Introductory Post

Who is writing this blog?

My name is Anna. I am a twenty-something student and language teacher from England. Hi.

Why are you writing this blog?

Two reasons:

Firstly, the more reading I do on nutrition and optimum health and fitness, the more I realise that the consumers are being criminally misled over what constitutes a 'healthy' diet. The dominant views that fat (especially animal and saturated fat) is bad and should be avoided, while carbohydrates (especially whole grains) are necessary for optimum health is, to me, one of the most insidious and dangerous rhetorics of Western society. The more blogs which attempt to challenge the status quo the better.

Secondly, on a more selfish note, there is a fair amount of good critical research and discourse which is attempting to readdress the balance and provide academic arguments against the systemic hegemonies circulated by institutions, politicians, health professionals and the media. This blog is an attempt to catalogue and link back to research, comment, blogs, articles and critique for my own reference, as well as anyone else who may wish to read within this area. My personal library of research, if you will!

Why Grain Free Girl?

Because I'm a girl. And I'm grain free. Perhaps a better question would be: why grain free? That is the very question that this blog is aiming to address. I can state for the record that I come from a family of coeliac sufferers and have been brought up in a wheat and gluten free environment. However, it has only been recently that I have started to question the necessity of any type of grain or pseudo-grain as a necessary part of the human diet. Combined with several of my own ongoing health issues, I made an educated leap towards a completely grain (and legume) free diet to test out the hypothesis that I, as a human being, do not need grain for optimum health.

So, you are on the Atkins diet?

Not really. I am not on any 'diet' per se. I guess the closest commercial diet would be the Primal Blueprint, although I have a dirty dairy addiction which I haven't managed to kick yet. So, I guess if you want to label my diet, it would be a hybrid of the primal and Atkins (Pratkins? Atmal?). But with more cheese!

No grains? But what do you eat?!

What human beings are 'designed' to eat. Eggs, meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds. I also eat dairy, but I do this fully aware that whilst I continue to do so it is unlikely I will reach optimum health. But a girl has to have some vices, right?!