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to be “the major hormone which orchestrates Countless other stressors take their toll on our already compromised
and regulates all other hormones and controls health—perhaps we moderns are living in more dangerous and uncertain
virtually all functions of the hypothalamus in the times than our cave-dwelling ancestors.
brain. . . . A primary purpose of leptin is to coor- Gedgaudas addresses the remediation of health in calm measure and
dinate the metabolic, endocrine, and behavioral frequent good humor. Her larger answer to a return to vibrant health and
responses to starvation. It powerfully impacts energy is, on one hand, entirely simple: “Eating a diet as similar as pos-
our emotions, cravings, and behavior.” Leptin is sible to what our ancestors ate is purely common sense and based entirely
also involved in inflammatory responses in the on how we have been genetically molded for the vast majority of human
body, and, like insulin, is affected by carbohy- evolution. No gurus needed. Eat the way your body was designed for you
drate consumption. to eat, and a lot takes care of itself.” For numerous conditions of compro-
Primal Body—Primal Mind presents the mised digestion, metabolism, and illness states she provides important and
reality of our modern-day sea of degenerative detailed recommendations (and caveats) for the reader to explore with a
diseases, including the many newly diagnosed trusted health care provider. These include the use of supplements, single
mood disorders and conditions such as autism amino acids, and other additions to diet. Gedgaudas’s very informative
and ADD/ADHD, in light of dietary changes website, www.primalbody-primalmind.com is a useful companion to her
that have harmed us more than we might have book, and includes a forum for posing questions and sharing recipes.
expected. The leptin-insulin axis of endocrine Primal Body—Primal Mind shares with the reader fundamental
dysregulation wreaks havoc on all systems of principles that lead to a true understanding of how both the body and
the body; Gedgaudas emphasizes that without mind function based on essential human physiology. Our most basic
addressing leptin, one cannot fully recover nutritional requirements—as conditioned by our long history as hunter/
adrenal or thyroid function, for example. Com- gatherers—point the path to vibrant health. Here is another book, thank
plicating dietary matters for modern humans are goodness, to lead us out of the benighted influence and “conventional
the harmful rancid and fake fats in the industrial wisdom” of modern diet dictocrats. As Gedgaudas puts it herself, Primal
food supply, chemical additives, GMOs, and Body—Primal Mind describes “an approach to diet, nutrition, and health
environmental hazards such as ubiquitous xen- so simple even a caveman can do it.” Review by Katherine Czapp
oestrogens, heavy metals and other pollutants.

WISE TRADITIONS 2009 FRIDAY SPEAKERS

Dr. Louisa William, author of Amanda Love took time out from Baden Lashkov filled in for Dr. Natasha
Radical Medicine, on getting to food coordination to give a Campbell-McBride and spoke about the
the root cause of illness. class on making kefir. Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS).

WINTER 2009 Wise Traditions 51