Month: September 2021

Should we be more cautious?

These days, everyone has likely heard someone talking about the health benefits of eating a plant-based diet. There are many science-backed claims to suggest that many people benefit – in the short term at least, from a plant-based diet. But as with all conclusions drawn from current science – we have only just begun to scratch the surface of where the science will eventually lead us.

Many of our Primal Meats customers have come to us because they have tried to follow a plant-based diet for a range of very good reasons; ethics, environmental concerns or in an attempt to be healthy. Sadly in many cases, the strict diet has led to deterioration not an improvement in their health. 

We are just beginning to understand that every person is unique in their capacity to digest and absorb nutrition from their food. This is not simply due to individual genetic variations and which genes are switched on or off, but in larger part by the make-up of an individual’s gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to what diet works best for an individual and the research in this area will show us in time how we can optimise our digestion and nutrient absorption. 

We cover some of the potential health issues that emerge from eliminating animal food in the video below but something that hasn’t received much attention is the issues that can be caused by the plant-based compound oxalic acid. 

Oxalic acid

Anyone that has suffered the awful pain and organ damage of kidney stones, is painfully familiar with the effects of this compound. Oxalic acid is the compound that leads to the formation of calcium oxalate crystals that form kidney stones and can cause recurrent urinary tract infections too.  

Whilst Doctors advise people who suffer from kidney stones to follow a low oxalate diet – being more aware of oxalic acid and oxalates may benefit all of us. 

Oxalic acid on its own is harmless – but when it binds to calcium it forms calcium oxalate nanocrystals. These crystals take a formation, known as raphides (1) or to be more scientific – prismatic monoclinic crystals – which are basically mini needles. By the time these crystal structures have grown large enough to form stones, they will have already been irritating the tissues in which they are present for some time. 

Some other conditions that may be associated with these oxalate crystals include:

• problems related to inflammation
• auto-immunity
• mitochondrial dysfunction
• mineral balance
• Issues with connective tissue
• urinary tract issues
• poor gut function

Oxalic acid can harm glandular, connective and neurological function and the function of the tissues of excretion, particularly the kidneys and bladder (2)

These crystals, if allowed to form in the body, cause a lot of destruction and the body’s best defence is to excrete them quickly via the kidneys into the urine. 

The body is very good at removing these calcium oxalates when they are produced in normal amounts and when a person’s physiology is working as it should, but the problem arises when too much oxalic acid is consumed, or when too many oxalate crystals are absorbed through the gut lining or form in the body.

Humans have evolved to eat a diverse seasonal diet – this has a powerful protective effect because seasonal food is only available for brief periods. This seasonality of food prevents us from consuming any particular plant in excess and prevents our bodies from getting overloaded. 

Our modern-day lifestyle however is out of sync with seasonality – especially plant-based diets. We can now import certain plant foods all year round, as well as grow many indoors. 

Whilst spinach would grow slowly, if at all through the winter in the UK, now people can eat copious amounts of spinach every day of the year and add it to their ‘healthy’ smoothies, along with loads of other superfood powders that can be very high in oxalic acid too. 

Spinach is just one example of foods that are high in oxalic acid – there are many more healthy plant foods, such as chard and even green and black tea that contain high levels. 

We certainly need to look further into the potential implications of a diet high in oxalic acid for otherwise healthy people. But regardless of what the science reveals about the potential pitfalls of high oxalic acid diets, the advice that I offer remains unchanged.

We should be eating a diverse, fresh, seasonal diet, grown the way nature intended, in or on healthy soil. It is seasonal diversity that allows us to moderate our diet and protects us from excessive consumption of compounds. 

For those that have followed a plant-based diet for a long time and that have suffered from kidney stones or other chronic health issues – it may be worthwhile researching the effects of a build-up of calcium oxalate crystals and seeking out professional nutritional support to help your body cleanse them from your system. 

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3951349/
2. https://www.urologyofva.net/articles/category/healthy-living/3740469/11/13/2019/the-damaging-effects-of-oxalates-on-the-human-body

The ultimate ancestral health experience has got to be hunting your own wild game meat; for some, however, this is just a step too far!

Luckily there is another way. We have made it super easy for you and work with a team in Cumbria who supply all of our wild game meats from a range of Estates throughout the Region.

I think wild game is some of the most nutritious and delicious meat you can eat and it has some pretty impressive credentials too:

• Wild game meat is sustainable.
  Unlike many farmed types of meat that require human-managed resources including; cereals, medicines, bedding, care and transportation, the wild game lives in our natural spaces living from an existing ecosystem that requires no input. In the absence of natural predators, our ruminant populations have to be managed to avoid overgrazing, buying wild game can play an important role in helping Estates manage the land better.

• Wild game meat is usually high welfare.
  The animals have lived wild in their natural environment expressing natural behaviours? When it comes to the point of death, wild game is shot or killed in its wild habitat – no transportation; no pens; no crushes – a quick and skilled shot will dispatch the animal before it has had time to suffer or comprehend the process.

• Wild game meat is healthy.
  Wild game is exactly the same meat as our ancestors ate before we domesticated animals. It comes with all the benefits of living in a wild, healthy and diverse ecosystem; a superb omega 3 to omega 6 ratios of essential fatty acids, higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins that found in grain-fed meats, no antibiotic residues and far less chance of exposure to pesticides and agricultural toxins. As discussed in our blog  ‘Grass-fed meat more than just omega 3’ grazers who have access to wild herbs, plants and trees will benefit from ingesting high ‘doses’ of health-promoting phytochemicals that are passed to humans through the meat. You can think of wild herbivores as ‘upcycling’ nutrients from plants we humans cannot eat from the healthiest and most diverse habitats.   

Stalking experience

I am fanatical about animal welfare and wanted to see for myself how humane this deer stalking really is. Stephen and I had the privilege of accompanying a stalker on a large Scottish Highland estate to see what’s involved in shooting a red stag for our freezer.

I can’t emphasise enough the skill and understanding of the landscape and the animals a stalker must-have. They ‘live and breathe’ the estate, are familiar with every nook and cranny of the area, and will know the movements and individual animals in the herds that occupy their land. Don’t confuse them with jodhpur-clad rosy-cheeked folk who love to chase animals around!

The stalker should always be out of sight and downwind so that the deer won’t associate people with danger – this would make their job impossible. The stalker’s job is to maintain a healthy herd of animals; this happens through careful culling to avoid any animal suffering from starvation or injury. The real skill is to take animals nearing the end of their life,  not integral to the future of the herd, but still in good enough condition to provide great venison.

A stalker may also increase the income potential further by taking a client stalking and under supervision allowing them to take the kill. Clients are required to prove they are ‘up to the job’ by shooting practice targets before going into the hills.

In our experience, we crawled on our bellies for hours waiting for the right moment. We then got a closer look at a herd of stags we had been stalking in the distance. Through the binoculars, we could see a grazing stag who was apparently a ‘10 pointer’; an older stag who was healthy but ageing and may not survive another harsh winter.

Our stalker took aim with his high powered rifle and in an instant the stag dropped to the floor. There was no kicking or movement. The rest of the herd took flight – they had no idea what had happened, but the noise scared them into the distance.

On closer inspection, our stag was killed instantly with a lethal shot to the neck. I couldn’t believe how much more humane this was than transporting an animal in a trailer into an unfamiliar abattoir to be slaughtered. No stress, no fear – no knowledge of the event at all!

The deer is bled and gutted on the moorland – it just disappears into the ground, as essential minerals and food for wildlife.

If you want to see a stalker in the highlands in action and watch the full process then, this video shows it all. 

In terms of land management and ethics, there is much debate about the impact deer stalking estates have on the environment and wildlife. Just like farming, there are estates that are well managed where biodiversity and wildlife are valued, and those who falsely inflate populations with profit in mind and negatively impact the ecology. 

In addition to the year-round venison we can offer from Cumbrian estates we are hoping to soon offer shares of whole venison from one of our partner farms and estates who are transitioning to regenerative agriculture or Wilderculture so looking to reduce their deer population.

If you would like to put your name on our waiting list for this then please email [email protected].

As for cooking wild game, there’s a wealth of fantastic recipes and ideas for cooking every wild furry and feathery beast you can imagine online. It’s actually no more difficult than cooking with beef or lamb – it’s just a bit unfamiliar at first. 

Take a look at ‘game-to-eat’ for starters.

Venison is great throughout the year and can be enjoyed in versatile dishes such as the venison ragu above. As the first leaves start to fall from the trees however is the time I most love cooking and eating wild game, it is the essence of hunkering down for the cosy seasons. 

Venison is rich in flavour and delicious and once you have tried it I am sure you will find many ways of substituting other meats in your favourite recipes. 

Enjoy!