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After a respite were back in the pod saddle with the stunning & knowledgeable Natasha Kufa. In addition to raising 4 kids, Natasha is an internationally renown nutritionist, certified raw food specialist, chef & food delivery proprietor and über-fit trainer, whose clients include A-list Hollywood celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey, Josh Duhamel & his wife Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas, and more.
If that’s not enough, Natasha is also the author of The 10% Rule: Small Changes, Big Results and is the owner and founder of Evolution Body — a raw food delivery enterprise servicing the Los Angeles vicinity.
Topics covered? Colonics obsession, the joys & challenges of raising an autistic child & the impact of diet on spectrum behavior, the benefits of juicing, becoming a raw food chef, Natasha’s fitness & diet perpective, the importance of maintaining a healthy gut microbial ecology, vaccinations (uh oh!), the 10% Rule — Natasha’s primer for tackling & ultimately overcoming barriers to healthy eating habits & fitness practices — and of course the question everyone wants to know: what it’s like to train a big celebrity?
TECHNICAL NOTE: As you will no doubt notice, there are some odd clicking sounds with Natasha’s microphone. Despite running some audio EQ, it nonetheless subsists. Apologies in advance and as I keep saying (did I say I’m apologizing?), I’ll do better next time. Or maybe it’s time to get a real producer involved – which by the way, is in the works…
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SHOW NOTES
Nice talk, would have liked if you guys had gone into more specifics about natasha’s dietary prescriptions for different goals i.e. fitness, weight loss, health management. I would really be interested in learning exactly what plant based folks, particularly raw, eat on any given day. Also comparing the diets of folks with differing specific goals would be awesome.
As it was the only specific I came away with was that she advised one of her clients to replace coconut oil for lard. Really? c’mon? that is blatantly dogmatic and not based on any kind of sense at all. Do a quick search and compare the nutrition information, you will find that lard has less calories and far less saturated fat than coconut oil. Anyway, I am much more interested in how plants are good than why animal food is bad reread the first paragraph and ignore this one 😉 peace.
How do you keep pumping these things out Rich? What a tremendous resource for everyone, especially veggie athletes.
“Anyway, I am much more interested in how plants are good than why animal
food is bad reread the first paragraph and ignore this one 😉 peace.”
then why write it? Coconut oil vs lard goes way beyond simply calories in vs calorie out and I suspect you know this.
In the context of the conversation, to help the person lose weight while addressing the fact that they do not have a lot of money; replacing lard (which is free from the pork that they are already eating) for coconut oil which is very expensive, is ludicrous. The decision is not driven by a rational desire to solve the problem at hand but simply from a fear of animal foods. Substituting coconut oil is not going to help anyone to lose weight and it is expensive, It is poor advise and that is why I said it.
Also I was attempting to say, in so many words, that for me I wish the plant based experts would spend more time sharing what they know about plant based diets and not so much time caught up in the fear of certain death and planetary destruction from omnivorous diets. Not that I felt Natasha was doing that necessarily just sayin’ and I’m pretty sure a little constructive criticism never hurt anyone, possibly even more useful than everyone telling you how awesome you are all day. That being said, I think Rich is a pretty awesome dude and I am grateful that he is sharing 😉
If you are really interested, do the research or better yet listen to Rich’s other podcasts that answer your questions and have on paleo eaters and other meat athletes. Read the podcast headers and you can get what you want. Most plant eaters don’t separate nutrition , being good to the earth ( animal products are killing off our water supply, land) and long term health. Eliminating animal products is proven to reverse and prevent heart disease. Staying alive is a good goal and advise. Too each his own… Eat your lard. If you think putting the fat from the stomach of a pig, a animal that eats its own shit in your body by my guest. To many of us that isn’t blatantly dogmatic, it’s unhealthy and disgusting. Vs. using something natural that doesn’t cause an animal to live in hell it’s entire life than slaughtered for your use.
Oy, doesn’t this illustrate my point exactly? I wish folks with experience successfully implementing plant based nutrition to achieve specific goals i.e. weight loss, fitness, reversing disease would share those specifics. If I want to learn about environmental impacts of specific activity then I will inquire with folks that have experience and expertise in such fields and if I want to hear about how gross it is that pigs eat their own poop and have bad lives because of selfish mean people, I will talk to a six year old girl.
Then do it. You act like there are no resources. Read Rich’s book. Listen to the other podcasts he has on these very topics. If you really cared wouldn’t you research this ? You want specifics. Read the china study. Watch forks over knifes. You want a real persons voyage and his specifics read Rich Rolls book finding ultra. Do what you want to about your diet. That’s your deal. Just don’t act like this info isn’t a click away. If you want to stick your head in the sand and think environmental impacts aren’t important to your health and your kids health thats your call as well. You want to box all plant eaters in a box. I’m not a hippy. I work in finance and far from liberal. I’m just passionate about reality and how my choices effect the world. You can align your choices up with who you are or choose apathy.
Well aren’t you off in the weeds Neddy. Follow along for a second. There is a very specific conversation I am commenting on, alas, the one associated with this post. Natasha said that she went into the home of one of her clients to give them some specific lifestyle suggestions they could employ to start improving their health, specifically to lose weight. I think to myself that this should be interesting and useful and I am particularly interested what Natasha has to say, being a proclaimed expert in plant based nutrition and all. Rich, knowing the kinds of things his listeners will be interested in, asks her to tell us what specifically are the things you recommended. Natasha says, I asked them to replace their lard with coconut oil. That was it. That was the only specific she named. I think, well that was a missed opportunity, and I feel like that suggestion is inappropriate in the context of a useful suggestions to make to a family (not a vegetarian family, with not a lot of money) with the goal of losing weight.
Sensing the possibility that their is a bigger theme here, that vegetarians might have a tendency forget to stop trying save the planet and the animals long enough not to miss a simple opportunity to share simple pragmatic information that people will actually be receptive to and integrate into their lives, I pointed out the absurdity of the suggestion (the only suggestion). We could argue about whether or not your body knows the difference between the calories and saturated fat from one or the other, but whatever, it is mostly beside the point
Anyway, I have no interest in threatening your character or your Truth Ned, I was just fucking with you with the six year old girl comment, so calm down. I am interested in making an observation and a criticism that could help to improve the quality of this podcast which I am grateful for and have listened to since day 1 ( even before if you count the Joe Rogan interview) not in getting into an argument over wrongly perceived threats. Your truth is safe with you buddy, carry on.
Really enjoyed the podcast with Natasha Kufa. You come for the fitness and nutrition and learn about loving your autistic child. Really beautiful. I take psyllium husks daily, was suggested to me to fight my cholesterol, after hearing your conversation about cleanses and colonics, I wonder if I should drop the psyllium? Keep up the good work!
Hi, I am really enjoing the podcast. It is so inspiring. I just wanted to say that their are vegans in Germany (me included – I live in Hamburg) and we are slowly taking over the country due to meat and egg scandals and a guy named “Attila Hildmann” who is lauchning a 30-day vegan challenge (whole foods, no processed stuff) with his cookbooks. And most of the people, who did the challenge are sticking with the vegan “diet”. I think his books are going to be pubished in Austalia and the US this year. But I really wish we had stores like “whole foods” or alike, that would make life easier. Again, really enjoing the podcast and the book. Thanks for your work!!!
Enjoyed this talk. Thank you
I don’t have a “truth” or care what you do. That’s up to you. I’m not perfect , nor is my diet or ethics. You aren’t a threat to anyone but yourself. Just stop acting like the info isn’t available. If you want the info seek it out. You are on the net, and if you’ve listened to all of the podcasts you would’ve heard the answers to all your questions. You can disagree that’s great but playing ignorant and then asking for ” a better podcast”. You know what else vegans are suggesting besides coconut oil. It’s not for everyone. I ll let you have the last word. We do agree on one thing. This fight is childish
🙂
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Very interesting information, thanks a lot for sharing with us !!!
go to college
I’m going to answer your question about coconut oil vs lard since no one seems to have done so. Yes there are many reasons to choose a plant based diet such environmental, ethics, health and so forth. I understand that coconut oil is very expensive so it may not be an option for those who are have a limited income. It’s an unfortunate truth that it does cost more to be healthy. It is the reason why many of those who are in relative poverty (western poverty) are overweight and suffer from a multitude of health issues. However, if you are middle class the amount of money spent on either diets should not differ particualrly if you make sure to buy your food locally and from a farmer’s market.
If you are using lard it is most probably to fry foods or cook with (it’s not like it can act as a sald dressing) which means that is what you would use coconut oil for. Coconut oil is the only type of oil that can be heated at high temperatures without converting into a trans fat. Moreover, it is rich in medium chain triglycerides. It is a saturated fat but due to its MCTs it’s easy to digest and converts quickly into energy via our liver. This does not occur with other saturated fats containing no MCTs which simply get stored within our cells. Those using coconut oil often achieve great success with weight loss and it’s not a fat that gets stored in your body like others. Coconut oil is therefor really useful for quick boosts of energy during long activities. You wouldn’t think to consume lard during a bike ride because it will leave you feeling lethargic. It takes the body more energy to break it down as it doesn’t contain as much MCT as coconut oil. Hopefully you are making sure to eat non-hydrogenated lard. Again, it’s best to due more research on this. If I wasn’t a vegan I honnestly would chose coconut oil over lard and if I couldn’t afford it then I just wouldn’t consume lard.
ahh so many typos >_< sorry
Rich, great podcast. Respect.