Woman on ‘ancestral diet’ goes viral for daily meal routine

Article content

A woman who swears by an “ancestral diet” has gone viral after posting a video of what she eats in a typical day.

Article content

Gretchen Adler, a 38-year-old mother of three living in California, shared a clip to Instagram in May of her daily food and drink routine.

As part of her diet, Adler avoids foods that have seed oils, artificial sugars, dyes and preservatives.

The video, which has nearly six million views, has left some commenters in disbelief, calling it a “joke” and “satire.”

Just before 7 a.m., Adler begins her day with filtered water with lemon. She then makes a coffee with “organic, mold-free beans” and raw — unpasteurized — cream.

At 10 a.m., she eats 100% grass-fed beef breakfast sausages, pasture-raised eggs, and a sourdough discard blueberry muffin, followed by a “Prenatal Ancestral Supplement.”

Four hours later, Adler has a raw kefir smoothie with homegrown frozen peaches and tamarillos, garnished with bee pollen.

Article content

Article content

For dinner, chicken noodle soup garnished with homemade pickled radish, rotkraut, and avocado. Dessert is a slice of raw cheesecake an hour later.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

“The people who think this is a joke — very telling of the times,” Adler told Newsweek. “We have veered so far from what real food is that people now think eating and preparing nutrient-dense foods is a joke. Ultra-processed foods are considered the norm and are foods I, myself, wouldn’t consider as foods.

“Our nation has a health epidemic and obesity, diabetes, and cancer rates have never been higher. One must wonder why.”

An “ancestral diet” relies on consuming foods that our ancestors had access to, depending on where they lived and what was available. Natural, unprocessed, and organic foods such as vegetables, fruits, meats, healthy fats and nuts while eliminating modern processed foods.

Article content

But some people in the comments were not swayed by her choices.

“How do I get off the algorithm that shows me bored rich housewives with too much time on their hands?” one person wrote, while others said it was “painfully pretentious” and “rage bait.”

“Ahhh yes,” another chimed in. “The ancestral coffee, ancestral muffins, the ancestral vitamin pills … All the things our ancestors had.”

However, Adler says the foods she consumes has made her healthier.

“It has improved my energy levels and brain function,” she said. “I also have healthy skin and hair.”

She also claims to not experience mood swings and had problem-free pregnancies and births.

“For as many naysayers there are, there are many more who support this lifestyle and want to get back to traditional methods of preparing food, getting closer to their food source, and respecting ‘food as thy medicine.’”

Article content