The Fad-Free Diet: Oxalates, Superfoods & Common Sense with Dr. Bill Schindler — WildFed Podcast #148

We're back today with internationally-known archaeologist, primitive technologist, and chef, Bill Schindler. Bill's been on the show once before to discuss his book, Eat Like A Human, and he's back today to talk about the human diet, through the lens of his professional focus of ancestral human foods, food acquisition, and the traditional processing techniques we once used to make our food edible or more nutritious. After our recent episode with Sally Norton, which was episode #142 "Are Oxalates Destroying Your Health" — where we discuss oxalic acid and other oxalates in our food supply — Daniel wanted to get another opinion. We didn't tell Bill beforehand that we wanted to discuss this, as we wanted his honest and unbiased take on the subject. But, as it turns out he's been keenly interested in this topic for some time and has been actively cutting oxalates out of his own diet — with some pretty profound results. So, while Bill and Daniel discuss fad diets in general today, they really take their time exploring the issue of dietary oxalates, since — if they are as deleterious to our health as some allege — the ramifications are significant and affect most of us. So this is a continuation of a conversation we began with Sally Norton, and it's something Daniel would like to continue exploring over time, at least until he feels like he's gotten a pretty good handle on it. For now, he remains undecided. Not a total skeptic, but he's not drinking the kool-aid either. That said, he's been experimenting with his own diet a bit, by gently but consistently removing some of the highest oxalate foods he's been eating, which you'll also hear him discuss here today. He's not going all in, since he still has some doubts, and because he's grown progressively more allergic to dietary restrictions as he's matured, but he has noticed some anecdotal improvements in his own subjective experience. So for now, he'll keep pursuing it. In closing, Daniel got interested in wild foods — and in particular — hunting, fishing, and foraging — because he's interested in human diet and nutrition. Sometimes in the world of wild foods we get more focused on what we can eat rather than what we should eat. We don't mean that ideologically, but rather nutritionally. So, from time to time, we think conversations like this are helpful, because they remind us of why and how we got here: wanting to be our best and healthiest selves. We want that for you too, so we hope this interview helps you in that pursuit! View full show notes, including links to resources from this episode here: https://www.wild-fed.com/podcast/148