Most diet trends have one thing in common: they offer a one-size-fits-all approach and are not designed for your unique body and health history. Yet society insists time and time again on ordering the “diet du jour,” from low-carb/low-fat to the latest low-carb/high-fat diet. For many, it is not working – and, in some cases, it is harmful.

But I recently read a book about a new approach to diet and living that is always on trend and in style, because it is customized to you and only you: The Wildatarian Diet: Living As Nature Intended: A Customized Nutritional Approach for Optimal Health, Energy and Vitality. This book introduces several evolved and sustainable concepts that are backed by science and supported by thousands of clinical outcomes from author Teri Cochrane, my guest on this podcast.

Teri is an integrative practitioner and thought leader in nutritional counseling. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida, and she is a graduate of the Huntington College of Health Sciences and the National Leadership Institute. She also has extensive practices, such as healing touch, craniosacral therapy and herbology.

She has developed her own methodology, "The Cochrane Method," which integrates a multi- level nutritional approach, including observation and listening, to develop a bio-individualized plan for her clients. Teri is currently in private practice in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, where she specializes in complex health conditions and elite athletic performance. She serves as a nutritional counselor to ballerinas and Olympic hopefuls, including one of the most promising young swimmers in the country.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-How Terri came about the name "Wildatarian"...6:15

• "Patient Zero" (real name is Glenn) had a rare form of cancer called amyloidosis
• Glenn was told to eat lots of protein after chemo; after two rounds, had congestive heart and kidney failure
• Realized the amyloids were coming from the food supply
• Took away pork, chicken, turkey; gave him wild game (bison, Cornish game hens, etc.)
• Wildatarians can be plant-based, meat-based; based on your genetic makeup
• Amyloids develop in farm-raised meats but not in wild game; they are indigestible
• Similar to an auto-immune issue
• This approach has helped treat Hashimoto's disease
• How to test for amyloids:
  • Protein in urine
  • Light chain (more accurate)

-How Terri determines the appropriate diet for a patient...15:00

• We're all bioindividual
• Genetic testing used:
  • 23 and Me
  • Many variants done in house
• Who should avoid sulfur in their diet
• Roundup (the pesticide) prevents sulfur in our food from becoming sulfate
• Kale is problematic
• Beware of sulfur-based supplements touted as antioxidants (glutathione)
• Center lane vs. "fringe" foods
• Focus on genetic blueprint first
• The body is a constant communicator; we're not learned in its tells

-How Terri's clients access wild game, especially when living in urban areas...27:55

• Dartagnan Foods (link)
• Major grocers are carrying bison, New Zealand lamb, etc.
• Opt for a sustainably raised approach to our animals
• Why is methane an issue today, after millennia of cows on the planet?
  • They are being fed food they cannot digest
• Look for small and medium local farmers
• Organic standards have been diluted
• Wildatarian veggies are those which are suited to your genetic makeup
• Cilantro and cucumber juice is Terri's favorite drink

-Why Terri frowns upon the intake of peanuts...34:35

• An aflatoxin: "it's the devil on steroids"
• It's highly fungal (feeds cancer, candida)
• Peanut butter is the one food she'll never have on her plate
• She recommends sunflower butter

-Why Terri loves beans and the best way to prepare them...39:22

• Pressure cooker breaks down the "exoskeletons" of the beans
• Apple cider vinegar
• Green pepper helps break down the beans

-What is "ballerina syndrome"...41:53

• Terri works with the Washington Ballet
• Elite athletes push their bodies through epinephrine to manage the sugar regulation
• Epinephrine is a stress hormone, secreted by the adrenals
• It opens the gut, causes leaky gut syndrome
• It disregulates insulin

-How an athlete, who consumes supplements, bars, etc. would do the wildatarian diet...46:00

-Where supplements and pills fit into the wildatarian diet...53:35

• We don't have nutrient rich food
• Supplement strategically
• Wildatarian Quiz

-And much more...

Resources from this episode:

-The Wildatarian Diet: Living As Nature Intended: A Customized Nutritional Approach for Optimal Health, Energy and Vitality
-Teri Cochrane
-Wildatarian Quiz

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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Teri Cochrane or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!