Paleo Diet

[PsyOps]

When I say 'diet' I am not talking about a weight loss diet - although it is an added benefit if that's what you are looking for.

I've been on this diet for several months now. It is a high fat (saturated and unsaturated), high cholesterol, low carb diet. Although I wasn't looking to lose weight, but I have lost about 10 pounds on it without even trying.

But the REAL premise behind the diet is to address the one thing that seems to be plaguing so many people in this country: INFLAMMATION! Colon problems, diabetes, brain disorders (Alzheimer’s, dementia, ALS, depression, anxiety, etc… all caused by inflammation of the brain).

Inflammation is the destruction of cells in your body. Whether it’s ordinary skin cells, fat cells, muscle cells, arteries, or the brain; all of it is susceptible to inflammation. Nerve damage from diabetes is nothing more than inflammation caused by excessive sugars in your body. Eating too many carbs (pastas, breads, processed foods, cereals, etc…) converts to sugar (or glucose) putting your pancreas into overdrive to convert the sugar to energy. When it can no longer convert the sugar (insulin resistant), the sugar starts changing cells in your body; damaging those cells; thus causing inflammation.

It’s been long believed that cholesterol is what causes heart disease. Research is showing that it’s NOT cholesterol; it’s the glucose/sugar that causes the free radicals that damage (alter the shape of) cholesterol (particularly LDL) causing scarring of the arterial walls allowing for plaque to collect in those damaged parts of the arteries. From an arterial standpoint, unaltered cholesterol works to keep your arteries clean and lubricated. The HDL helps thin the blood and widen and lubricate the artery walls. LDL comes in behind and cleans up any particles (plaque and such) left behind.

Every cell of your body is made of up over 50% fat and cholesterol. Every cell needs fat and cholesterol. Lots of it. It does NOT need carbs. Your brain is made up of over 70% fat and cholesterol. The medical community has had the food pyramid backwards. Meats, eggs, and other foods high in fat (olive oil, coconut oil, fish oil, avocados…), and cholesterol needs to be at the bottom and grains and breads need to be at the top. The medical community has been doing you a disservice in the interest of food marketing and pharmaceuticals. How do they stay in business? You have a problem, you see a doctor, they prescribe you a pill, you take the pills, you run out, you go back to the doctor for more pills. How do they get you there? With a really bad diet; a diet that is designed to inflame every cell in your body; particularly your arteries and brain. When was the last time your doctor asked you “what does your diet look like” when you went in for chronic pain or some sort of brain disorder?

I know this sounds radical. But if you give thought to what your body really needs it makes sense. What do you think?

 

[gretchen]

This is very interesting,I posted a thread about Atkins earlier today. How is Paleo,as you do it,different from Atkins? Does it require ketosis?

There is a book that touches on a lot of your points,called Grain Brain. It's quite eye opening and makes sense.

 

[vraiblonde]

What do you think?

I think you're right. Food (or eliminating certain foods) is the best medicine. We eat way too much junk in this country.

 

[libertytyranny]

Paleo is very much a low carb diet as well. You are allowed more "carbs" in that sweet potatoes, some fruits and honey etc are allowed but because it forbids grains, it is naturally quite low in carbs. true paleo is quite restrictive though, more so than traditional low carb because legumes, dairy, potatoes (starches), and even alcohol and processed oils like canola and vegetable oils are forbidden. You can, of course, modify it to allow some of these things which most people do. It is basically an elimination diet. In terms of what you are allowed to eat, it is very healthy. Not too many people can argue that grass fed meats, veggies and natural plant sourced oils isn't healthy. You will lose weight, you probably will feel pretty good. But the ingredients it forbids are so ubiquitous it is a difficult thing to follow 100% as intended without being a total food Nazi and generally unpleasant person to go to dinner with I also don't buy the "inflammation" argument, that's pseudoscience at best in terms of normal healthy people and their diet. Inflammation is certainly a "real" thing but its a natural normal bodily occurrence in response to specific things and there is no real evidence to date that shows it occurs any other time or has any effect on the body of healthy folks. There is enough health in the healthy foods it encourages without adding that in. You will feel better simply because you are eating real food and minimizing the insulin spikes caused by simple carbohydrates.

 

[PsyOps]

This is very interesting,I posted a thread about Atkins earlier today. How is Paleo,as you do it,different from Atkins? Does it require ketosis?

There is a book that touches on a lot of your points,called Grain Brain. It's quite eye opening and makes sense.

Atkins is focus on high protein low carbs. Your body does need protein for building and maintaining muscle. Atkins focuses on losing weight. Both are a viable means to lose weight because it reduces carb intake. Both would result in a state of Ketosis; whereby your liver processes ketones as a source of energy for your cells rather than glycogen (sugar).

What so many folks don’t understand is – aside from the inflammation part – your body responds to these elements in order to set our bodies in a state of readiness. Even though our hunter/gathers days are long gone, our bodies are still genetically coded to respond to times of fasting/scarcity of food. In our hunter gatherer days when they knew meat would be scarce, they packed up on foods loaded with carbs. This told the body to store fat to help them survive the winter. Since this was seasonal, it had little effect on inflammation. Today’s man had everything all year round. But our body don’t stop responding to the foods we eat. When we eat foods loaded with carbs we are still telling our cells to not only retain fat we have, but to make more of it. So carbs not only does all that damage I mentioned, but it tells your body to fatten up.

So the bottom line is… if you REALLY want to lose weight, get off the carbs. Limit your intake to 80 grams or less per day. I know some folks are saying “but you’re eating more fat. That will make you fat”. NOPE! Like I said… every cell in your body is made of up over 50% fat. When you intake fat, your giving your body what it needs, and it no longer try to produce more. It’s when you introduce carbs (which converts to sugar) that your body is no longer getting what it needs and starts producing more fat.

But I wanted to focus on the ‘inflammation’ side of this. The damage we are doing over the long-term by having a high carb diet. It explains so many ailments we suffer in this country: obesity, diabetes (type 2), heart disease, brain disorders…

 

[PsyOps]

Paleo is very much a low carb diet as well. You are allowed more "carbs" in that sweet potatoes, some fruits and honey etc are allowed but because it forbids grains, it is naturally quite low in carbs. true paleo is quite restrictive though, more so than traditional low carb because legumes, dairy, potatoes (starches), and even alcohol and processed oils like canola and vegetable oils are forbidden. You can, of course, modify it to allow some of these things which most people do. It is basically an elimination diet. In terms of what you are allowed to eat, it is very healthy. Not too many people can argue that grass fed meats, veggies and natural plant sourced oils isn't healthy. You will lose weight, you probably will feel pretty good. But the ingredients it forbids are so ubiquitous it is a difficult thing to follow 100% as intended without being a total food Nazi and generally unpleasant person to go to dinner with I also don't buy the "inflammation" argument, that's pseudoscience at best in terms of normal healthy people and their diet. Inflammation is certainly a "real" thing but its a natural normal bodily occurrence in response to specific things and there is no real evidence to date that shows it occurs any other time or has any effect on the body of healthy folks. There is enough health in the healthy foods it encourages without adding that in. You will feel better simply because you are eating real food and minimizing the insulin spikes caused by simple carbohydrates.

Yeah… please don’t get me wrong; I’m not promoting an all-or-nothing thing here. You can have bread, a cupcake or chips from time to time. I’m addressing the constant barrage of carbs you are putting into your body that is resulting in a slow ‘scraping’ of the cells of your body. Like lightly rubbing sandpaper on your skin. At first it doesn’t bother you. In fact it kind of scratches that itch. But over time it gets red, then starts to hurt, then starts to bleed, then gets infected. Of course you can see what’s going on there; you can’t see what’s going on to your cells, brain, and artery walls.

If you don’t buy into the inflammation part, then what is it that causes the nerve damage as a result of diabetes? It’s an excess of sugar (glucose) in the body that makes you insulin resistant. Nothing else is causing this. There are tons of studies showing how excessive glucose (along with gluten) is connected to brain disorders. It is your body’s NATURAL response to too much sugar in your body, which your body is not designed to handle. When you look at what makes up the majority of every cell in your body (fat and cholesterol) it makes sense that sugar is more of an enemy to your cells.

 

[PsyOps]

And let me add that I do have a small level of skepticism about this whole thing. I know far too many people that lived to be near 100 and ate lots of bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, drank lots of soda and alcohol, etc… It seems some are just not predisposed to things like heart disease, diabetes, and brain disorders. I have both heart disease (on my dad’s side) and Alzheimer’s (on my mom’s side). So I have to take the research seriously. Not to mention you get to eat a lot of eggs and meat; which I love. So I am enjoying the diet.

 

[bulldog]

Paleo is very much a low carb diet as well. You are allowed more "carbs" in that sweet potatoes, some fruits and honey etc are allowed but because it forbids grains, it is naturally quite low in carbs. true paleo is quite restrictive though, more so than traditional low carb because legumes, dairy, potatoes (starches), and even alcohol and processed oils like canola and vegetable oils are forbidden. You can, of course, modify it to allow some of these things which most people do. It is basically an elimination diet. In terms of what you are allowed to eat, it is very healthy. Not too many people can argue that grass fed meats, veggies and natural plant sourced oils isn't healthy. You will lose weight, you probably will feel pretty good. But the ingredients it forbids are so ubiquitous it is a difficult thing to follow 100% as intended without being a total food Nazi and generally unpleasant person to go to dinner with I also don't buy the "inflammation" argument, that's pseudoscience at best in terms of normal healthy people and their diet. Inflammation is certainly a "real" thing but its a natural normal bodily occurrence in response to specific things and there is no real evidence to date that shows it occurs any other time or has any effect on the body of healthy folks. There is enough health in the healthy foods it encourages without adding that in. You will feel better simply because you are eating real food and minimizing the insulin spikes caused by simple carbohydrates.

"Like"

Although I hope there is at least a little something to the inflammation theory.

 

[bulldog]

I started my version (semi-paleo). It's true, that when I sat and thought about it, I take in a TON of carbs...all day long. I'm cutting as many as I can without being a complete nut job about it, but it should help me. I'm going to have to watch my intake of fruits as a substitute because of their high sugar content. Bring on the eggs, veggies and lean meats.

Sure wish I had killed more deer this year. Good, lean protein.

Where in the world can you buy grass fed beef vs. grain fed beef around here? Nicks, maybe?

 

[bulldog]

By the way, not that anyone cares, but I'll weight myself in the morning...as a starting place and then track it once a week to see how I'm doing. My goal is to drop ~ 25 pounds by September.

 

[Larry Gude]

So the bottom line is… if you REALLY want to lose weight, get off the carbs. Limit your intake to 80 grams or less per day.

This is my burden. Pasta, bread, chips...

 

[Larry Gude]

By the way, not that anyone cares, but I'll weight myself in the morning...as a starting place and then track it once a week to see how I'm doing. My goal is to drop ~ 25 pounds by September.

Last time I did it, I dropped 25 pounds in a month. And felt great. And stopped craving junk.

Just can't hang with it. Carb addicted.

 

[General Lee]

I agree with all stated here, but I also say that everyone is different. One could follow the paleo diet and thrive and someone else could ruin their health because of the cholesterol and fat their body can't process as well as others. I really think it depends on the individual and routine blood work wouldn't be a bad idea to see how the diet is affecting the person.

 

[PsyOps]

By the way, not that anyone cares, but I'll weight myself in the morning...as a starting place and then track it once a week to see how I'm doing. My goal is to drop ~ 25 pounds by September.

I'm all for the weight loss aspect of it, if you feel you need to lose weight. But I'm in it more for what I'm reading are the health aspects of it. Genetically our bodies are not designed to consume high levels of carbs. Our cells are not made up of sugar. And this is every organ in our body; especially the liver, pancreas, and brain. We cause these organs to go into overdrive trying to combat sugar that the body can use. When it can't use it, the sugar becomes like sandpaper on your skin. So, this is a lifestyle change; a commitment to my health: brain health, heart health, colon health, every-cell-in-my-body health. We have been conditioned to live very destructive lifestyles when it comes to diet. And I have to say I am enjoying all the eggs and meat. So, it's not one of those things that we miserably put ourselves through. I've never been a huge pasta, chips, sweets kind of guy anyway.

NOTE: when I say 'sugar', this is any form of carbohydrate that your body converts to glycogen or glucose. 'Sugar' is just a generic term.

 

[PsyOps]

I agree with all stated here, but I also say that everyone is different. One could follow the paleo diet and thrive and someone else could ruin their health because of the cholesterol and fat their body can't process as well as others. I really think it depends on the individual and routine blood work wouldn't be a bad idea to see how the diet is affecting the person.

Well, the research is showing that the thing that makes cholesterol and fat hard to 'process' is the introduction of carbs/sugar. I have been on this diet for several months now. I have heart disease in my family. If anyone would be this ‘high risk’ from this diet, it would be me. I am about to have my annual physical next month. I will let you know how my blood work turns out.

As I mentioned previously, I have an ounce of skepticism of consuming all the fat and cholesterol, but not enough to dissuade me. I watched my dad trim all the fat off of every piece of meat, and ate small portions, and still died a horrible death from heart disease. Of course he was a smoker and didn’t exercise either. So I have my ever-so-small fears.

Of course I believe doctors that promote this sort of diet say that once you have been diagnosed with heart disease, this is not recommended without serious consultation with your doctor.

 

[Prosion]

I have done a number of "diets" within the past few years but recently have switched to gluten and dairy free. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and hypos do better without the gluten, and dairy seems to cause alot of allergy issues with folks. It was requested by my doctor to remove both of them. I have done a *great deal* better off, than on, though the gluten withdrawal was very interesting and a few days afterwards I was "tripping" a bit.. very anxious and jittery. (I went off dairy first to no issue for a few weeks before I cut the gluten.) I also had some itchy skin issues and moments where I spent a lot of time in the bathroom after the "detox" from it.

Even before I went off the gluten my body was having issues with it, so I knew prior it was a problem for me. Every time I would have a piece of bread I would run to the bathroom 15 minutes later.. The more I clean up my diet, the more things I find that I cannot tolerate. Rice, cilantro, onions, sausage, bacon, ground meats.. just interesting the things I used to eat, now cause me a good bit of problems.

Just amazing though the things that food can do to your body.

 

[Merlin99]

I started my version (semi-paleo). It's true, that when I sat and thought about it, I take in a TON of carbs...all day long. I'm cutting as many as I can without being a complete nut job about it, but it should help me. I'm going to have to watch my intake of fruits as a substitute because of their high sugar content. Bring on the eggs, veggies and lean meats.

Sure wish I had killed more deer this year. Good, lean protein.

Where in the world can you buy grass fed beef vs. grain fed beef around here? Nicks, maybe?

Horsman farm in st. Leonard. http://www.horsmonfarm.com/Beef_and_Pork_Price_List.html

 

[Bann]

I have done a number of "diets" within the past few years but recently have switched to gluten and dairy free. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and hypos do better without the gluten, and dairy seems to cause alot of allergy issues with folks. It was requested by my doctor to remove both of them. I have done a *great deal* better off, than on, though the gluten withdrawal was very interesting and a few days afterwards I was "tripping" a bit.. very anxious and jittery. (I went off dairy first to no issue for a few weeks before I cut the gluten.) I also had some itchy skin issues and moments where I spent a lot of time in the bathroom after the "detox" from it.

Even before I went off the gluten my body was having issues with it, so I knew prior it was a problem for me. Every time I would have a piece of bread I would run to the bathroom 15 minutes later.. The more I clean up my diet, the more things I find that I cannot tolerate. Rice, cilantro, onions, sausage, bacon, ground meats.. just interesting the things I used to eat, now cause me a good bit of problems.

Just amazing though the things that food can do to your body.

I am hypothyroid, but I don't have an issue with gluten or dairy. However, I do find that I feel much better when eating more clean and whole foods than too much starchy, empty carbs.

 

[Pushrod]

My wife and I have been on the Paleo diet for almost a year. I definitely don't need to lose any weight, but the other benefits make it well worth while. Many amazing and tasty recipes online for it.

 

[LightRoasted]

I started a regimen of diet, quasi Paleo, and exercise a little over a month and a half ago. Cut everything out processed food wise and went the all natural way. What I mean by that is, only fresh vegetables, not canned, real butter, that very tasty stuff from Ireland, true ice pressed extra virgin olive oil from Rallis, (http://icepressed.com) and protein from lean meats. I get my fats/oils from the butter and olive oil. For treats I like Turkey Hill "All Natural" ice cream. Only four ingredients. I've lost about 20 pounds thus far. Had blood work a week ago and everything was in the green where they used to be very in the bad. I also mainly only eat in the evening with maybe some cheese, with my coffee sweetened with Steiva, in the morning. I do not get hungry during the day. When a craving does pop up I drink some water and it goes away. I have found, what is amazing, that it is actually less expensive, overall, to only buy natural, and all natural, foods than the diet proscribed by the marketers, because I actually eat less, over all, than the other crap sold to us. I do have my faults though. I love jellybeans and pop some every now and then. Oh, and I don't drink anything other than my coffee in the morning and water for the rest of the day. Nothing else. As an experiment, look at the ingredient list on your favorite pre-packaged food item before you put it in your cart. If it has more than 10, it is bad for your body. It was not easy to start though. The body will put up a fight during the change over, especially form the change over to burning those fat stores. But once complete, it becomes very easy. Somewhat just like smoking. After the initial withdrawal period, it's ignoring the habits. Voice of experience.