Dr. Weston Price in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration wrote:
“I presented data indicating that the Peruvians, who were descendants of the old Chimu culture on the coast of Peru, used fish eggs liberally during the developmental period of girls in order that they might perfect their physical preparation for the later responsibility of motherhood. These fish eggs were an important part of the nutrition of the women during their reproductive period.”
Many Indigenous groups prepared young girls for motherhood by feeding them special foods throughout their childhood and teenage years.
Special diets included liberal amounts of fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) and a solid supply of nutrients from a diet consisting entirely of whole and carefully cultivated foods.
Special foods fed to girls include, fish eggs, butter, natural foods from wildlife , organs of land animals, insects, and sea foods that include at least some of the organs and the heads.
Why Special Foods Create a Safe Birth
Dr. Price showed how bone structure is largely a condition of heredity. Not genetic heredity, but environmental heredity where the foods of the parents, and the foods of the child, create their bone structure. Girls whose parents fed them well, with foods rich in minerals and fat-soluble vitamins, grew with an excellent bone structure. This bone structure allowed for the proper formation and shape of the pelvic brim (the inner bowl of the pelvis which the baby passes through). The more developed the pelvic brim, the more ease a women will have during childbirth.
Childbirth was a natural process for many indigenous groups, because they knew what to eat.
SourceRead also this interesting comment from a Native member here: They try to push milk, as the Non Native peoples/colonizers who came from Europe brought domesticated livestock, to this continent. Natives were not used to milk, and actually many, many Native people cannot tolerate milk. Some cannot even tolerate the domestic meats and have health issues due to it. Many can only tolerate sheep or deer, elk, buffalo but not beef or pork. In my family on the maternal side, most of us cannot tolerate milk at all. Causes us very intense gastrointestinal problems. But when I've had to go to WIC one has to have a Doctors prescription just to bet lactose free milk or Almond milk in it's place. They need to be educated about the lactose intolerance. IT CAN be very dangerous to some. We truly need to eat more natural, traditional foods and stay away from processed, salt and sugar laden foods and domestic livestock.
Interesting. Of course, the daily diet of the average American today is full of empty calories. You truly are what you eat. It affects our health in many, many ways so certainly childbirth makes sense.
Exercise plays another part. Children running and playing outdoors are different than children glued to tv or video inside. We need to get back to the old ways but for eating healthy and exercise we need only go back 60-70 years. Not so long ago.
A great book to read is Pottinger's Cats. It's all about nutrition's effect on heredity. Read it and wake up to real food and it's amazing effect on your body and those of your children.
I listened to my body. No smoking or alcohol of course. No caffiene. The only dairy I had was yogurt and a little cheese. Wic wants to push milk. Not for me. I ate few sweets. Just enough to keep sugar cravings at bay. I ate a lot of good food.
Muy interesante. Incluire esa alimentación en mi dieta de ahora en adelante.
omment on WIC. They try to push milk, as the Non Native peoples/colonizers who came from Europe brought domesticated livestock, to this continent. Natives were not used to milk, and actually many, many Native people cannot tolerate milk. Some cannot even tolerate the domestic meats and have health issues due to it. Many can only tolerate sheep or deer, elk, buffalo but not beef or pork. In my family on the maternal side, most of us cannot tolerate milk at all. Causes us very intense gastrointestinal problems. But when I've had to go to WIC one has to have a Doctors prescription just to bet lactose free milk or Almond milk in it's place. They need to be educated about the lactose intolerance. IT CAN be very dangerous to some. We truly need to eat more natural, traditional foods and stay away from processed, salt and sugar laden foods and domestic livestock.
I am an RN and IBCLC with the WIC program. We at WIC will issue lactose-free milk or soy beverage alternative to any woman without a prescription ( a prescription is required for children to receive these substitutions.) However, no woman MUST purchase and use these foods. WIC is a voluntary program that is supplemental in nature. Women do not need to participate if the foods offered are not of use to the woman.
Wow, late to this but, Yes WIC is voluntary but how about offering foods that can actually be used, foods that won't cause health problems for Natives, especially if it is a supplemental program that is their only source of aid.
A Native woman speaking here when ever I got pregnant with all seven of my kids I could not tolerate modern/western foods they made me lose weight and have severe morning sickness and bowel problems. One time I lost 20 lbs in the first month of pregnancy. As soon as those things would happen I would switch to all native foods and would immediately become healthy again. My kids are all sensitive to milk and milk products one of them is deathly allergic to milk. Living in a white world it's very hard to maintain a good healthy all Native food diet. From WIC's USDA website "The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk." "The median household income for American Indian and Alaska Natives is $37,353, as compared to $56,565 for non-Hispanic Whites." Notice that is the median income kinda hard to provide medical insurance on that low a pay." It is significant to note that American Indians/Alaska Natives frequently contend with issues that prevent them from receiving quality medical care. These issues include cultural barriers, geographic isolation, inadequate sewage disposal, and low income.
Some of the leading diseases and causes of death among AI/AN are heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries (accidents), diabetes, and stroke. American Indians/Alaska Natives also have a high prevalence and risk factors for mental health and suicide, obesity, substance abuse, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), teenage pregnancy, liver disease, and hepatitis." Notice especially SIDs and teen pregnancy! "American Indians and Alaska Natives have an infant death rate 60 percent higher than the rate for Caucasians." For the federal government that is by treaty supposed to give us good health care they are doing a really lousy job.
forgot to add where I got those statistics from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=52
Colonizers brought white flour and sugar and alcohol to Australia and it had such a genocidal effect and then the colonizers laced the white flour they gave them with arsenic. It was genocide. The indigenous were very healthy people and young women were prepared for motherhood in a similar way. They went to special places to give birth, near water. We are fighting to save some of what is left of these precious places where the plants for that area for birth were available. Beautiful article, thank you.