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When it comes to judging a food’s nutritional value, it’s important to look beyond the number of calories and carbohydrates. One modern and effective measurement tool is the Glycemic Index (GI). The Glycemic Index measures how a carbohydrate-containing food impacts your blood glucose levels during digestion. Foods low on the GI scale release glucose slowly and steadily, while high GI foods release rapidly.
This rapid release of glucose from high GI foods spikes blood sugar and insulin levels and leads to an inevitable crash that will leave you tired and groggy. By choosing low GI foods, you can manage your blood sugar more effectively and find sustained energy. Not only that, but a low GI diet has also been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, reduce inflammation and aid in weight loss.
While most bars and snacks on shelves are filled with added sugar and high GI grains, Wild Zora products use only low GI carbohydrates such as healthy, high-fiber, organic fruits and vegetables to provide you with longer lasting energy, without the sugar high and crash.
If you have dietary restrictions, the thought of traveling can be daunting. You may be in a "food desert" where you can't find safe and healthy food options that work for your diet.
Whether you’re following the autoimmune protocol, living paleo or gluten-free, or in the midst of a Whole30 challenge, sticking to your diet is important for your health. While traveling makes doing so more difficult, it’s not impossible! With a little extra planning and preparation, you can take that summer trip and eat well, too!
Consider these packable snacks:
Over the past few years, gluten-free diets have become extremely trendy. But for those diagnosed with celiac disease, adopting a gluten-free diet is not a fad, but a vital treatment.
Celiac disease is a severe autoimmune disorder in which gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, causes damage to the lining of the small intestine. This damage can lead to serious side effects like malabsorption, anemia, thyroid disease and osteoporosis. Currently, the only known treatment is a strict gluten-free diet.
Of the roughly 3 million people in the United States who have celiac disease, only 10% of them have been diagnosed. There are more than 300 symptoms of celiac disease, but the most common are digestive discomfort, recurring headaches, skin rashes, chronic infection, depression/anxiety and body fatigue. If you are experiencing these symptoms and believe gluten to be the cause, it’s important to consult with a trained healthcare professional.
Managing celiac disease and maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet can be difficult. Gluten lurks in many foods, beauty products and even medications. Avoiding it takes vigilance and often means planning ahead. Check out the links below for resources and tips on living with celiac disease:
Wild Zora is proud to make delicious snacks that are completely gluten-free. Our snack bars provide a safe and nutritious on-the-go option for people with celiac disease.
Wild Zora creates truly healthy gluten-free snacks that you can feel confident to feed to your family. In the interest of helping you start -- or continue -- to eat with nutrition in mind, we’ve put together a list of the benefits of a healthy diet. Some may really surprise you!
Top 5 Benefits of Eating Healthy:
Still not convinced? Don’t take our word for it -- try it for yourself and see how you feel!
The Paleo Diet vs. the Primal Blueprint
The Paleo and Primal diets both advocate eating more like our ancestors did. So where do the two diets diverge? Here we’ll outline each diet and explain what makes them different.
Understanding the Basics
First popularized by Loren Cordain (in our home town of Fort Collins, Colorado) in the early 2000s, the Paleo Diet harks back to the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate. It advises a diet of lean, pasture-raised meats, wild-caught fish and seafood, eggs, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthful oils such as olive, coconut, macadamia, and avocado. Grains, legumes, dairy, potatoes, refined sugar, and processed foods are off-limits.
The Primal Blueprint is very similar and also emphasizes pre-agricultural foods. “Eating primal” means choosing meats, vegetables, nuts, fruit, and healthy fats, while cutting out all grains, excessive carbs, processed foods, and hydrogenated oils. Protein and fat macronutrients form the cornerstone of this diet.
Key Differences
The Paleo Diet and the Primal Blueprint differ on two main issues: saturated fats and dairy.
While the Paleo Diet suggests that lean cuts of meat are key to optimal health, the Primal Blueprint encourages followers to enjoy fattier cuts of meat, citing the benefits of “a diet rich in animal fat and cholesterol.”
The two diets also differ on their attitudes toward dairy. Strict Paleos avoid dairy altogether, whereas the Primal Blueprint places dairy in a gray area. Primal Blueprint founder Mark Sisson sees dairy as a viable nutritive source and highly subjective food with no “one-size-fits-all” approach.
At Wild Zora, we believe that not all dairy is created equal. Our family drinks milk from a local farmer who never gives her cows antibiotics or hormones. Similarly, the Wild Zora Parmesan-Beef recipe uses only cheese made from milk from cows who aren’t given antibiotics or hormones, especially the quite-controversial rBST hormone (administered to conventional cattle, which causes them to lactate continuously). The Organic Dairy Farmer’s association sued the FDA in 2008 and again in Federal Court in 2010 to win the right to put “rBST-free” on their labels (it was deemed that the FDA violated the First Amendment of the Constitution by trying to prevent this) -- but unfortunately, because our products are produced under the USDA, not the FDA, we still aren’t allowed to write “rBST-free” on our Parmesan-Beef package. We’ve already asked our Congressman why the USDA is still allowed to violate our First Amendment rights… and we’re waiting to hear back from him.
The Good News
We make Wild Zora snacks that are safe for both diets! Our meat and veggie bars are made from 100% natural and pasture-raised meat and organic fruits & veggies that are minimally processed. All our products are grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, and never contain added sugar or chemical preservatives. Our Cheese recipe is Primal-friendly, and all our other recipes are milk-free and Paleo-Certified. Whether you live Paleo or Primal, we’ve got you covered!
