Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas

My bookshelves are groaning under stacks of new nutrition books; a subset of these are definitely worth reading carefully from cover to cover, and others are even more valuable. Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas, a nutritionist based in Portland OR, is one of the keepers. I didn’t think so at first. The book suffers from a dense, technical style (interspersed with humorous comments) - but soon enough the author’s unflagging attention to details and connections started to resonate. I was particularly struck by her identification of emotional and mental disturbances as related to lifestyles. Beyond the high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and dementia we’ve all heard are related to carbohydrate consumption, Gedgaudas reminds us that other conditions such as depression, anxiety, allergies, irritability, and even cognitive impairment are also impacted by a carb-based diet. And that’s when I started to take notes in the margins.

We all know people who demonstrate insulin resistance or even metabolic syndrome, those who seem hyped up by sugar overload, and then lack energy when others are still going strong, or those who gain weight easily even on a “balanced“ diet. But even more distressing are those seemingly healthy, normal individuals who are suffering mentally: anxieties, poor sleep, depression. Did you know that young people who have undiagnosed Gluten Sensitivity are 400% more likely to suffer cognitive functional decline and underachievement in post-secondary education? Gedgaudas prefers to consider gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease, a neurological condition, as opposed to a “mere” gastrointestinal problem. Lateral connections and insights like this abound in this book and hook you into intense and careful study. Whether or not all of her connections and hypotheses are born out by empirical investigation, she has certainly established some very compelling areas for investigation.

This is an excellent handbook for choosing a diet wisely, for additional nutrients to consider, and reasonable exercise advice as well. Now, I want to thank her for writing this book.



We are now selling this book through Amazon and soon through our store at great prices.







From the publisher

This book reaches credibly across disciplines and gives you the greater "aha!" of how various aspects of health actually fit together-including aspects of diet, physiology, modern anti-aging research, weight loss, supplementation, brain health, mental health, and even physical fitness.

Nora Gedgaudas' slides from her presentation at the Ancestral Health Symposium.