Are You Eating These Important Supplemental Foods?
Today I’d like to talk about supplementation. No, not vitamins. While I obviously believe supplements of the pill, tablet and powder form variety can play a role in a healthy, modern Primal lifestyle, that’s not what I have in mind today. Instead, I’d like to take a look at supplemental foods – multivitamins provided in whole food form by mother nature (often aided and abetted by cooks, cheesemakers, farmers, ranchers, shepherds, and the like). In my estimation, there are a few absolutely essential supplemental foods that we should be eating.
Most of you are probably eating a few of these foods regularly, and some may be eating most of them, but I’d wager that none of you are eating all of them on a regular basis. Check the list, see what you’re missing, and adjust accordingly.
Egg yolks
Egg yolks are number one in my book. The way they blend effortlessly with other foods and even enrich them, and (if you get a really pastured one) provide unparalleled taste and mouthfeel when eaten straight out of the shell can’t be praised enough. The vitamin A, choline, folate, selenium, iodine, and omega-3 (again, if you get pastured) are rather nice, too. Eat egg yolks every day, just don’t smoke ‘em. Yes, that was a double reference to both the egg yolk/cigarette study and Dr. Dre.
Liver
Since every animal comes with but a single liver, it’s tough to get more than a few ounces if you’re sharing with everyone else in the group. Good thing liver is the most nutrient-dense food on the planet, so nutrient-dense that eating more than a half pound to a pound a week is probably overkill and will net you an excessive amount of certain nutrients.
Seaweed
Seaweed is green vegetation that’s been marinating in mineral-dense seawater for its entire life, and when you eat seaweed, you get the best source of iodine, plus magnesium, manganese, iron, and tons of other trace minerals that you might be (probably are) missing out on. Some of the healthiest traditional cultures consider seaweed a staple food, and essentially every group of coastal people utilized sea vegetables in their diets. Sprinkle kelp or dulse flakes on food, make broth using dried kombu, eat seaweed salad when you go out to eat sushi, roll up avocado and meat in nori wraps – the possibilites are many and delicious.
Turmeric
You might have read my old post on turmeric, thought, “Huh, interesting,” gone out for Indian that night, and never thought about it again. That’s a mistake, in my opinion, because turmeric is delicious and a true health food. It and its primary bioactive component – curcumin – have been shown to be anti-inflammatory, anti-lipid peroxidative, blood lipid-improving, and anti-carcinogenic in human studies. Contrary to popular belief, turmeric doesn’t just go with Indian food. I often sprinkle it liberally on my eggs, meat, and vegetables, and I even make a tea out of it. So no, you have no excuse not to use more turmeric more often. Add black pepper to increase the benefits.
Bone broth
It can feel like a chore to make, but it’s really not. Get bones, cover with water, heat, strain. It only seems like a big job. Once you get going, though, it’s easy enough. Make it a routine, to make it even easier and ensure that you have bone broth on hand at all times. Just be sure to clean those pots right away; dried, obliterated skeletal matrices are tough to scrub off of stainless steel pots. As for the benefits, bone broth is a good source of minerals and gelatin. If you’ve been pounding the muscle meat, balancing the amino acid methionine out with some glycine from gelatin is advised, since methionine metabolism depletes glycine. Gelatin also improves joint pain and sleep quality. I hate the former and love the latter, so I make and drink bone broth.
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is an interesting one. It’s plainly obvious why humans and their ancestors have been seeking it out for millions of years – it’s fatty, calorie-dense, and delicious – but its nutritional value beyond macronutrients is a bit more murky. In a previous post on bone marrow, I tried to divine the specifics and came to the shaky conclusion that since marrow is actively involved in bone and connective formation and resorption, we can effectively think of it as an organ and thus assume it to be nutrient-dense. I think that still holds. No, there are no studies or nutritional databases to confirm this, but I’m going to go out on a limb and propose we consider bone marrow to be an important supplemental food.
Shellfish
Over a year ago, I told you guys to start eating shellfish. Did you? Well, consider this another notification that shellfish, particularly oysters and mussels, should be a regular part of your diet. Why oysters? Just four medium sized Pacific oysters supply a smattering of B-vitamins (including over 1000% of daily B12), 1200 IU of vitamin A, a third of daily folate, almost 7 mg of vitamin E, 3 mg copper, 280% of daily selenium, and 33 mg zinc. That comes with 18 g protein, 4 g fat, 1.5 g omega-3, 0.1 g omega-6, and 9 grams of carbohydrates. Why mussels? They’re also rich in B-vitamins, selenium, zinc, and protein, but also come with good amounts of magnesium and manganese. Other shellfish are also good, but probably not as important as oysters and mussels.
Aged cheese
Gouda and pecorino romano are ideal choices. Gouda is the cheese with the highest vitamin K2 content, and the longer the cheese is aged (fermented), the more K2 it picks up. Pecorino romano, by definition, must come from raw sheep’s milk grazed on lush grasses, and it must be made the traditional way – from animal rennet. The result is a salty, sharp cheese with bite, CLA, and the ability to “cause favourable biochemical changes of atherosclerotic markers.”
Natto
I know, I know. It’s soy, a legume with significant levels of phytoestrogens, phytic acid, and trypsin inhibitors. It’s got a gross, slimy texture that may be outdone only by its interesting taste. It’s soy. By most accounts, people following a Primal lifestyle shouldn’t have anything to do with it. If you asked me a couple years ago, I may have said that. But natto is a special kind of soy. It’s fermented using a particular strain of bacterium called Bacillus subtilis natto. When steamed soybeans are inoculated with b. subtilis, they are transformed from a basic legume with few redeeming qualities into a powerful supplemental food imbued with high levels of vitamin K2, a nutrient important in bone mineralization, cancer prevention, and protection from heart disease. If you’re into those sorts of things, natto is the single best source of vitamin K2.
Tiny whole fish with heads and guts
Anytime you can eat the entire animal, you should. Heck, if they were able to genetically engineer bite-sized cows, I’d be all over that (assuming they were grass-fed, of course). Until then, tiny fish with heads and guts will do the trick. I’m talking sardines. I’m talking anchovies. I’m talking smelt. I’m talking any of the fish running between a half inch and six inches long. Any longer and the guts will begin to stand out in your mouth. But if you keep to that sweet spot, you’ll get the brains, the glands (all of them), the organs, the bones, the fermenting algae, krill, and assorted sundry microscopic marine goodies tiny fish like to eat, in addition to the omega-3s and protein, without adverse flavors. Oh, and because they’re tiny and low on the food chain, tiny fish will be largely free of the heavy metals other, larger fish tend to accumulate.
Red palm oil
For the PBer who fears almonds and other nuts and seeds for the omega-6 content, vitamin E is scarce in the diet. Some would argue that vitamin E is only there to prevent oxidation of omega-6 present in foods, and there’s something to that. But still: dietary, full-spectrum vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, and red palm oil is the richest source of the full-spectrum variety. It’s also a good source of CoQ10, another powerful nutrient. Oh, and it tastes good (once you get used to the unique flavor). Go for African palm oil instead of Southeast Asian, because the former isn’t produced on the backs of dead orangutans.
Brazil nuts
Selenium, selenium, selenium. This essential little mineral is woefully absent from most people’s diets, and it’s a shame: selenium is vital for thyroid hormone production, the manufacture of endogenous antioxidants, and sex hormone production. Brazil nuts are the best source of selenium. Many of the previously listed foods are going to get you plenty of selenium, but brazil nuts are nice to keep around for those days when you haven’t been eating your lamb kidneys, mussels, and anchovies. Just pop two or three brazil nuts and you’ll have more than a day’s worth heading straight to your gastrointestinal tract. Easy peasy. Go for the ones in their shells if you can, since those are going to be fresher than the shelled nuts.
Speaking of brazil nuts, I’ve always wondered whether to capitalize the “b” or not. Any thoughts?
Purple/blue foods (sweet potatoes, berries, vegetables)
As I’ve said before, bright colors in plants often indicate the presence of potent polyphenols – bioactive compounds found in plants. No bioactive color has been more studied and lauded than the blue/purple anthocyanins, which are linked to anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, and anti-carcinogenic effects and can pretty much be found in any blue or purple fruit, vegetable, or tuber. So, Okinawan sweet potatoes are great sources. Blueberries, raspberries, currants, purple grapes, and blackberries are great. Red lettuce, radicchio, and purple cabbage, cauliflower, kale, tomatoes, and carrots are also rich with anthocyanins. If it’s purple or blue and edible, it’s probably worth eating.
Fermented food
Since modern medicine is steadily unearthing new connections between the gut microbiome and a host of health and disease states, we know we should pay attention to our gut flora. I can’t tell you to go eat dirt and stamp around barefooted in parasite-ridden water (even though both may theoretically have their benefits), but I can tell you to eat a mix of fermented foods. You’ve got your yogurts, your kefirs, your sauerkrauts, your kimchis, your (aforementioned) nattos, your beet kvasses, your kombuchas. Benefits include more numerous and more bioavailable nutrients, new nutrients, new genetic material for your gut flora to acquire, and membership into a tens of thousands of years-old fermented food appreciation Meetup group with billions of members from every culture that came before us. In other words, gut flora is important, everyone who’s anyone regularly ate fermented food, and you should too.
So, how’d you do? Does this look familiar to you? Are you eating these foods, or are you missing out? Let me know in the comment section, and be sure to mention any foods I might have missed. Thanks and have a great day!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Natto may be deemed the single best source of vitamin K-2 by science but is it really? What synergistic factors are provided by mother nature along with natto? Magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, maganese, and omega- 3s. That is pretty good but your best sources of K-2 are raw fermented dairy from organic cows grazing on spring or fall fast growing organic pastures, originally choosen for their rich mineral content (think alluvial floodplain organic farm), and maintained by a smart farmer who rotates various types of animals on pasture (cows, goats, sheep, chickens), and makes sure that a variety of grasses native to the the bioregion make up the pasture grasses. What do you get besides vitamin K-2 and the factors presnt in natto) when you ferment raw buttermilk and/or raw milk from these cows? All of the maximum synergistic components for its utilization and absorption: adding to those factors provided by natto – Vitamin D plus loads of probiotics. And if the farm is local (within 100 miles) you get the benefits of the healthy adaptations of the microbiological community within the fermentation – refered to as “transfer factors”- something not understood by science very well. Healthy cultures around the world have proven the health benefits of fermented dairy under similar conditions to those described above. Almost all small farmers raised their animals under those types of conditions because it worked, and practically no off-farm inputs were required – they couldn’t afford them. This is the way Russian and Poland supplies 85% of the food for their nations – from small farmers like that. They have already gotten past the collapse of industrial agriculture. Learn about the small farmers close to you who are doing things right – it pays off for your health.
Shellfish? Seriously? The last I heard, Elohim forbade the eating of shellfish. So did I take your advice over Elohim’s to eat unclean food? NOT A CHANCE!
Define unclean food. Bacteria exists on all food.
I add turmeric to fruit smoothies sometimes. It doesn’t have much flavour, and you don’t need a lot of it to get the benefits. Or throw it into soups or stews, especially if you’re using spices like curry or cumin. Turmeric is in most commercial curry powders, but not all. If you buy curry powder or garam masala without turmeric, you cna add your own to the dish.
That’s a really good idea -lots of turmeric really eases those little aches and pains, but I forget to use it in my cooking. Will try this!
With respect to bone marrow and broth — I have been making my own bone broths for several months and usually let it simmer for 24 hours. After that time I generally find that the marrow from the beef bones has dissolved into the broth. I assume I am getting the full nutrients from the marrow in my broth. Does anyone know if this it true, or is there a benefit (other than yumminess) to eating the marrow? I’ve never actually tried marrow, but wouldn’t be adverse to roasting a few bones before making broth from them on the next batch. Thanks!
Hi Tricia C, when I can get my hands on grass-fed marrow bones sawn into troughs and rounds, I sprinkle salt on the middle bits and roast them for half an hour. In this time they soften completely, with a crisp, umami shell that.. I have to keep swallowing… is so delicious, satisfying, a full hit of deep sustenance you literally feel the enamel on your teeth grow back, your spine straighten and strengthen, nails harden, mind clear.
Then chuck the bones in broth and carry on.
Great post, as usual, thank you, Mark!
And it’s good to know that I take most part of what you say on a weekly basis!
Another way to eat whole animals (organs) for those who are not used to it is in stews.
Here there’s an old recipe for a rabbit stew with all the organs, even the brain and the eyes but without seeing them:
Note: you can use the translator on the top right, as my web is in Spanish
http://spartangourmet.blogspot.com.es/2011/02/conejo-guisado-al-vino-tinto.html
Hi all. I’m confused. I joined the primal road a couple of months ago and have read everywhere that dairy is out. Why are cheese and yogurt on the list. Love them both by gave them up in my effort to be paleo.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-intolerance/
Turmeric is a daily addition to my power primal smoothie. As are Brazil nuts and macadamia. Have not quite stretched to putting fish in the blender yet!
Here’s a way to put some fish in your blender (or food processor, more accurately). Before giving up bread, my husband and I made this sandwich from Mark Bittman all the time. Now we just spread it on lettuce and/or celery instead of serving as an open-face sandwich:
Tuna-Anchovy Sandwich
Mash oil-packed tuna with some anchovies, garlic, & lemon juice. Fold in some pitted black olives, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped basil, parsley & other fresh herbs available in garden. Spread on veggie of choice!
The list is a little overwhelming as I am just starting primal. I’m super happy that the list was created. As I become accustomed to this new way of life I will try to find ways to incorporate these super foods.
Don’t be overwhelmed. Remember the 80/20:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-intolerance/
And read these for some perspective, too:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-foods-i-couldnt-live-without/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-important-is-food-variety/
Bite-sized grass fed cows? Hilarious! And then I thought….they sell little bite-sized frozen mice (called pinkies)at pet food stores, to feed snakes, etc. Not sure they’re grass-fed, Mark, but an unusual and whole source of protein……
I so wish I can get on board with eating fish guts, raw egg yokes and liver.
I agree about the fish guts and liver…but raw egg yolks are the bomb! You can easily avoid any squeamishness by putting them in a smoothie, or using them to make mayo, or making hollandaise sauce…you can really mix egg yolks into anything and not know they’re there.
Try making a smoothie and pop a raw egg in. You won’t taste it but you get all the benefits!
With the little fishies like anchovies you don’t know you’re eating the guts. Or ground up in home made salad dressing. Egg yokes are GREAT in smoothies, home made ice cream, or even home made bars! And I normally don’t like liver, but I LOVE pate. Try just a little on celery or a paleo cracker and work your way up.
On a trip to Venezuela I earned a reputation the I would eat anything that didn’t eat me first.
Where do you buy “whole” sardines and anchovies?
Also, I make my own saurkraut and pickled peppers using brine, then drink the left-over juice, for added probiotics.
Awesome list, thank you Mark!!
Great article- thanks! I have a question… If you are aiming for low carb high fat how many sweet potatoes and fruit should you be eating? Or are the fruits you mention here lower in sugar and thus better to eat a lot of? Ditto the sweet potato.
I’ve written pretty extensively about potatoes. See these:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-foods-i-couldnt-live-without/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/potatoes-healthy/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/difference-yams-sweet-potatoes/
Grok on!
I need beef liver recipes!!!! The wonderful farmer I get my grass fed beef from gave me about 25 pounds of beef liver. I have a hard time eating it, however, and am looking for good recipes for hiding the taste – pates, or anything else that hide the flavor (liver and onions isn’t enough), is helpful.
Any suggestions?
Fondue?
Liver and bacon, at a ratio of 1:627?
I soak beef liver in a bit of lemon juice overnight before cooking. That seems to improve the flavor and texture. I like a pate made with sauteed beef liver, mushrooms, onions, a couple of cloves of garlic, a piece or two of bacon, sauteed in lard or butter or coconut oil. Cook and blend. Yum.
Try this recipe: http://www.primal-palate.com/2012/02/beef-liver-and-onion-meatballs.html
How do you eat 25lbs of liver? One bite at a time:
Liver Vitamins:
While still frozen, cut up some liver in small, easy to swallow pieces and use it as a daily vitamin. (Swallow it still frozen).
Have you tried Wildbrine sauerkraut or kimchi? SO bomb and raw cultured
Great know that most of the things on the list is part of my regular diet. Cheese no. Sardines or anchovies are great mashed with hard boiled egg and curry along with a hit of turmeric, makes for an interesting curry egg, on corn crisp bread.
Thanks Mark. I went out today and bought some seaweed salad — delicious!
Great post! Yup, capitalize Brazil in Brazil nuts.
But be sure to let everyone know to get rid of those anti nutrients by soaking then drying them plus they taste even better done the WAPF way. They are a lot easier to digest done that way also.
I’d just add a note of caution about seaweed and shellfish for 4 reasons–mercury (recognized for some time now), Corexit and oil pollution from the Macondo spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the antibiotics given farm-raised fish, and ongoing radiation from Fukishima. I think it’s now vital to know where your fish and shellfish is coming from.
Anchovies and sardines are safe to eat as entire fish, but it is not safe to consume the internal organs or intestines of many fish. People clean fish after catching them for good reason! Unrefrigerated fish can become toxic. Do your homework before eating whole fish and before harvesting fish or seafood from the wild. Seafood that’s safely harvested and processed is good for you. Other fish or seafood may not be, so buy from reputable producers. I love shellfish myself, as well as some finned fish like cod, salmon, halibut and so on. And anchovies and herring, not so big on sardines. I’ve eaten freshwater fish and saltwater fish, and live in an area that has red tides, where shellfish periodically become toxic due to overgrowth of a certain algae. It’s good to expose yourself to new foods and tastes, but don’t make yourself sick by doing it unwisely.
I have heard that 70% of Brazil nuts have molds. I try to get my selenium from mushrooms and other foods.
What’s the difference between mould and fungus?
What is primal about cows? I’m not trying to be a smart-ass or anything, I’m genuinely curious. Seems to me they should not be considered as a food source, even grass-fed ones.
What’s your take on why they should not be considered primal? Are farmed chickens, etc, food sources? Domestic cattle are just friendly, dumb bison.
When it comes to liver, many love chicken liver..
As a liver hater since childhood, with Mark’s recommendation, I’m going to get some at WFs.
Any suggestions on best cooking method?
and how much is considered a “serving” for a man..?
Thanks..!
OK, who are you and what have you done with Mark? Advocating grass-fed GMO mini-cows? Really?
What’s next…pastured GMO Big Ass eggs? Fermented GMO franken-bacon?
Wow, nice list! I’m getting a lot of these already: eggs for breakfast, bone broth from leftover turkey and duck, canned oysters and sardines as a snack, homemade giblet gravy (and I’m just a liver lover in general), purple potatoes on occasion, and a restaurant served bone marrow as a special appetizer and it was so amazing that I can get on board with eating more!
I can’t do the cheese thing; two years of trial-and-error tell me that it’s probably the hormones in the fat that gives me painful cystic acne. Seriously, after two weeks of eating Kerrygold butter that I clarified and strained through cheesecloth, I still broke out. Blech. My husband, who is quick to point out when I overreact, will quickly point out that I’m not overreacting when I say I can’t eat full-fat dairy anything!
I’ll work on adding seaweed to my diet, since I love it anyway, and I have some home-fermented beets that need some love; probably time to make some sauerkraut, too. I guess maybe it’s time to hop on the Brazil nut train, too.
I’m not ready to jump on the natto train. I don’t even know where to buy it, but I’ve seen pictures of it and think it looks so unbelievably disgusting. And I’ll try almost anything once.
“I’m not ready to jump on the natto train. I don’t even know where to buy it, but I’ve seen pictures of it and think it looks so unbelievably disgusting. And I’ll try almost anything once.”
Me neither.
Anytime I see soy, I think “no real food available”. Natto sounds like an awesome way to supplement a meat/vegetable poor diet. But I have both available. And how much K2 do I need exactly anyway? And it sounds like the real benefits are from eating the bacteria, not the soy slurry it grows in. Is there anyway to just eat the bacteria and be done with it?
I am still new to this PB way of thinking but I’m loving it so far! Thanks Mark for this list as it confirms that I am on the right track! I eat about 50% off the list but I have no idea what natto is (nor where to get it – I live in South Australia); we can get fresh sardines here plus numerous other small whole fish too; I keep and breed my own chickens, turkeys etc so always have a supply of good free-range eggs and when I cull them, I use most of the giblets for myself (my family gag at the mere thought!). Love offal – esp liver and shellfish so will up the intake on that a little more! One question though – the bone broth – what the heck do you do with it? Are you drinking it or using it as a base stock for stews/soups? Like I said, I am a newbie, so there is much to learn!
OK – just found the related article about bone broth! Strike question from above! DOH!
I found the following article complements yours perfectly, but is a little more technical.
http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins-and-minerals/beyond-good-and-evil
He doesn’t mention bone marrow specifically but does mention the importance of bone soup. Just thought you might be interested.
I realize that many other food items could be on your list. What about coconut oil?
Anyone try a hydrolized collegen supplement in a pinch when you dont have any bone broth whipped up?