Paleo Diet - How to eat and why

Tweet
It's crazy how many registered dietitians have conflicting opinions. If they have the same credentials.. who is right? The Paleo diet (aka Warrior diet, aka Caveman diet) tends to be quite controversial. Essentially it calls for cutting out any and all grains. Basically, if our hunter-gatherer ancestors couldn't hunt it or forage for it.. it's not to be eaten. The simple observation "If they didn't eat it during the majority of human evolution.. then its unhealthy" is a bold statement that lacks scientific explanation. For many, this idea is convincing enough. However, I prefer to let the scientists prove it to me. A few names that come to mind are Robb Wolf, Mat Lalonde and Mark Sisson. If you are unfamiliar with these people I encourage you to look them up or stay up to date with PrimalBuild as I will regularly be posting articles, videos, and podcasts of theirs that I find helpful (also check the links at the bottom of this post). The Paleo Diet is huge in the crossfit scene, as Robb Wolf also advocates crossfit and olympic style weight lifting.

Here's a general idea of what to eat and what not to eat:

EAT: Meat (preferably grass fed) and Vegetables. Macros have high protein and high fat.
AVOID: Processed food, Sugars, Grains, Legumes and Dairy.

Carbs will be quite low, unless physical activities call for more. In this case, carbs should come form Roots, Tubers, Bulbs and Fruits. (Examples: sweet potatoes, yams, berries, etc.)

FAT SHOULD NOT BE AVOIDED (except trans fats of course). If you are getting tons of protein but no fat or carbs, you'll end up getting sick and slowly dying of "rabbit starvation" (look it up). The body needs fats like saturated animal fats for hormone production and energy. So yes, giving up that bagel in the morning everyday might seem miserable, but replacing it with BACON and eggs does not sound so bad to me!

My Breakfast this morning... :D

Although many species can evolve quickly and adapt to new surroundings and foods, it appears that humans are not optimally evolved for grains as they seem to cause systemic inflammation. This systemic inflammation and HIGH carb intake, can lead to poor metabolic health and diseases such as Diabetes, Cancer, Heart disease etc.

A while back I wrote a review on one registered dietitians article regarding the controversial Paleo Diet for my college health and nutrition class. She concluded that cutting grains out of the diet all together would be unhealthy. A few years later, and after much investigation, I definitely disagree. Although everyone has a different evolutionary background and different genetic expressions, it seems overall health improves without grains. Some could eat pasta their whole life and never observe any ill effects from it, but it definitely doesn't mean their health was as OPTIMAL as it could have been. Unfortunately, there are many people who are much more intolerant. Their metabolic health will be thrown totally out of whack with an inflammatory diet from grains and high carbs. Those whose genetics are more sensitive will gain weight much easier and have to work harder to fix their metabolic health. This could mean they require a VERY low carb diet, to the point where FRUIT should even be kept minimal due to the fructose. Just because you don't have the best genetics for metabolic health, doesn't mean you have to EXPRESS those genes.. we DO have some control over our genetics so don't use this as an excuse!

Just goes to show what a joke the food pyramid is.. thanks government. I actually read somewhere that the nutritional guidelines that some farmers use to get their cows as FAT as they can as FAST as possible basically was identical to our food pyramid.. go figure.

But again.. don't take this stuff from me.. take it from the creator of Paleo - former research biochemist Robb wolf, Harvard Organic Chemist Mat Lalonde Ph.D, and other well known advocates of this revolutionary lifestyle.

Here's the basics from Robb Wolfs site:
http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/

Here's Mark Sisson's blog - advocate of paleo, almost 60 and str8 up ripped:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz2LIZBtPwB

Here's an interview with Mat Lalonde:


Here's a presentation by Mat Lalonde giving an Organic Chemists perspective behind the Paleo diet. Playing devils advocate at first then giving the scientific explanation and dropping str8 knowledge dewdz:
 

Here's a great Q&A with Robb Wolf:


Awesome Joe Rogan podcast with Robb Wolf: 

I will periodically post pictures and recipes of my meals (paleo or not) just to give ideas. This post is a pretty basic overview of the diet.. everyone is different and has different needs. For example, a Paleo style diet for a sedentary person who is overweight will definitely be different than an athlete. The diet can be tweaked to specific needs, for example more carbs (from roots, fruits, etc.) for an active person or less for an overweight person. Later posts will focus on these different variations, such as gaining muscle mass on Paleo or if there are better ways. I've always been scrawny and interested in bulking up! More to come soon.
-TK