Nature’s Superfoods
Reclaiming your health often begins with elimination. When toxins are removed from the body, it naturally seeks to return to a state of homeostasis. But every elimination creates an empty space—and that space must be filled with something that truly sustains life.
The modern world of health is full of constant noise and changes. Trends rise and fall with algorithms and influencers. The only way to confidently know what fills that space is to look beyond cultural clamor and return to the timeless truths written into nature by the One who designed it.
In recent decades, two dietary movements have dominated the scene: veganism and, more recently, the carnivore diet. While they reach their limitations, they both contain insights worth recovering and truths worth drawing from.
The vegan movement ultimately failed because it was built on a faulty premise: meat is inherently bad. While its original intention—to break free from fast food and ultra-processed diets—was commendable, the movement quickly became ideological rather than physiological. Modern nutrition science has since confirmed what history already knew: meat is not the enemy. We soon discovered that kale smoothies weren’t a superfood, buying groceries from Trader Joes didn’t magically turn food nutritious, and meat wasn’t the primary cause for environmental collapse.
On the other end of the spectrum, the carnivore diet has gained massive attention, championed by figures like Jordan Peterson and even Matt Fradd in the Catholic world. And for many people, it has produced remarkable results. This is largely because it eliminates the ultra-processed poisons of the Standard American Diet. Red meat, in particular, is among the most bioavailable sources of nutrients on earth, rich in compounds the body recognizes and readily absorbs. However, for many people, a strictly carnivorous diet is difficult to sustain long term. Diets devoid of organic, pure sources of carbohydrates can lead to the tanking of hormones, decline of restorative sleep, and the disruption of electrolyte balance, which are all crucial for human thriving.
So, where do we go from here?
Well, get back to the basics. Frequent Mass, adore the Holy Eucharist, return to the confessional. It’s a simple sacramental formula. Without the constant love of Christ in our lives, we’ll just grow more conformed to the world. Along with so many people, we’ll look to nature for our final salvation. The whole point of Leaven is to become a saint, so don’t forget that Christ is the true source of healing and divinization.
But that doesn’t mean there’s not a formula within the designs of the world that isn’t capable of providing abundant living. As stated, those two movements of veganism and the carnivore diet both achieved major realizations.
Meat is not evil; it is the most bioavailable sources of nutrients for cultivating our masculinity that God has ever given us. So, eat it, and eat high-quality sources.
Maybe stuffing our face full of kale is not the key. But, at the same time, don’t be afraid to incorporate organic sources of fruits, like apples, oranges, melons, and even cucumbers and squash.
There is no perfect, one -size-fits-all diet, since everyone has individual needs, but if you want to improve your health and grow in mastery of self, this is a good place to start. Another great place to start is the men’s program by Leaven. Check it out, and prayerfully consider becoming a part of this movement.
We believe that sickness and death don’t have to be our destiny. Living heavenly is. Why not begin now?
