large lettering, while the truth is grudgingly portrayed in small print in a corner of the label. This time you are reading the ingredient list for a dependent baby, so be conscientious. Don’t buy anything that contains ingredients that you would not want for yourself: salt, sugar, glucose syrup, vegetable oil, fat, starch, and so on.
Finally, if your infant is not drinking mother’s milk or formula milk, then the only other beverage he or she should have is plain water. Will any kind of water do? Tap water, unjustly, is much maligned and is quite safe to use when boiled. For all young babies, you should boil the water anyway. For the cautious, by all means buy bottled water. Avoid the high-sodium brands, and distilled water is the safest. Juiced “Green” vegetables from Group 3 are fine, but avoid carrot juice and fruit juices—they give a sugar rush and help rot teeth. As for packaged drinks, be ultra-suspicious. Read the fine print, as they are almost always loaded with sugar and other harmful substances. Don’t even think of giving your child colas and other carbonated drinks. Get your child to accept water as the normal thirst-quencher.

Don’t forget, this is one phase in your child’s life when he or she is most open to influence from adults. It is now that you have to indoctrinate good consumption reflexes. This is not the time to introduce your child to pizzas, hamburgers, take-out chicken, or hot dogs. Even less is it the time to introduce your

Page 181 Above
Page 182 Below

child to candies, cookies, ice cream, and confectionary. If you can get him or her through this phase without ever having tasted them, then you are well on the way to insulating your child from addiction later on.
Many adult health problems are established in these formative years. Perhaps the most significant is obesity. If your baby is allowed to get overweight, then the chances are that he or she will be overweight, or even obese, for the rest of their life. Worse, if your baby is overweight, he or she is already laying down plaque in the arteries and storing up a mid-life heart attack, as well as laying the foundations for cancer, arthritis, and a host of degenerative diseases.

Children/Adolescents
The special needs of children and adolescents are often exaggerated. They will be eating a lot for their size, but they do not need any particular divergence from the Savanna Model. By far the greatest problem is to stop them from eating harmful foods. It is too much to expect that you can, like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike, hold back the floodwaters of the junk food society. Accept with good grace that your child will eat junk food from time to time, but don’t be defeatist. Make sure that at home he or she is following the Savanna Model. If that is assured, then your child will survive the storms of junk food relatively unscathed.

Avoid using junk food as a treat, much less as a reward. Rather, you need to indoctrinate children with the idea that junk food is shoddy, tacky, malignant, even hazardous, toxic, and poisonous. Children will accept that they are different from their peers if you present it as their particular belief system. You need to give them the arguments and words to use when well-meaning friends and relatives question their eating habits. Let them understand that they are eating in a way that avoids the deficiency diseases of their peers.

Play hardball. If necessary, discreetly draw attention to the signs in their friends of deficiency disease, malnutrition, and over-indulgence. Point out their poor complexion, constant colds and flu, listless eyes, allergies and eczema, bad breath, lack of physical fitness, and grossness of obesity. You may have scruples against this approach, but be aware that your child is being peddled temptations even more prevalent than those offered by the neighborhood drug dealer.

Does this mean that your children should never have a hamburger, cola, ice cream, or candy? No. If you have done your job well, your children will be sensible and be able to handle social situations adroitly. They will still want to go to birthday parties and proms, and hang out at the local burger joint. But this is where they will need the self-discipline, confidence, and social skills to limit the potential damage.

At home, you have an iron responsibility to ensure that the right foodstuffs are constantly available. Always have a supply of ready-to-eat fruit, vegetables, and salads. Have homemade dishes like vegetable hot-pot and ratatouille available in the fridge and freezer. Have stocks of oily fish like canned salmon, sar-

Page 182 Above

Page 183 Below

 -dines, and tuna. In other words, have a larder well-stocked for the Bond Effect. Water should still be the main drink; try carbonated water with a twist of lemon. Tea, iced or otherwise, is also okay. Finally, remind yourself that a child needs a role model. From the youngest age, your child will want to emulate the feeding patterns of the adults in the house.
Get your child into the habit of filling up with food at home, and preparing and taking food supplies with her when she goes out. Never have junk foods in the house. Never buy cookies, cakes, pastries, candies, hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, pizzas, or ready-made meals. Never have colas, fruit juices, or carbonated drinks in the house.

What about condiments? It’s been said that the only way to get a kid to eat his vegetables is to smother them in ketchup. Strangely, if that is what works, then it is tolerable. A good quality ketchup is not such a bad condiment. The main drawback is the sugar content. But, for a Bond Effect practitioner, ketchup used in modest quantities is a small and tolerable lapse. Don’t forget herbs and spices. They are full of healthful micronutrients (hence their pungent taste and aroma). Get into the habit of using copious quantities of “Green” natural herbs and spices in all your dishes. Wean yourself and your family off processed and junk sauces.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of a healthy adolescence. Ensure that your children follow the Savanna Model, lock into place healthy habits for them, and they will be grateful to you for the rest of their long, disease- free lives.

Pregnant and Nursing Women
All we know about how our bodies work, and how our prehistoric ancestors evolved, shows that no special departure from the Savanna Model is indicated during pregnancy. Sometimes women are, mistakenly, advised to load up on calcium tablets. However, our ancestors never knew anything about calcium. Certainly, we have no instincts to search out calcium-rich foods. But if that doesn’t convince you, studies show that calcium supplementation does not make any difference to calcium metabolism.

The mother’s body naturally meets the demand for extra calcium by three hormonal activities. First, the intestines absorb a higher percentage of calcium from everyday foods. Also, the kidneys become more efficient at recycling calcium recovered from the urine. Finally, some calcium is borrowed from the bones. Nothing that the mother eats, supplements, or does changes this process. [6] As soon as menstruation restarts, bone density steadily recovers all by itself.

Our forager ancestors had pregnancies spaced about every four years. This happened mainly through biological machinery: a woman is much less likely to conceive when breastfeeding, and she is less fertile when her body’s food stores are low. The main lesson to draw from this is to space pregnancies by about four

Page 183 Above

Page 184 Above

years, just like our ancient ancestors, so that the bones can recover their full health before the next pregnancy.
Your doctor will probably prescribe all kinds of dietary supplements. There is not the space in this book to explain, one by one, why these supplements are not necessary, so you will dutifully take them. Just know that the pregnant Bond Effect practitioner need have no fear of dietary deficiencies. For example, one of the latest vitamins to be recommended for pregnant women is folic acid because the diet of the average American woman is deficient in it. But where is folic acid found? In foliage! The Bond Effect mother will be absorbing high levels of folic acid in salads and other vegetables, as well as all the other essential nutrients for her baby.

On the contrary, it is ever more important to not consume the non-conforming foods like bad fats and bad carbohydrates. The bad fats will reappear in the fetus and in breast milk. The excess insulin levels will upset the baby’s metabolism.

Finally, what about the cravings and nausea of morning sickness? This is definitely a tough time for the pregnant woman. According to evolutionary biologist Dr. Margie Profet, this sickness is nature’s way of preventing women from consuming plants whose antinutrients might harm the fetus. [7] In addition, the fetus is already manipulating the woman’s hormones to serve its own purposes, making her feel bad. What should she do? The truth is, not a lot. This is a time for going with the flow. She eats when she can and what she can bear to eat. Just relax and wait for this phase to pass. The fetus will make sure it gets all it needs, robbing if need be, the mother’s own stores.

Thirty Something
This is likely to be a phase of life when health will seem good and there is no need to concern yourself about the future. The reality is that it is this period of life when you need to set the scene for your later years. Bad eating habits now will lead inexorably to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. They lay the foundation for the degenerative diseases of middle and old age—cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, rheumatism, and even Alzheimer’s.

It is at this age that the blood sugar control mechanism starts to show its age. It copes less well with the stress that we put on it. It is now that “middle-age spread” begins to show. This is your warning that you are pre-diabetic—take it seriously. Change your eating pattern and relieve your body of that sugar-stress by following the guidelines in this book. But, most importantly, this is the end of the phase where your body easily builds up bone density. Now is the time to ensure that your bone capital is at a maximum.

The Menopausal Woman
Menopausal changes start in the early forties and build up to a finality in the fifties. As with pregnancy, this is a time when a woman’s hormones are under-

Page 184 Above

Page 185 Below

going a major reshuffle. It is potentially a period when Western women will have those familiar symptoms of hot flashes, irritability, hypersensitivity, depression, tension headaches, and night sweats. However, in most simple societies, these symptoms are almost unknown. Indeed, many women in the West do not suffer them either. What makes the difference?

Not surprisingly, the main thing influencing hormonal balance is food. The bodily dysfunctions caused by dietary errors will be amplified during menopause. Controlled studies show that a diet rich in bioflavonoids and vitamin C provides relief of menopausal symptoms for many women. Where are bioflavonoids and vitamin C found? In fruits and vegetables! Just boosting the intake of fruits and vegetables is enough to dramatically reduce the disagreeable symptoms. And don’t forget that bad carbohydrates and bad fats have a major effect on hormonal balances. Getting these right helps enormously too. Eliminate dietary errors by eating according to the Savanna Model.

There are also secondary dimensions, such as the stress of the Western way of life, the psychological finality of becoming infertile, and the tension in relationships caused by changes in libido, that affect women in menopause. There is a strong mind/body connection: managing stress and moods will also help stabilize hormonal balance.
What about the long-term affects? What about osteoporosis and heart disease? These are both major problems for post-menopausal women, but only in the West. If you get your eating patterns right and get other lifestyle factors into a conforming pattern, you can get on with life and not worry about these conditions.

Finally, what about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? We can be fairly confident that Pleistocene grandmothers did not drink pregnant giraffe’s urine to obtain estrogen-rich extracts. There is no reason from a health viewpoint why a menopausal Bond Effect practitioner should supplement with estrogen.

The Elderly
It is in the later years of life that eating in harmony with our savanna-bred natures can bring rapid relief to distressing ailments like stiff joints, arthritis, digestive upsets, and general ill-health. These are the ailments that emerge, like the wreck of a ship, as the tide recedes. For a great part of our lives, our body’s biochemistry has sufficient “redundancy” built into its system to patch around errors of lifestyle. With old age, these margins of error disappear. Now more than ever, it is important to harmonize how you eat with the needs of your body. When you do so, many of these troublesome maladies disappear.

Eating in accordance with the Savanna Model is the ideal and there are no other special measures to take. Just make sure that your teeth, whether original or artificial, are working efficiently. Many old people eat badly simply because they choose foods that don’t need chewing. As an older person, make sure that you are eating the proper rations of fruit, salads, and vegetables. Surveys show

Page 185 Above

Page 186 Below

that older people, who tend to have less efficient digestive systems, often skimp on these foods. As a result, they, and their immune systems, are deficient in antioxidants and other essential micronutrients. Get that right and you’ll live out your years in good shape.

Vegetarians and Vegans
By “vegetarian,” we mean someone who avoids eating animals that have been killed, but consumes other foods of animal origin, such as dairy products and eggs. By “vegan,” we mean someone who avoids foods from any animal source whatsoever. Many vegetarians and vegans make the mistake of simply eliminating animal matter from their normal, “eat anything” diet. As a result, some vegetarians and vegans are obese, have poor complexions, and suffer ill health simply because they are continuing with other bad habits. Notably, this is because they replace the animal food by increased consumption of cereals, bread, pasta, and other complex carbohydrates. There are other errors as well, such as the use of dairy products, lentils, beans, tofu, soy protein, and bad fats and oils.
Vegetarians and vegans will find in the pages of this book exactly the right prescription for eating healthily. All you have to do is eat in accordance with the Savanna Model, ignoring the animal products where they are mentioned, and choose the vegetable alternatives instead.

Veganism can be a healthy lifestyle, provided that you carefully follow the Savanna Model consumption pattern. The secret is to eat like the gorilla, a natural vegan: consume very high volumes of plant material, including nuts, and avoid all the bad foods that do not conform to the Savanna Model diet. Vegans need to worry about the one nutrient that is not available in their diet: vitamin B12. The gorilla makes it in his intestine, but humans do not. (This suggests that veganism is not a natural human eating pattern.) Vegans should take supplements of vitamin B12: it does not require much, just 2 micrograms per day will be enough. Vegetarians, on the other hand, will get all the B12 they need by eating eggs.

186 Deadly Harvest Above

Index Page

Back to Chapter Six

On to Chapter Eight

Home Page