Dairy, these days, has become a controversial topic, with people widely spread in their opinions not only about the nutritional aspects, but also the social, environmental, and even spiritual consequences.
The benefits for animals to get the environment and foods their bodies expect can also improve their metabolic health. This in turn has ramifications for the quality of the animal foods we get.
Here’s a quick post I did about this on the Instagram a while back:
So getting into actual sunlight-raised food is a big deal when you are looking to connect more deeply with your local environment, whether it is sourcing from a sun-based farm, starting your own, or working on someone else’s.
And while not everyone can digest dairy in adulthood, for those who can, sourcing healthy dairy can really move the needle when it comes to health & fertility.
I recently came across a research paper investigating the relationship between those with adult lactase production, dairy digestion and consumption, solar exposure, Vitamin D levels and fertility that connected a few more dots for me about the connections between environment, ancestry, food choices and how easy/hard it is to carry a pregnancy through:
Analysis of a large population of patients attending primary healthcare confirms the findings that people who carry the Eurasian LP rs4988235 (T) allele and live at high latitude have a higher level of serum 25(OH)D compared with those who are genetically lactase non-persistent. This difference is apparent throughout the year and does not diminished in the summer months at times of higher UVB irradiation. Higher serum vitamin D in high-latitude regions as a result of LP would advantageously enhance Ca homeostasis directly (Ca assimilation hypothesis) and not just through lactose-enhancing Ca absorption or through general acquirements of micronutrients from dairy products. That I find women with a genetic LP variant have higher serum 25(OH) D compared with their male counterparts points to an additional potential selective advantage, that of giving birth to offspring without abnormal bone growth or low weight, as well as reducing likelihood of costly miscarriage. There are suggestions that vitamin D levels resulting from seasonal patterns of sunshine and skin pigmentation may be a determinant of birth outcomes in differing races.
Source: Moghaddam A. (2020). The Eurasian lactase persistence variant LCT-13910 C/T is associated with vitamin D levels in individuals living at high latitude, more so than exposure to sunlight. Journal of nutritional science, 9, e1. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2019.41
In my own experience, with my youngest baby, I had not had raw dairy as part of my diet for any significant amount of time and I think this related to some of the challenges I went through, especially in the postpartum recovery phase.
For example, when her teeth started coming in, she had crumbling at the edges and that really scared me as a young mama bear.
In researching what to do, I came across the idea we (and especially youngsters) need raw animal fats. Coming from a vegetarian background, I sourced raw dairy first—and it worked beautifully to solidify my daughter’s teeth and also to heal the white spots and translucence that had been forming in my own mouth during the extended breastfeeding phase.
It always breaks my heart to see new mamas with those signs on their teeth, knowing they could bring back the pearly smooth strength if they knew how to nurture themselves better.
Nowadays, I also include ceviche, but raw dairy still remains one of my family’s most frequent sources of these kinds of fats.
In thinking on this idea of a “unit” of revolution, a la One Cow Revolution (or the classic One Straw Revolution), I pose this question to you:
By the way, I’m teaching a workshop this Thursday about infancy and the first 2-3 years of life when the circadian rhythm is developing in children. It will be about what we know about optimizing sleep, digestive and elimination cues for babies to provide maximum circadian entrainment. The way the rhythm is programmed in this period is speculated (and we also have data to corroborate) to last all the way across the lifespan, including possibly even connecting to onset and severity of dementia. So, infancy this is an amazing time of life to be able to set future generations up better now that we are learning about the importance of proper light & circadian signaling for mamas and babies. Whether you are here for your own learning or to help your clients through this stage of life, I hope you will join! As always, my community classes are free for paid subscribers. This time, I also included a discount for free subscribers: use code INNERCIRCLE for 50% off if you aren’t ready to commit to a subscription yet:
One Unit of Revolution
One Unit of Revolution
One Unit of Revolution
Lately, I’ve been enjoying the works of the Dougherty’s over at One Cow Revolution. Last week on their blog they shared this:
Dairy, these days, has become a controversial topic, with people widely spread in their opinions not only about the nutritional aspects, but also the social, environmental, and even spiritual consequences.
Commercial dairy girls often spend large amounts of time in the barn, and therefore are lacking not only in time on pasture for feeding, but also lacking in pasture-time for getting natural sunlight.
Sunlight, as I’ve been sharing, is critical not only for photosynthesis in plants, but also for melanin’s ability to photosynthesize.
The benefits for animals to get the environment and foods their bodies expect can also improve their metabolic health. This in turn has ramifications for the quality of the animal foods we get.
Here’s a quick post I did about this on the Instagram a while back:
So getting into actual sunlight-raised food is a big deal when you are looking to connect more deeply with your local environment, whether it is sourcing from a sun-based farm, starting your own, or working on someone else’s.
And while not everyone can digest dairy in adulthood, for those who can, sourcing healthy dairy can really move the needle when it comes to health & fertility.
I recently came across a research paper investigating the relationship between those with adult lactase production, dairy digestion and consumption, solar exposure, Vitamin D levels and fertility that connected a few more dots for me about the connections between environment, ancestry, food choices and how easy/hard it is to carry a pregnancy through:
In my own experience, with my youngest baby, I had not had raw dairy as part of my diet for any significant amount of time and I think this related to some of the challenges I went through, especially in the postpartum recovery phase.
For example, when her teeth started coming in, she had crumbling at the edges and that really scared me as a young mama bear.
In researching what to do, I came across the idea we (and especially youngsters) need raw animal fats. Coming from a vegetarian background, I sourced raw dairy first—and it worked beautifully to solidify my daughter’s teeth and also to heal the white spots and translucence that had been forming in my own mouth during the extended breastfeeding phase.
It always breaks my heart to see new mamas with those signs on their teeth, knowing they could bring back the pearly smooth strength if they knew how to nurture themselves better.
Nowadays, I also include ceviche, but raw dairy still remains one of my family’s most frequent sources of these kinds of fats.
In thinking on this idea of a “unit” of revolution, a la One Cow Revolution (or the classic One Straw Revolution), I pose this question to you:
What’s your unit of revolution?
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By the way, I’m teaching a workshop this Thursday about infancy and the first 2-3 years of life when the circadian rhythm is developing in children. It will be about what we know about optimizing sleep, digestive and elimination cues for babies to provide maximum circadian entrainment. The way the rhythm is programmed in this period is speculated (and we also have data to corroborate) to last all the way across the lifespan, including possibly even connecting to onset and severity of dementia. So, infancy this is an amazing time of life to be able to set future generations up better now that we are learning about the importance of proper light & circadian signaling for mamas and babies. Whether you are here for your own learning or to help your clients through this stage of life, I hope you will join! As always, my community classes are free for paid subscribers. This time, I also included a discount for free subscribers: use code INNERCIRCLE for 50% off if you aren’t ready to commit to a subscription yet:
Register for Circadian Babyhood Workshop