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Primal living: How to optimise your health withnutritional expert Pauline l-expert-paulinefox/Image Credit: Pauline Cox/Sow and ArrowThe need to take personal responsibility for our own health has become glaringly clearunder the bright spotlight of the pandemic. It has never been more apparent that the foodand lifestyle choices we make impacts directly upon our health and wellbeing.Taking control of our own welfare, however, has become more complex than simply losingthose few extra ‘lockdown pounds’. Self care now involves a comprehensive package ofdaily practises. Social media is awash with messages urging us to meditate, de-stress,grown our own vegetables, embrace our community, and get out into nature. It is quite atall order. How do we begin to implement changes in order to not simply be well, but topositively flourish?Pauline Cox, BSc. MSc. believes that a good place to start is by examining the beliefs thathave been ‘drilled’ into us since childhood, from our own families, at school, on televisionand in the media. Many of us believe we are living a healthy lifestyle and making goodchoices about our food and lifestyle but they may not be the right choices for us asindividuals.Primal beings1/14
Cox’s new book, Primal Living in a Modern World is essentially a how-to health guide withsimple recipes and easy-to-understand science. Cox aims to inspire everyone who hasattempted to diet or live more healthily, and felt ‘miserable, deprived or a failure’ when theresults did not meet our expectations. The basic premise is that our efforts are not simplyabout motivation or willpower but rather that modern lifestyles work against our primalblueprint.Pauline Cox is co-founder of Sow and Arrow and a passionate advocate of anti-inflammatory, low-carbliving, using food as medicine. Image credit: Suzi Bird of Sunlight PhotographyHuman DNA is hard-wired to survival and if we are not feeling one hundred percent, itmeans that our body is telling us something needs attention. The unique physiology ofhuman beings means that we are able to burn sugar for instant energy in times of stress,and ketones produced by the liver from fats for more sustained energy.Sugar-burning results in more free radicals in the body whereas utilising ketones is moreefficient and causes less damage. Free-radicals in large quantities bombard our cells, causepremature ageing with cellular damage to the mitochondria, and inflammation. All ofwhich can result in disease in the body.A modern lifestyle2/14
Despite our bodies being overfed with constant snacking we can also be undernourished,even when our body weight appears in the accepted normal range. Without the times offamine experienced by our ancestors, the body’s energy producing cells typically utiliseglucose for fuel. The effects of this lifestyle include disruption to our biochemicalsignalling, altered metabolic hormones, mismatched gut bacteria, and fluctuating bloodsugars.In addition, separate research has shown that pesticides and additives in food play havocwith our endocrine systems. It is also claimed that many prepared foods, as opposed to realor clean food as it has become known, are often developed specifically to produce anaddiction to certain foods to ensure increased consumption.Cox believes that trying to diet or manage our food has gone beyond willpower anddiscipline as we are constantly bombarded with messages from our brains to ‘eat like yourlife depends upon it’.A blueprint for survivalPrimal Living in a Modern World is essentially a ‘how to’ health guide with simple recipes and easy-tounderstand scienceAfter giving birth to her second child, Cox, a health professional for many years, found thatdespite feeding her body on what she thought was a healthy diet, she was experiencing a3/14
range of unwelcome symptoms. These included episodes of fatigue, shortness of breath,palpitations, erratic heartbeat, and a short fuse when it came to everyday life.Anger, guilt and frustration were just some of the emotions she struggled to manage.Finally recognising that there was a problem, Cox began researching with the aim ofrediscovering homeostasis, the state of wellbeing achieved when our bodies are providedwith all the necessary components. The first thing she discovered was that she was a sugaraddict.Cox began self-experimenting with a bespoke approach to health and wellbeing, working tostabilise her biochemistry and balance out metabolic hormones and began thetransformation from sugar-burner to fat-burner.Primal does not present a definitive diet plan to follow but instead outlines the scientificfacts based on research and shares some of Cox’s own experiences as she worked to changeher thinking and lifestyle. There are tips on how to swap high-carbs for low-carbs and arecipe section to get you started, as well as ways to improve daily habits to support yourgoals.Cox argues that creating a magnificent version of ourselves is not vain or self-indulgent buta duty to self care. It is certainly true that modern lifestyles means we need to be the verybest versions of ourselves not just to cope but to possibly to survive.Top tips4/14
All recipes in the book are low carb and gluten freeLook objectively at what you are eating, sugars, for example, have a destructive impact onour cellular physiology. Even though Cox was eating a vegetarian, gluten-free diet, sherealised this was over-reliant on carbohydrates such as oats, grains, brown rice, dates, andanything else sweet she could ‘dress up as healthy’.Implement a diet overhaul with a three-step testing approach of remove, repair andreinstate to find the foods that work for you and improve your microbiome. Cox noticedthat small but lasting changes quickly showed improvement.Deal with the frustration of your efforts. Rather than seek a short term solution, addressthe relationship with yourself with self care and prioritise your health and wellbeing.Serving yourself first puts you in the best position to serve those you love.Become the gatekeeper of your own health destiny. Accept where you are with your healthand make peace with yourself. You are in control. Challenge old paradigms such as aches,pain and exhaustion and weight gain come with ageing, or are ‘just a part of life’. Work toeliminate the inflammatory visceral fat including around the waist that is now known to bedetrimental to health.5/14
Draw a line under the past and begin afresh. Open your eyes and your mind and let go ofold habits to establish new ones to create lasting changes that work for you. Believe thateating well is an act of self-love, a form of self respect. Think of the effort you put into yourjob or your house, or time spent deciding which new phone to buy. Your health comesbefore any of these things, so redirect some of that time and energy.Sugar burner to fat burnerImplement a diet overhaul with a three-step testing approach of remove, repair and reinstate to find thefoods that work for you and improve your microbiomeCox believes that when we understand our primitive beginnings, the human story of howwe evolved and what we need to thrive, we are no longer a slave to our metabolism or topoor health.Eight years on and Cox says her body is stronger and healthier, and functions at a level shewould never have imagined. Despite a new outlook on life she admits there are still ‘baddays’ but a well nourished brain enables her to move quickly beyond minor setbacks.Factbox6/14
Pauline Cox is co-founder of Sow and Arrow and a passionate advocate of antiinflammatory, low-carb living, using food as medicine. She has two Bachelors of Scienceand a Masters in Nutrition from the University of Bristol. Primal Living in a Modern World is a step-by-step guide that will teach you why we aresick, how to reverse and heal and how to safeguard you and your family’s health and isavailable to purchase for 28.95 from sowandarrow.comFood images courtesy of Pauline Fox/Sow and ArrowTags: cookbook gluten free healthy diet keto nutrition Pauline Cox recipesYou Might Also LikeMeet the maker: Chris Gillan, managing director of Heroes Drinks CompanyBy LLM Reporters7/14
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A blueprint for survival Primal Living in a Modern World is essentially a ‘how to’ health guide with simple recipes and easy-to-understand science After giving birth to her second child, Cox, a health professional for many years, found that despite feeding her body on what sh
