For a decade now I have been leading people through this vision of what the Whole30 is, without the meat. This last year the new FFF showcased another page and half in the book, for the new Vegan Reset. I started to question that what if my followers were really just following the Paleo Vegeo plan, all along. Because surely if we a part of this lifestyle, we are deserving of more?

People judge themselves on how W30 they can be. People get rock solid on being right or wrong about what foods are allowed, and that really irks me because we are all gently different, although cellularly the same. As energy it's something that would laugh at this concept of ditching all the foods for what amounts to ketogenic with sweet potatoes. This is what we have all been trying to reach, and yet few were doing it.

So this year I mixed it up and created a "how to" video for the group giving them more of the options, and a better understanding of what is going on - especially in this country - with the food intolerance. It isn't just gluten that is hurting our bellies. It's so many foods, and a lack of creating this awesomely healthy microbiota to support us. Because that's what we are at the core... and energy of microbiota just roaming around trying to fight for us, or take us over.

The phytic acid plays it's part, I believe because we are overly malnourished and unable to use or breakdown most of these damaging nutrients. When you think about it, phytic acids are just antioxidants, and we want those, don't we? So why would these be a problem? Perhaps it's because we are not just nutrient deficient, but we are mineral deficient. Minerals are so important to our bodies, and so important to our soil.

Soil depletion should be at the core of what we are thinking about in the future. This is why I started growing my own plants in a tower, with no soil. Then it was just water and minerals... those minerals that I wanted in my leafy greens.

Those fruits and veggies on your plate were so much more nutrient dense decades ago. Every generation the soil is getting worse. Researchers in Texas at Austin's Department of Chemistry and Biology dug into this and studied the US Dept of Agriculture's nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999. Looking at just 43 different fruits and vegetables they found what they called, "reliable declines" in the amounts of protein, iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B2 and Vitamin C in those fifty years. So when someone says why do you supplement? This is why I supplement. I want all of the nutrients my body craves, more than my whole foods can offer me.

Even in the UK they have done analysis on this area and found the from 1975 to 1997 calcium levels in fresh vegetables had dropped 37%, vitamin A (you know... that one that is really important for our eyes) had declined by 21% and vitamin C had dropped a whopping 30%.

And those very important minerals, are so important. We know in that selenium is a driving force for our wellness, and yet suboptimal Selenium status was reported to be widespread throughout Europe, the UK and the Middle East, not just at home. Just like phytic acid, selenium is an important antioxidant. It is a defender in our immune system, especially important in fighting viruses like the flu. It is also essential for our hormone production. I lowers our risk of heart disease, and it lowers some risk of cancers. But most importantly it helps our brains stay active as we age as an important micronutrient for our brain and thyroid functions.

If countries like Finland, Scotland, New Zealand and some parts of China are supplementing their livestock with selenium so they won't fall ill, that should tell you something serious.

Polyunsaturated fats...I have been talking about these with my resetters, as it's easily turned, but also very important to our cells. What keeps the polyunsaturated fats in our cell membranes from oxidizing, is this complix called glutathione peroxidase. I think you've heard me talk about this one a lot over the last decade. Well Selenium is a key factor of our glutathione, and essential in the conversion of inactive T4 to T3. For those on a ketogenic diet, or a Whole30, or any restrictive diet that doesn't address this in supplementation, it causes a lot of problems to be deficient in this nutrient.

Our fruits and vegetables in the US don't seem to have a great volume of selenium in them. Brazil nuts, a great source, can be high in radium which tosses them out in my opinion. So you have to supplement.

Supplementation of these micronutrients is vastly important if you want to be healthy, long term, and pass that on through your epigenetics to your children, and their children's children. This is what I truly have been promoting for the past decade. It's this truth of nutrition. It's determining what we are lacking, how to hack it, and what to do to live healthy. It's about the broad spectrum of fruits and vegetables, and it's about the healthy fats, and it's about reducing the processed foods, animal-based products in our diets, and eating that which helps our microbiota grow healthy, to help sustain us. It's about creating strong cells, and boosting the mitochondria as well. If we want the most out of this life we have to stop confining ourselves to 10 Days, 14 Days, 30 Days of clean ups and start focusing on  what happens after those programs lean us into this new lifestyle. 

I am committing to running the Whole30 groups through the rest of the year, but then I am going to offer a more practical group for those that want to eat to live, no live for day 31. Stay tuned.