PaulssonPaleo on Tour: Trondheim

I’m slowly starting to come down from my Norwegian buzz now, easing back on the animal-feeding, big-batch-cooking wagon of PaulssonPaleo HQ. I thought I would share a few memories before moving on. 

Charming Trondheim, even when it's falling apart

I was invited to speak at the Trondheim Paleo Seminar 2016 by my friend Andreas, also known as Paleoterapeuten. He uses his knowledge of the paleo lifestyle in his work as a physiotherapist and nutritional advisor, helping his clients lead healthier and more mobile lives.  

Andreas doing what he does best - feeding his friends

I gave a talk on PaulssonPaleo’s lifestyle on the first evening. I obviously mentioned what we eat, and its incredible impact on our health, but I also talked about the importance of where it comes from (happy animals and veg = happy human). Perhaps more importantly, I tried to convey what paleo means as a lifestyle to us and how it is making us realise that we humans are part of nature, not apart. Part of a community, on so many levels. 

Riveting presentation, obviously. Not an iPhone in sight. 

Other themes of the seminar included why we should eat like our ancestors, why sleep hygiene is important, how meditation can help against stress and how our motivation is key to any lifestyle changes. 

One speaker made an especially strong impression on me. Kathrin explained the causes and expressions of autoimmune disease as well as her own personal experience of it. 

• Very simply put, autoimmune disease starts with the gut. It gets irritated by the food we eat and starts leaking foreign “stuff” into the blood stream. The immune system reacts by attacking the foreign material, as it should, but sometimes it also starts attacking the body’s own tissue. Result = diabetes, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s, etc. 
• A few years ago, Kathrin found herself with a very rare and very deadly autoimmune disease which was quickly depleting her bone marrow and blood. With no cure in sight, Kathrin took destiny into her own hands and threw out every single food from her cupboard that could possibly aggravate her disease. This is paleo on a different level (The Autoimmune Protocol, AIP). Not only does it omit all grains, dairy and processed and unnatural food, it also shuns all pseudo-grains, seeds, nuts, chocolate, coffee, eggs and nightshades such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and aubergine. 
• Cooking your own food is essential of course, but so does being extremely creative when eating out and travelling. This is the first time I have ever heard of anyone bringing a crockpot on a business trip or smuggling food into a Christmas party. Despite all the hardships, Kathrin approaches her new life in such a no-nonsense way and with complete lack of self-pity. Wow. 

Thanks to Kathrin (and extensive discussions with Andreas), I came home with new motivation to restart a few good paleo habits. Like dropping coffee and chocolate and nuts and seeds and butter and eggs and nightshades for a month. Given my egg habit, I have a feeling that the eggs will be the most challenging… I am hoping to come to terms with my cold fingers and slightly finicky joints by the end of it. I’ll keep you posted!

It was sooooo good to have a few days to myself. Andreas worked during the day, so I had plenty of time to sip bone broth, eat fat fudge, read books and look at the city. Marvellous!
On another note, the “nose-to-tail” eating of fish that I encountered at Andreas made me rethink our fish-eating habits (fillets come with a head and organs, but I rarely encounter them.)… I am looking forward to networking and learning new things from fishmongers in the next few months. 

Fillet, tongue and roe. Making use of the whole fish.
Just the head missing. And some vital organs. 

And I met so many lovely people. Wow. I have rarely met so many young, talented and AWARE people in one sitting. They were mostly 15-20 years my junior, which made me wonder what I was doing when I was 25… Sipping lattes and applying for jobs I didn't believe in… Oh well, my finding a life purpose is better late than never. :-)

This is how hanging out with 25 year-olds make me feel.
Fluffy hair courtesy of the rings in the background. And the bone broth.