13

VEGETABLES, WHOLE-GRAIN FOODS, FRUITS, NUTS, AND SEEDS

In this chapter we will examine more closely the part of our diet that is plant-based, comprised as it is of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Before we do that, however, it’s important to put a spotlight on the processes by which these foods are grown, given that how our food is grown is often just as important as what we eat. For starters, let’s look at the practice of organic farming versus that of chemical agriculture. Following that we will detail other important considerations pertaining to the role of plant-based foods in the modern primal diet.

CHEMICAL VERSUS ORGANIC FARMING

People often ask if there is really much difference between most produce available in supermarkets and produce sold as “organically grown.” The answer, quite simply, is yes. But only when some details are understood does the answer have much meaning. An examination of how food is conventionally produced today and how food has traditionally been grown makes the difference clear.

Chemical Agriculture

Imagine driving on back roads through America’s heartland, seeing thousands of square miles of midwestern farmland. Travel in the mind’s eye through the cattle, vegetable, and citrus country of Florida, the apple and cherry groves of upstate New York and New England, the fields of vegetables in valleys of Oregon and Washington, and everywhere in between along backcountry roads where farmers grow our food. A picture of great beauty emerges; rural America remains very lovely.

But the loveliness is tinged with a lingering sadness, for hundreds of millions of pounds of poisonous pesticides are sprayed on the land every year. And though this land is vast, one realizes it is nonetheless finite and perishable.

Many of these poisons work systemically and become part both of the soil and of plant tissues. Farmers consider this advantageous because they need not reapply them after a heavy rain. Some, like DDT, have been banned, but a wide variety of others continue to be used in varying amounts. While allowable amounts vary, the maximum allowances of minute amounts provides testimony as to the toxicity of these substances. No one will argue these agents are not incredibly toxic in tiny amounts. Given the documented performance of the FDA in enforcement (consider the DES affair) and the agency’s admitted lack of manpower to test adequately both the pesticides and the foods themselves for residues, the established limits on concentrations are not particularly reassuring.

In the United States, production of food was once the province of small farms owned by families. Now it is big business. In a land once producing food with considerable love, care, and attention to concerns of consumers, little thought is now given beyond the expedient and the maximally profitable. One need not elaborate on the obvious.

Consider, however, the results. The land lies essentially raped. Once-abundant wildlife is in many areas scarce or gone entirely. Insects have grown increasingly resistant to pesticides; larger amounts of toxic chemicals are used, killing insect predators and thus destroying natural checks. Meanwhile, more and more petrochemically derived fertilizers are used in attempts to maintain high yields. Humus reserves have been depleted; the living organisms of the soil have been killed. This circle has made most farms as dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides as an addict is on drugs.

Herbicides are used on weeds; fungicides are used in fields to control fungus diseases and in storage and transport to control rot. Fumigants are sprayed on stored foods to kill insects. Thousands of additional chemicals are added to foods when they are processed.

Tests of these substances, when they are tested, are made individually. But interactions of two or more chemicals have unpredictable results, often resulting in greater toxicity than results from the use of one alone. Effects of potential carcinogenic agents are equally unpredictable; the development of cancer often takes many years or even decades from the time of the initial exposure to carcinogenic agents.

Organic Farming and Living Soil

An organic agriculture is more than the absence of negative and harmful influences. In the early 1900s, a man whose work changed the shape and substance of many buildings Americans live and work in wrote of the need for an organic quality in architecture. He borrowed a word from agriculture because he envisioned an architecture in touch and in scale with nature, as the living soil is with the plants it nurtures. The man was Frank Lloyd Wright. He called his vision for buildings and the spaces they define “organic” architecture. To be in one of his buildings is to know why. Many are integrated with the landscape in a quite remarkable way, which many people find beautiful.

An organic agriculture truly lives and breathes. The soil teems with microorganisms that give vigor and resistance to plants, with worms to aerate the soil, and insect predators to control pests. High in humus and nurtured with natural fertilizers, a living soil provides plants that, when consumed as food, offer superior taste and nutritional value.

More farmers are realizing that their own interests are no more served by chemical agriculture than are the public’s, and as they change to organic methods, more naturally grown foods will become available. Conversion of chemically overworked soils is not easy; such soils are often reduced to a state not conducive to organic growing. This is one reason organic foods initially may cost more to produce. Prices have come down in recent years, however, and are in many areas competitive with conventionally grown crops. Healthy native and so-called primitive cultures ate plant foods that were nourished by virgin soils or a carefully and naturally maintained traditional agricultural system. This was an integral part of their success. Naturally grown foods are one of the primitive influences needed to solve modern problems. There is a growing awareness of this reality, even in mainstream American agriculture. I once heard a report on the production of grapes in California, on National Public Radio’s evening news program, All Things Considered.

The report focused on Gallo wines. It turns out that Gallo was quietly converting their grape farms to organic methods. In fact, Gallo had become the biggest organic grower—not just of grapes, but of anything—in all of California. Over 6,000 of their 10,000 acres of grapes were under organic cultivation. The reason? Economics. Organic works better. It’s more efficient and it saves Gallo money. Modern culture generally treats Earth and its creatures kindly only when it benefits our pocketbooks.

Organically grown vegetables are becoming more and more available in natural-food stores and supermarkets; optimally, they are bought seasonally, directly from growers. They may complement the conventionally grown vegetables many of us often must settle for because of the difficulty and expense of obtaining organically grown vegetables. Another important consideration is the use of indigenous foods in a context other than its original one. This we will consider next.

USING INDIGENOUS FOODS

Foods most suited to any given individual may be those indigenous to the type of climate in which one’s ancestors evolved and lived. People of European ancestry may not be biologically equipped to utilize foods indigenous to the tropics and the subtropics in any substantial quantity. People of European descent evolved and developed under the influence of foods native to northern and temperate parts of the world.

Adverse effects from foods in the vegetable kingdom that are of tropical origin are commonly seen clinically. I have not seen similar effects from animal foods. Many very popular foods are not indigenous to northern and temperate climates. These include citrus and other tropical fruits and their juices; the nightshade (Solanaceae) family of vegetables, including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers; and some nuts, including cashews. For some people, these foods may constitute a major portion of the diet, and a variety of symptoms and clinical problems may result from ingesting them. Improvement often results when use of the offending food or foods is reduced sufficiently or discontinued.

Now let’s take a look at the role of vegetables, whole-grain foods, and fruits, nuts, and seeds, and examine how they fit into our primal-diet picture.

VEGETABLES

Primal Weston Price–type diets place considerable emphasis on animal foods. These foods have always provided certain essential nutrients unavailable in foods in the vegetable kingdom. Traditional cultures and contemporary hunter-gatherer societies invariably have customs and rituals surrounding the use of certain animal foods.

This is not to deny, however, the importance of plant foods in native diets. In all regions except the northernmost Arctic, plant foods, either cultivated or gathered, play a vital role. Generally, the closer the country in question is to the equator, the more enhanced role plants will play in the diet, particularly in terms of calories consumed. For many people in the temperate zones of North America, a diet in which a substantial portion of the calories consumed are provided by plant foods may be appropriate. The precise proportion varies with individual genetics, tastes, and needs, and indeed tends to vary with the individual, seasonally and throughout one’s life. Vegetables, however, are used in indigenous diets everywhere except for far northern climates. Although animal fats should provide us with a majority of calories, for most of us vegetables have a very important role to play in a modern primal diet as well.

Salad Greens and Cooked Greens

Salad greens all year long are something of a modern luxury. I find a green salad with blue cheese an invigorating prelude to heartier fare, especially in summer when the size of the salad might grow larger. If one suffers from gastrointestinal disease, one should use raw greens with caution, if at all, in the early stages of dietary treatment. Others may begin eating small salads and slowly increase the size. Body and mind may then gradually adapt to larger amounts of raw greens. Use desired varieties of lettuce and sprouts, celery, parsley, and other palatable greens.

Dressing helps make a salad enjoyable; extra-virgin olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar are preferred ingredients. Balsamic vinegar may provide additional flavor. Canned sardines packed in water or extra-virgin oil are an excellent addition to salads, with outstanding health benefits.

Cooked greens also provide many nutrients. Broccoli, kale, beet greens, and sometimes dandelion and other greens are readily available, and should be well cooked and eaten with fat. Regular use of large quantities of vegetables containing oxalic acid is discouraged; these include spinach, swiss chard, and rhubarb, which should all be cooked. Oxalic acid is found in most kidney stones. Although it is a normal metabolite, its presence in stones indicates a disorder in its metabolism and excretion.

Dulse and Nori

Edible seaweeds are incredibly dense in nutrients. Rich in many vitamins and minerals, they especially concentrate iodine, critical in thyroid-gland function and lacking in the diet of many Americans. An excellent source of trace minerals, sea vegetables have always been widely utilized by native coastal cultures and even inland people, who bartered for them.

Dulse and nori are the most easily used edible seaweeds now sold commercially; both are customarily eaten uncooked, either alone or in salads. Nori is also used in traditional Japanese sushi, rolled with rice, vegetables, and raw fish. Other edible seaweeds are generally well cooked, otherwise they are hard to digest. They also should be organic because many chemicals may be used in drying seaweed.

Dulse sold in natural-food stores is harvested off the coast of Canada from the cold waters of the northern Atlantic, dried, and packed. It is very thin, and a little goes a long way; a fraction of a bag may be cut up or pulled apart and sprinkled into a salad.

Like dulse, nori is not processed with heat. Japanese people have farmed the ocean for nori for centuries by seeding rope nets, which are stretched between buoys just below the ocean’s surface. In a few months, the ropes are pulled aboard ships and the nori is sucked into machines. The mash is slowly dried on shore at low temperatures in flat, square forms. The paper-thin sheets that result are sold throughout the world.

Nori is grown in coastal Japanese waters, while the dulse available comes from northern Canadian waters far from major population and industrial centers; the latter seems preferable. The flavor of seaweed may seem a little strange at first, but dulse for many people quickly becomes a welcome addition to raw vegetable salads. Nori is easily used in sushi and other traditional Japanese dishes, but also makes a tasty snack eaten alone.

The Nightshades

Foods from the nightshade family (Solanaceae—tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes) may be occasionally enjoyed, but problems often occur with regular overuse of these foods. Garden-ripe tomatoes in late summer taste good, but when eaten in quantity they cause many people to develop small sores in the mouth and on the tongue, and often skin problems as well. Like all minor symptoms, these should not be ignored; they yield clues about how foods affect the body. Hypersensitive reactions to the nightshades often reflect a deficiency of vitamin K₂.

Tomatoes, like citrus fruit, tend also to aggravate gastrointestinal problems. Potatoes may cause gas, and some people note indigestion after eating green peppers.

It may seem an overreaction to minimize the use of these foods because such symptoms occur in some people. But the green parts of the nightshade plants are poisonous—everyone knows not to eat tomato vines, for example. Centuries ago, the tomato itself was also considered poisonous; only in the past few hundred years has it been used as food. Plants from the Solanaceae family contain a glycosidic compound similar to a metabolite of vitamin D₃. Vitamin D₃ is a prime regulator of calcium absorption and utilization. When grazing on these plants, animals develop stiff legs and a number of symptoms indicative of calcium problems. The compound appears to detrimentally influence their calcium metabolism. Literature about animal husbandry from all over the world reveals that each culture has a name for these symptoms in animals, and in each case, their cause is the same—grazing on plants from the nightshade family.

Avoiding the nightshades is not the sole solution for arthritis or any other serious problem. But evidence indicates these foods play a role in arthritic and other diseases. The nightshades are indigenous to tropical and subtropical climates. They are a recent introduction to the diet—our ancient ancestors did not have these foods. A prudent diet emphasizes other foods and limits tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and potatoes to occasional use. Adequate vitamin K₂ intake is protective and often allows for moderate intake of nightshades without adverse effects.

Raw-Vegetable Juices

Fresh raw-vegetable juices have their place in therapeutic diets for some people in certain situations, and may be an occasional adjunct in a primal traditional diet. They are best prepared from mostly greens and a little carrot. A piece of apple may be juiced to sweeten the mixture a bit. Raw green juice was an important part of Dr. Max Gerson’s therapy for cancer. Juices are best freshly prepared and drunk at least thirty minutes before meals to avoid interfering with the digestion of solid foods. Our ancestors did not have juice machines, however, and juices are best seen as optional, not for everyone, and not for everyday use.

WHOLE-GRAIN FOODS

Whole grains should be properly prepared—soaked for at least six to eight hours in an acid medium before use—and they should always be cooked. Whole grains contain phytic acid in the bran of the grain, which combines with key minerals and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract. Soaking the grain before cooking neutralizes the phytic acid, breaks down complex starches, lessens allergic reactions to grains, and makes grains less difficult to digest properly. Acid mediums include cultured buttermilk, milk kefir, coconut kefir, water kefir, cultured yogurt, whey, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar. Use one tablespoon of acid medium per cup of pure water.

The History and Role of Whole Grains in the Diet

Essential in the diets of some historical and contemporary native agricultural cultures, whole grains were at the heart of the natural food movement that spread throughout America in the 1960s. For many people interested in natural food, vegetables and whole grains became a substantial part of the diet as they moved away from conventionally produced meat and dairy products. We have seen that other foods, particularly seafood and grass-fed domestic animal meat and dairy products, are, along with vegetables, the most natural candidates to be dietary staples. What about whole-grain foods though? What role should they play in a contemporary primal diet?

Among people Weston Price studied in the 1930s and found immune to dental decay, only those in the Loetschental Valley of Switzerland and on the islands of the Outer Hebrides off the coast of Scotland used whole grains (rye in the Loetschental, oats in the Outer Hebrides) as an essential part of the native diet. Grains were also staples in a number of African diets and in parts of Peru. The people of Georgian Russia, Vilcabamba, and Hunza also used substantial quantities of whole grains. Evidence presented in chapter 4, however, indicates grains may have played too large a role in the diet of many people in Vilcabamba and Hunza.

The place of whole grains in the diet, even those carefully grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers and properly prepared, has been debated for many years by people interested in anthropology and nutrition. Domesticated grains became a staple in the diet of some humans beginning only about fifteen thousand years ago, when settlements first appeared around the edges of wild grain fields and people first learned to domesticate these plants. Many of us are descendants of ancestors who first used grains fewer than two thousand years ago. Anthropologists tell us that humans are biologically the same as we were at least forty thousand years ago. We all thus evolved to our present biological state on a diet that did not include grains.

As noted above, a majority of the cultures Weston Price found to have immunity to dental and chronic disease used no grains. A number of other cultures he studied used considerably more grains than those two cultures did, and suffered from a small but significant amount of dental decay and other indications of less than nearly perfect health. Grains have become a staple over the past fifteen thousand years in agrarian societies the world over—yet Price’s work showed clearly that hunter-fisher-gatherer societies enjoyed greater strength and immunity than their grain-eating agricultural contemporaries and in many cases dominated them.

Anthropologists have demonstrated that the introduction of grains into the human diet coincided with a marked reduction in the size and strength of humans. We cannot escape the importance of the question about what role grains should play in our diets today.

Recommendations Pertaining to the Use of Whole Grains in the Diet

My answer is to use and recommend whole-grain foods only as an option for a small part of the diet. A truly primal diet leaves them out. Grains are convenient—they store and travel easily, and they are relatively inexpensive. Their inclusion in the daily diet is satisfying for many people, who nevertheless often pay the price for consuming them, usually in excess weight and less than optimal health. Grains are not essential for a healthy diet, and their use at the expense of grass-fed animal foods and vegetables is detrimental. But properly prepared, small amounts are a reasonable and enjoyable indulgence.

The grain most easily prepared with the least amount of cooking is toasted buckwheat, or kasha. The inedible outer hull of the buckwheat groat has been mechanically removed and the raw groat lightly toasted. Indigenous to northern Russia, kasha is a hearty food, rich in a more complete protein than any other grain, and considered the most strengthening of the grains.

Because the toasting process has partially cooked the kasha, it may be prepared in a few minutes—simply mix one part kasha to one part hot or boiling water and let stand a few minutes. Kasha is convenient when traveling; it is not perishable and can be prepared by simply adding hot tap water. Lots of butter and a little Celtic salt are good on buckwheat, and I have occasionally enjoyed it with eggs.

Brown rice is the most commonly used whole grain. Available in both short-grain and long-grain varieties, short grain is traditionally considered more strengthening. Mixing in a wild rice (gathered largely in northern Minnesota and Canada, where it grows in shallow lake bottoms) adds a distinctive flavor. Brown rice is subject to oxidation at high temperatures and is best kept airtight and refrigerated or in a cool place.

Foods Made from Whole Grains

In addition to whole grains, which remain fresh and in their natural state until cooked and eaten, a host of foods made from whole grains are available. These include breads, flours, pastas, and pastries.

When grain is made into flour, its nutrients are exposed to oxygen. Certain nutrients, particularly vitamin E, are very much susceptible to destruction through oxidation. Other, little understood effects result in loss of vital nutrients. Many animal experiments have demonstrated a great difference between the effects of fresh whole grains or freshly ground flour and those of flour not completely fresh. If flour is to be used, it should be ground fresh, at home.

Visitors to Hunza many years ago observed that when traveling about the country, natives carried small hand mills for grinding wheat to make fresh chapattis—the small loaves of bread that are a dietary staple. They did this rather than grinding flour at home and making chapattis before leaving, or even rather than carrying flour with them. Food was scarce, and the Hunzas recognized the need to utilize their grains in the most efficient possible manner: completely fresh.

Breads made from sprouts without the use of flour are available in natural-food stores, but unfortunately most contain gluten. Sprouted grains are less subject to oxidation than flour and are rich in nutrients. Various grains are sprouted and made into loaves, either plain or with small amounts of sea salt, lecithin, yeast, and other natural ingredients. The finest are slowly baked at low temperatures to ensure minimal destruction of heat-labile nutrients.

Scores of sizes and shapes of whole-grain pastas are available, most made from whole-wheat flour and, in some products, spinach or artichoke flour. Like whole-grain breads and sprouted whole-grain breads, these foods may be useful, especially for individuals and families making a transition from refined foods and becoming accustomed to the taste of natural food. Simply cooked whole grains day after day may prove unpalatable; whole-grain products provide an important alternative for those who choose to include whole-grain foods regularly in the diet.

In the next section, we will consider the role of fruit in a primal traditional diet. Fruit, like grains, is thought of by most people as a dietary necessity, but the amount and kind of fruit most beneficial depends very much on individual circumstances.

FRUIT, NUTS, AND SEEDS

Fruit

America loves fruit—orange juice for breakfast, fruit at lunch and for snacks, fruit for dessert. Especially for many health-conscious people, fresh fruits and fruit juices are considered important foods and are eaten daily all year round.

Fresh fruit supplies raw enzymes, vitamin C, and potassium, but only tropical fruits are truly rich in enzymes. Vitamin C is partially destroyed by cooking, and fresh fruit is an important source of it for many people, though it may be equally well supplied by other raw foods, especially vegetables, raw milk, and organ meats. Potassium too is abundant in vegetables. Because many people eat few vegetables and little raw food, fruit has become a major source of vitamin C, potassium, and vital heat-labile nutrients. As a result, some people feel better eating fruit and eat substantial amounts of it.

The question, however, is whether raw-food nutrients might be best supplied by other foods, and if so, what then should be the role of fruit in the diet? Could excessive fruit be contributing to the development of problems? What about fruit juices?

Consider the place of fruit in the diet of our ancestors. Homo erectus, considered to be the ancestral human species preceding and leading to the development of Homo sapiens, is thought to have developed in Africa and then migrated throughout Europe and Asia around one million years ago. By the time this migration took place, men were hunting cooperatively, and meat played an important if not dominant role in the diet. Food gathering was also important in the mixed economy of early humans, and in Africa fruit undoubtedly was an important food. But as migrations spread north, fruit must have played a diminishing role. For hunter-gatherers of Europe and northern and central Asia, fruit came to be a small part of the diet. Even among modern-day African hunter-gatherer and herdsmen tribes, fruit generally plays a role secondary to that of animal foods, wild vegetables, and in some tribes, grains.

For our European ancestors, berries were available in summer, and other temperate-zone fruits were available in fall. Seasonal patterns are much the same in most of North America. But now many people use tropical and subtropical fruit all year long, often in substantial quantities. Heat-processed juices, devoid of the nutrients found in fresh fruit, also are often consumed in substantial quantities.

Quantities of fruit are not part of the diet we are genetically programmed to eat, and this includes those of us who are of Asian, Hispanic, or African descent. None of our ancestors consumed a great deal of fruit, or fruit juice of any kind. In the South Seas, coconut (which is a fruit), palm fruit, and bananas were consumed, but in moderate quantities. The African tribes discussed earlier in this book favored animal foods, fish, and wild vegetables as dietary staples. Our physiological responses to food are simply not adapted to handling large quantities of fruit, especially sweet fruits, and juices, which may particularly contribute to the development of such serious problems as diabetes.

Gastrointestinal diseases, including ulcers and colitis (particularly the acute phases), are aggravated by excessive fruit and juices, as are skin diseases. Also, many arthritic patients are aware that their symptoms are worsened by these foods.

Symptoms due to hypoglycemia—low blood sugar—are aggravated by fruit juice, dried fruit, and sometimes fresh fruit. An eight-ounce glass of fruit juice has the fruit sugar of several pieces of fruit and is rapidly absorbed; the body must immediately metabolize this sugar. Dried fruits have much the same effect. Extracted fruit juice does not appear in nature, and the body has no effective way of handling any substantial amount of it.

In whole fruits, the fruit sugar is much more dilute and more slowly absorbed. Fruit is digested over some time, enabling the body to have a much more measured and controlled response to it. When ripe and fresh fruits are eaten in moderation, the metabolic response is good. Even quite a large amount of some fruits may be eaten occasionally without problems by people in good health. Berries, low in fruit sugar, are well tolerated on a regular basis by most people. Wild berries are best because they are lowest in natural sugars.

Fruit may cause gas and indigestion in some people, even in small quantities. Excessive gas is a clear sign the body is reacting poorly to foods.

Generally, those recovering from health problems are wisest to avoid excessive fruit. Those in good health usually tolerate fruit more easily. Those of us living in southern parts of America are no more prepared genetically to consume excessive amounts of fruits than are people living in the north; a few years, or even generations, do not change one’s genetic predisposition and physiology.

Once accustomed to a primal diet, one has little desire for excessive amounts of fruit. Animal fats are far more satisfying. When an abundance of raw-food nutrients are supplied by grass-fed animal foods and vegetables, there is no need for much fruit, and cravings for it seem to disappear. Modest amounts of fruit are enjoyable, and even wild blueberries (available frozen in many natural food stores and some supermarkets) taste somewhat sweet, even though they are tart compared to domestic varieties. If you want fruit juice, squeeze an orange or half a grapefruit into a glass, then fill it with sparkling water.

In traditional Chinese medicine, all fruits are yin; tropical fruits and fruit juices are extremely yin. Excess yin may result in discharges and eruptions—diarrhea or inflammation of the bowels, acne and other eruptive skin diseases, rashes, colds, and many other problems. Yin foods of good quality are most appropriate at the most yang time of the year—summer—for yang is hot, and yin foods help balance the heat. In considering the place of fruit in the diet, this rather inexact concept of yin and yang is a useful tool; my clinical and personal experience has confirmed this traditional wisdom. Let fruit consumption ebb and flow with the seasons. Foods that are sometimes beneficial may at other times be harmful.

Nuts and Seeds

Though often thought of as protein foods, most nuts and seeds supply far more calories from fats than from proteins. Their high oil content makes them subject to oxidation and rancidity. Walnuts are high in omega-3 fats, are especially subject to rancidity, and should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. But many other nuts—including almonds, pecans, and cashews—are high in oleic acid and are not prone to rancidity.

Eaten in substantial amounts, nuts and seeds may cause considerable intestinal gas. Nuts need to be properly prepared by soaking in salt water and then dehydrated. Many unsuspecting people suffering with this embarrassing problem of gas, and fond of snacking on nuts and seeds, have discovered that it was not due to “nerves” or some other undefinable cause. The problem disappears if the nuts are properly prepared by soaking in water and eaten in modest quantities.

A more serious problem occurs in people with herpes. Symptoms of genital herpes may be controlled by avoiding refined food and following a primal diet. Minor symptoms—a few tiny spots with some itching, lasting only a day or two—may occur with occasional dietary transgressions. Major outbreaks may be triggered, however, by eating nuts. The amino acid arginine, prevalent in all nuts, has been implicated; but some nuts, including cashews and peanuts, are especially likely to aggravate herpes. Almonds, on the other hand, are usually well tolerated.

Nuts have been a part of the food supply of many native cultures. As for seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds are tasty and healthy snacks or additions to salads.

Many nuts and seeds are used to make edible oils, many of which are useful in a modern primal diet. A discussion of these and other oils is the subject of the next chapter.