Northern European Food Curse – Salicylate Sensitivity

"Kitchen Scene" by van Rijck (17th century)

There is a well-known trope about British people having the runs after a night eating curry. One of the reasons for this, at least for some, is salicylate sensitivity – a heritable food intolerance that many people know nothing about, though it is estimated to affect perhaps around 2.5% of Europeans. An allergy specialist I saw years ago described the phenomenon as “edge of the world syndrome”, she told me that on some days every person in her waiting room with food sensitivities was red-haired, and explained that many people with northern European ancestry are today eating a diet that is utterly alien to that of their ancestors. Basically, northern Europeans adapted to eating a diet that was, for the most part, naturally low in salicylates. In so doing some of them lost the ability to efficiently metabolise the higher amounts of salicylates naturally found in the skin of most fruit, herbs and spices (as well as many vegetables) found further south on the globe – foods that are becoming increasingly common in modern Western diets. Today, many people put up with the symptoms of salicylate sensitivity because the symptoms are either mild enough to ignore or because they don’t understand the root cause of troubling health issues. 

There seems to be a cultural reluctance to point out that there are some significant genetic differences between ethnic groups. If east Asian people live longer then surely their diet is healthier for all humans? Not necessarily – because ethnic groups evolved for tens of thousands of years apart from each other and in so doing their ancestors who flourished did well on food native to their homelands. Northern Europeans prospered on a diet based on animal products, supplemented by small amounts of highly seasonal and localised nuts, fruit and vegetables. Within the last few thousand years grains and legumes (which are mostly low salicylate) were added to the mix. The overwhelming majority of fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices and long-life foods commonly eaten today were totally unavailable. Even the much praised Mediterranean diet is too exotic for people with salicylate sensitivity. By comparison, traditional northern European food tends to be naturally much lower in salicylates, eg, oatmeal with sugar and milk, yoghourt, bread and cheese, bacon and eggs, pancakes, custard, baked pear and cream, fish and chips with mushy peas, fish pie, roast lamb with carrots and parsnips, steak with mashed potato and brussel sprouts, baked potato with sour cream and chives, kasha, ham and pea soup, beef and carrot stew, etc.

The Heimdall Caste System in Germanic Polytheism

"Heimdall returns Freyja's necklace" (1846) by Nils Blommer

In the Rigsthula what appears to be a Germanic caste system is described:

• The caste of Thralls (slaves and landless workers) – they are often physically ugly (sometimes even deformed) but strong, hardworking and useful members of their community, though men and women live together they are unmarried and their sons have names like Weather-beaten, Barn-cleaner, Sluggard, Shorty, Fatty and Stinker, while their daughters have names such as Skinny-hips, Fat-calf, Gossip and Beak-nose.
• The caste of Freemen (landholding farmers, artisans and soldiers) – they are skilled and industrious workers, eg, the men are skilled at wood carving, working the plough, and building wagons, barns and homes, while the women engage in wool-spinning and weaving; their hair is tidy and they wear nicely tailored clothes; they are married (they've “exchanged rings”) and their children are described as red-haired and keen-eyed; their sons have names like Manly, Brave, Swordsman, Soldier, Smith, Farmer and Trim-beard, while their daughters have names such as Sensible, Smart, Swan, Lady, Shy and Vivacious.
• The caste of Nobles (aristocracy, military leaders and shamans) – their skin is pale, their fingers are long, their hair is blonde, their eyes are piercing, they are wise, understand the language of birds, know the runes, and the spells associated with them; the men are skilled at using weapons, horse-riding, hunting, swimming and war – causing them to own large estates and treasure, with which they are generous; couples love each other deeply and their children have names such as Noble, Kinsman, Heir and King.

The three castes share the same divine, paternal ancestor – being Heimdall the White, as it says in the Voluspa:

“Heed my words, all classes of men, you greater and lesser children of Heimdall [J Crawford, The Poetic Edda, 2015, Hackett].”

A Brief History of Servitude in the West

Castle of the Duc de Berry by the Limbourg Bros (15th c.)

There is an idea that has emerged in recent years which holds that Western nations are increasingly dominated by billionaire elites and multinational corporations who seek to transform our nations into authoritarian, surveillance states, wherein censorship is widespread and widely tolerated, real property is so hideously expensive that large portions of the population never even try to acquire it, and so many people live in what feels like a profaned world devoid of spiritual aspiration that mental illness is commonplace. On the other hand, a smorgasbord of transitory pleasures (junk food, video games, television, porn, sex toys, prescription medication, etc) is perpetually within reach. Perhaps Tacitus’ observations about the actions of the Governor of Roman Britain in the 1st century CE are germaine:

“Agricola … described his campaign … as ‘keeping a conquered people under control’ … His intention was … [that the native Britons] become accustomed to peace and quiet by the provisions of amenities. Hence he gave … assistance to communities to build temples, market-places, and town houses. He praised those that responded promptly [to Romanisation] and censured the dilatory. As a result they began to compete with one another for his approval, instead of having to be compelled … even our style of dress came into favour and the toga was everywhere to be seen. Gradually, too, they went astray into the allurements of evil ways, colonnades and warm baths and elegant banquets. The Britons … called it ‘civilisation’, although it was a part of their enslavement [Tacitus, Agricola and Germany, Oxford World’s Classics, Ch 18-21].”

Could it be that we are at risk of succumbing to the illusion of good living while in fact being profoundly unfree? In order to explore the possible answer to this question one first needs to understand what slavery actually is, as well as some of the other forms of bondage that have evolved in the West over time.

The Ancestral Diet of the Germanic People

"Julaftonen" by Carl Larsson (1904)

As creatures of evolution we should ideally be consuming a diet consistent with our human biology, which arguably means looking at what our ancestors ate. As someone with predominately Germanic heritage (plus a little bit of Celt) I want to take a look at as many reputable sources as I can to understand what the indigenous diet of the Germanic people is, noting that it will overlap a good deal with the indigenous diet of other Indo-European peoples. 

Before humanity 

Humans are primates belonging to the subgroup known as great apes. Primates are believed to have evolved around 65 million years ago, following the mass extinction event which brought an end to the age of dinosaurs. Apes evolved around 25 million years ago, mostly or exclusively in heavily forested environments. Our primate cousins – monkeys and lesser apes – never really left their homes in the branches and tend to eat mostly leaves and fruit. Other great apes are still animals of the forest but they are bigger and able to roam forest floors. At least 87% of their diet is plant based (especially fruit), supplemented by insects. Chimpanzees, our closest relative, also eat meat. Our lineage separated from the chimpanzee line around 7 million years ago, so it is likely our ancestors have been eating meat (and other parts of animals, such as organs and bone marrow) for millions of years – ie, long before we evolved into modern humans. 

Germanic Values – Advice From the Havamal

Depiction of Wotan by Breitkpod and Hartel (19th century)

In the second half of the 13th century CE an unknown Icelander copied a number of Pagan era poems into the Codex Regis (literally meaning “Royal Manuscript”), which makes up a large part of what is known as the Elder Edda or the Poetic Edda. Among them is the Havamal, which means something like “Sayings of the High One”, the High One being Odin. Theoretically Odin is the speaker throughout most of the Havamal, if not the author. From a scholarly point of view the Havamal is thought to be a composite of poems, written by up to six different authors hundreds of years earlier, before Iceland adopted Christianity as the State religion in circa 1000 CE. Whoever the author, or authors, the Havamal is an invaluable record of traditional Norse values; it is full of good advice and insight, much of which is perfectly relevant to our own times. For this reason I attempt to summarise and extract those parts of the Havamal that I find particularly inspiring. In so doing I draw from two translations: Larrington (translator), The Poetic Edda, Oxford World’s Classics, 2008, and Orchard (translator), The Elder Edda: Myths, Gods and Heroes from the Viking World, Penguin Books, 2013.

Death is coming for you no matter what you do, so live fearlessly:

“16. A senseless man thinks to live for ever if he bewares a war; but old age won’t grant him a truce, whatever spears may grant [Orchard].” 

“16. The foolish man thinks he will live forever, if he keeps away from fighting; but old age won’t grant him a truce even if the spears do [Larrington].”

Y-DNA Haplogroups of Europe

Child of the Indo-Europeans tribes? Actress Ivana Baquero is from Catalonia
(Spain) where haplogroup R1b is represented by over 80% of men

Last week I discovered what Y-DNA haplogroups are and I was fascinated, for they represent the most reliable analysis of the genetic make up of nations that science has offered to date. Being a child of Europe I was most interested to learn about the ethnic/genetic make up of people from this region (excluding post WW2 immigrants). As I did I was surprised, amused and somewhat discomfited to learn that there really is no such thing as ethnic purity and just about everyone is related to everyone else – and not just in Europe. I also realised that the pride I have felt regarding my Indo-European ancestors (probably represented by haplogroups R1a and R1b) should perhaps be balanced with an acceptance that the Indo-Europeans encroached on lands traditionally belonging to the “native” inhabitants of Europe (represented by haplogroup I) – who did not die out, but interbred with their possible conquerors – and who are also almost certainly my ancestors. Then there is the real possibility that I have some ancestors belonging to various other haplogroups with diverse origins, such as J2 and G2 (west Asian), N1C1 (north Asian) and E1b1b (north African) – which are found across European populations.

Raw Paganism

Ouroboros from a Byzantine manuscript (1478)

To me, part of the appeal of Pagan practice is the potential link it gives one to ancient or even pre-historical spirituality – to something raw, to something fundamental and continuing in the human spiritual process. The Religio Romana interests me partly because I see it as an ancient European religion about which we are reliably informed – much of the source material on Roman Paganism existing today was written by Pagans writing in a Pagan world, but, of course, there are other ways we can inform ourselves about authentically ancient spiritual practices and that is by looking to that which is common to a multitude of cultures and timelines – as a child of Europe I am naturally interested in the beliefs of the Indo-Europeans, from whom I am (at least partly) descended. Common themes in their belief systems include/d:

• The deification of natural forces such as the sky, the dawn, rivers, the sea, the sun, the moon, spirits of nature (nymphs) and so on.
• Folklore involving a battle with a serpent which may represent a battle between order and chaos (eg, Hercules and the hydra; Thor and the Midgard serpent; Krishna and Kaliya).
• Cyclic myths (eg, of the seasons).