What is the Primal Diet?

The Primal Diet is a framework of diet and health created by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. Aajonus was an alternative nutritionist, scientist, and food-rights activist.

The Primal Diet is a raw foods diet. Raw foods contain live bacteria, enzymes, and non-degraded, fully-utilizable forms of vitamins and minerals, all of which are destroyed or damaged by the cooking process, including even at the (relatively) low temperatures used in pasteurization of common foods.

The diet has strong overlap with principles of the keto and paleo diets that have risen in popularity in recent times. Primal shares with these diets that it is generally low-carb and emphasizes a focus on animal foods. An unofficial Primal Diet "food pyramid" (featured on Healthfully but that I made a few modifications to), is pictured below. This pyramid isn't comprehensive and varies person-to-person, but gives a general idea of the diet foods:

The "scary" part of the Primal Diet is the consumption of raw milk, and yes, raw meat. There has been much debate on the safety of these foods, and coverage of this debate warrants a longer piece of writing later. For now, suffice to say that we believe these foods are perfectly safe when sourced and handled properly, and more importantly they are absolutely essential for optimal human health.

However, if you're part of the majority of diet newcomers that have some resevations about these foods, that's perfectly fine. Each of the primal diet foods can be incorporated into your diet one at a time, and each will confer health benefits on its own. Green juice is an easy food to start with & makes it easy to consume many more servings of vegetables each day. After that, dipping your toes into raw milk and other raw dairy products is an easy next step for most.

The diet goes far beyond just a set of principles like the keto or paleo diets do. Aajonus' works constitute an extremely detailed set of prescriptions. Depending on your specific goals, symptoms, conditions, and needs, there are many variants of primal which can be prescribed to you. Aajonus has specific remedies for many common symptoms and conditions which are incredibly effective, in many cases resolving symptoms nearly immediately. His works also make lots of lifestyle prescriptions, with unique takes on exercise, sun, relationships, and so on.

Many of the sickest people in the world, with crippling chronic illness and serious diseases who were failed by the mainstream medical establishment, found their way to working with Aajonus during his life, and had their lives transformed as a result. Many of these same people continue to find their way to the online communities centered around Aajonus' work today; I've had the pleasure of helping a few of them. If that describes you, know that no matter how sick you are, there is always hope.

If you're interested in studying Aajonus further, his two books, We Want To Live, and The Recipe For Living Without Disease can be purchased or found online for free with a Google search. The books are great places to start, but much of what Aajonus discovered later on in his life isn't covered in them, and can only be found by using the search on this site or by consuming other resources written or set up by the primal community. There are several book guides written, as well as several talks by Aajonus that can be found on YouTube. I hope to develop this website into a comprehensive resource on the diet over time.