Freedomain Radio

Any one here looked into the paleo diet?  I got interested after listening to this:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/09/13/223-government-hates-good-health/

Since then, I picked up this from my library, and I'm over half way through:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982207700/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=lewrockwell&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0982207700&adid=11D61F4RWWSKZZ0EW74D&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lewrockwell.com%2Flewrockwell-show%2F2011%2F09%2F13%2F223-government-hates-good-health%2F

I just put these on my Christmas list:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982720904/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=lewrockwell&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0982720904&adid=1Z17E46AW91C9WX9S85K&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lewrockwell.com%2Flewrockwell-show%2F2011%2F09%2F13%2F223-government-hates-good-health%2F

http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Solution-Original-Human-Diet/dp/0982565844/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321217955&sr=1-1

I completed what Karen DeCoster described as phase 1, and have started on phase 2.  I've lost a bunch of weight and feel great.  My energy level is much higher, and I don't feel hungry all the time.  Cutting out "bad carbs" has really suppressed my hunger.  I use to be ravenous if I was 15 minutes late for a meal and would start turning into a monster.  Now when I get busy I routiney miss meals and don't even realize it.  When you lower your intake of "bad carbs", your body will naturally burn stored fat, and it's no big deal to miss a meal. 

Diet wise, I'd say I'm about 60 to 80% of the way there, according to the Primal Blueprint.  I'm certainly not 100%.  I'm down to 1 or 2 desserts a week, instead of one every day, with some days more than one.  I'm down to 1 or 2 sugary drinks a week, instead of one every day, with some days more than one.  When my wife cooks, which is typically lunch on the weekends and dinner every night, I eat whatever she serves me, which usually has a serving of grains.  But otherwise, I don't eat grains.  So that means 9 meals a week with a serving of grains, where in the past pretty much every meal had a serving of grains, i.e. it used to be 21 or more meals a week with grains.

My excercise routine was pretty close to the primal blue print before I even read the book.  I would walk 3 or 4 days a week, and lift weights one day a week.  I still do that, but now one day a week, when I'm out walking, I add in a couple of all out sprints.

Another life style change I've taken from the primal blue print is to get more sleep.  I've started going to bed at 10pm every night, instead of 11 or 12, and now I get up before the alarm goes off.  **thumbs up**  Also, instead of being on the computer most nights right up until bed time, I allow myself to unwind more.  At 9:30, I get in my jammies, sit in bed, and read a book for a half hour.  By the time 10pm comes, I'm so ready for bed I think I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow some times.  :)

Some of the improvement in how I feel could just be from getting more sleep, as opposed to the diet.  By implementing multiple recomendations from the Primal Blue print at once, I can't be sure which one is driving the results.  I suppose it could even be a placebo effect.  Regardless, I'm loving the results!

I welcome your feedback.  Thanks!

I have had great success with it.

I'm still a bit lazy when it comes to cooking so I don't stick to it as much as I'd like but even so the results have been very good.

 I eat, vegetables, some fruits, chicken and oily fish. Sometimes I eat seafood but for the most part I can't afford it.

JackB:

I have had great success with it.

I'm still a bit lazy when it comes to cooking so I don't stick to it as much as I'd like but even so the results have been very good.

Yeah, that seems to be one of the nice advantages of this diet is you don't have to follow it strictly to see results.  It's very life friendly.

JegSomHeter:

 I eat, vegetables, some fruits, chicken and oily fish. Sometimes I eat seafood but for the most part I can't afford it.

I'm learning some interesting things in the Primal Blueprint that are good to know even if you don't follow the paleo diet.  For example, Mark says eat small fish.  Don't eat large, top of the food chain fish like shark and sword fish.  Reason being they have a much greater concentration of contaminants.  It makes sense when you think about it.  They've been alive longer, giving them a greater time to be exposed to contaminents, plus they're eating all these other smaller fish, absorbing their contaminents. 

Or another example, he of course recommends local organic fruits and vegtables, but if they're not available, local conventionally grown plants are preferable to remote organic.  This is because they have to harvest the remote plants before they're ready, and thus they do not have as high of a nutrient content.  Plus, once they arrive in your area they spray chemicals on them to artifically ripen them.  Also, if you have to have plants that were grown with pesticides, go for those with hard skins that you don't eat like oranges, pinapples, etc.  This hard exterior gives you some barrier from the poison.  Stay away from plants with soft edible skins, like apples or grapes, which offer you no protection.

All good things to know regardless of your diet.

I'm pretty Paleo.  My diet is mostly grilled chicken, nuts, eggs, raw vegetables, fruits.  My body looks toned every since I cut out all carbs except for fruits and vegetables.  If anything, I'd eat more fish and substitute fruit for more vegetables.

I should be on a better sleep schedule, and your post about sleeping right has inspired me. 

I listen to these Paleo podcats:

http://robbwolf.com/

http://undergroundwellness.com/

Right, I try to stick to Mackerel, cod, salmon and trout because of heavy metal accumulation in the food chain. If you take omega three capsules instead though, like salmon oil you don't get any of the heavy metals. I eat fish only once a week.

JegSomHeter:

Right, I try to stick to Mackerel, cod, salmon and trout because of heavy metal accumulation in the food chain. If you take omega three capsules instead though, like salmon oil you don't get any of the heavy metals. I eat fish only once a week.

I've been taking omega 3 supplements for years, since I don't eat a great deal of fish.

Style:

I've been taking omega 3 supplements for years, since I don't eat a great deal of fish.

Insects are a great source of omega 3, and they seem very paleo (or was that make you very pale...)

Paleo has been a great discovery for me too, and I can say I experienced all of the same benefits as you. Lots of things about the paleo diet are surprising to other people who dont know about it I've found.

At the moment I love grains but I'm pregnant and so my senses are all out of whack. I'm hoping that the second trimester will be more paleo. Mark's site is great. You could also check out this site if you havent already: http://www.westonaprice.org/ - great overall nutritional info - check out how much of a super food liver is!

If you're taking fish oil I recommend getting hold of the fermented kind which has a much higher vitamin content thanks to no heat during processing.

Polly:

If you're taking fish oil I recommend getting hold of the fermented kind which has a much higher vitamin content thanks to no heat during processing.

I'll have to check that out.  Thanks for the tip.

Another lifestyle adjustment I've taken from the primal blueprint is to go barefoot more often.  I no longer wear slippers around the house, and since I work from home, this means I'm barefoot most of the time.  When my walking shoes where out, I plan for the next pair to be much more minimal, as opposed to the current mostrosities I wear, which have tons of cushion to supposedly protect your feet.

Hi Style - glad to hear you're enjoying exploring alternative approaches to health and fitness. I'll share my experience with it here in case it interests you

I went from being a vegetarian for three years to trying out the Paleo diet, based on reading Loren Cordain's work, and the work of Mark Sisson.

I then discovered Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories and I've been essentially no carb ever since. I have now been primarily eating animal protein and fat for approximately two years and, based on how easily I shed weight and how great it makes me feel, I see no reason why I won't continue eating this way indefinitely. I never eat fruit or vegetables - with the exception that I occasionally eat broccoli because I like the taste. I don't see them as unhealthy to eat perse, but I recognize there are no nutrional requirements for me to do so. I've never been much into fish so I supplement Omega3's daily and also supplement with some Vitamin D (I currently work in a basement for 8 hours daily, no access to sunlight).

I'm also a big advocate for minimal footwear - I went purely sandalled (just thin Havana's) for the last 6-7 months and the athlete's foot and painful ingrown toenails issues I'd been having for ages improved immensely. The open air seriously allowed my feet to heal, and the lack of support allowed them to strengthen - trying to decide how to proceed now that the onset of winter has begun in Vancouver, but I've discovered a great company located in Oregon called Softstar that has some great minimal solutions.

*Also, I now take it for granted because I've been doing it for so long but, I haven't used soap or shampoo for over a year now - based on research I did in the Paleo community. I simply rinse my body with water and I'm totally fine. I'm having some issues with dandruff, but it's no different really than when I used shampoo. I think it has everything to do with hot water on the scalp, and I'm considering experimenting soon with only using cold water to rinse my hair and see if it has any positive effects.

As a general biological principle (maladaptation), any move away from the destructive contemporary cultural diet back towards the ancestral diet will be a move towards a more adaptive environment for the body.

The human body is maladapted to high consumption of animal products too, so the paleo diet is still too contemporary. Human anatomy caries many of the traits of foli-frugivores, and none of carnivores.

I've been vegan over 20 years, and for much of the time consumed mostly raw fruit and vegetables, high carb, minimal fat. It's a very healthy diet. I have great cholesterol levels, and easily manage to maintain optimal bodyweight. As an added bonus I don't have breath like a dog and body odour like a cadaver - a common problem of bigtime meat eaters.

SimonF:

I've been vegan over 20 years, and for much of the time consumed mostly raw fruit and vegetables, high carb, minimal fat. It's a very healthy diet. I have great cholesterol levels, and easily manage to maintain optimal bodyweight.

It appears we have views in this thread that are very diametrically opposed! All the more fuel for discussion.

I'm curious - is there a particular text that provided you with scientific evidence that heavily implied veganism as "a very healthy diet"? Perhaps you know of some important studies or books I'm not aware of. Did you arrive at the vegan lifestyle via experimentation with other diets?

SimonF:

As an added bonus I don't have breath like a dog and body odour like a cadaver - a common problem of bigtime meat eaters.

This claim is odd to me because I don't have these "common" problems and I've been eating meat exclusively for over a year. Can you expand on this? Perhaps all my friends are too scared to call me on my dog breath

PhilipJ's approach is about the same as mine, or at least I am headed in that direction. I have tried to eat vegetables, but I have a lot of resistance to it as I do not seem to view them as...edible. They're all leaves to me, best used to spice things up. :P On the other hand, I really like to eat meat. I also like dairy, and on occasion, I go nuts for nuts (particularly almonds). I finally no longer see the allure of fruits and bread, but I am still a fool for baked goods occasionally... Not perfect, but my diet IS getting better.

I wonder about the use of eating vegetables to lower a person's body acidity? I heard that things like meat and grains cause the body to be very acidic, and vegetables seem to help that.