Paleo Diet

I reading the Paleo Diet book right now! But I don't think I can cut dairy out of my life.. I love cheese and milk too much. I cannot also cut out grains (cereals, bread, etc.) but I think i can at least cut back The book is giving me lots of insight into eating more protein and which meats are better than others.

If you are interested in going Paleo look up Dr Cordain. He is the Godfather of Paleo. There are a lot of imitators out there, beware. Milk and dairy is not Paleo, not even close, lol... Good luck to you.....

The basic premise around paleo is that some modern foods were not available in the paleolithic timeline, therefore they should not be consumed now. The though is that modern foods that are energy dense and nutritionally poor are the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases.

Studies have been done comparing a paleo type diet and the Standard American Diet on markers such as blood pressure, insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, lipid profiles, etc all of which are important when referencing MetS (metabolic syndrome). Some comparisons were in the absence of weight loss, which is an important factor, and all markers improved with the paleo diet. It's a little more complicated than this but this is the general concept and model. While this is an important fact, many alternative dietary interventions do exactly the same thing. As soon as refined carbs and sugar in the amounts consumed in the SAD diet are removed, everything improves. So while it's definitely a healthy diet, it's not going to miraculously heal anyone any better than making smart modifications to the SAD diet and without the heavily restricted food that simply can't be consumed.....that's overkill and feeds the dogma that surrounds this diet.

Also the macronutrient breakdown (foods they ate) of hunter gatherers was as varied as it is now and when someone says it's low carb, that's definitely part of that dogma. A higher protein intake is surely part of that diet, but not all H-G'ers lived on the same latitudes, so it's a little ridiculous to think they all had the same ratios. This diet is higher in protein and vegetables which have a very high thermic effect creating a very satiating format, resulting in easy weight loss from easily eating less overall calories, not to be confused with the dogma that the paleo diet did that, it didn't, it was the protein and veg. imo

I skimmed the basics and knew it wasn't for me. Can't remember why, think it was too restrictive or didn't fit in with what I know works for me.

Ah, grains, fruits, dairy... not cutting back/out those, so was not for me even if it works for others.

The general message boards are the wrong place to ask this question because you will get a lot of negative input. Go to the Paleo/Primal Support Group and you will get info from the people who practice it.

Primal allows some dairy.

Here are some websites where you can read up on Paleo/Primal so you can make an informed decision.

http://www.archevore.com/
http://eatingacademy.com/
http://everydaypaleo.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://robbwolf.com/
http://thepaleodiet.com/
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/
http://nomnompaleo.com/


If you want some serious information:

Loren Cordain “The Paleo Diet”
Robb Wolf “The Paleo Solution”
Mark Sisson “The Primal Blueprint”
Mark Sisson “The Primal Blueprint 21 day Total Body Transformation”
Gary Taubes “Good Calories, Bad Calories”
Gary Taubes “Why We Get Fat”

love paleo, been doing it 6 months now and feel fantastic.

I reading the Paleo Diet book right now! But I don't think I can cut dairy out of my life.. I love cheese and milk too much. I cannot also cut out grains (cereals, bread, etc.) but I think i can at least cut back The book is giving me lots of insight into eating more protein and which meats are better than others.

Wise choice to retain some dairy, as the research is tending to show full-fat dairy (I eat only organic dairy and I don't eat a lot of it so it isn't expensive) as an important part of fat loss and maintenance of fat loss because there is satisfaction that goes with eating "good" fats. There are some areas of Paleo that I do not agree with---I like Primal a bit better because there is a bit more liberality. I don't cut out grains either but I do not eat wheat (read the book, "Wheat Belly" for why). I don't eat a lot of other grains. I eat one or two pieces of 100% whole organic rye bread per day (two pieces on my three heavy workout days every week) and I eat a couple of bowls of oatmeal a week for the unique nutrients it contains like beta glucans. I will usually eat it with a few nuts thrown in--and might put a dollop of organic butter on top (I don't eat raisins or sugar in it because fructose and grain are not great to eat together--the fruit can help ferment the grain in the gut). I eat organic eggs for breakfast nearly every morning. I eat organic baby spinach and organic celery and organic carrots and lots of other vegetables, especially if I can find an organic version. I always eat more fat than my macros call for (but within my calorie allotment of 1,500 to 2,200 cals) and since I limit my carbs to 100-200 grams per day, I rarely have any kind of a craving. I have found that eating sugar and wheat cause me to be always hungry so I cut them both out of my diet 7 months ago. I hit the local public pool for three hours of aquatic exercise or brisk walking (we have a free, carpeted walking track there) every week, plus 30 minutes of some kind of calisthenics or vigorous activity in between--I take Sundays and holidays off. To date, just these simple measures have caused me to lose 30 lbs. and 7 inches off my waist and I FEEL GREAT!

Lately, I have taken on a two-week fast from any kind of fructose (there's a book called "The Fat Switch" by cardiologist/renal specialist, Richard J. Johnson, M.D., which will explain why) and it has provided a real boost in energy. I look forward to putting one to two servings of fruit back in my diet in another week but I will never go back to eating table sugar (which is 50% fructose).

Not saying this plan will work for everyone--but it works for me. And I have had a LOT of trouble losing weight on specifically low-calorie plans. The fast from fructose has been especially beneficial. I lost three pounds in one week even though my calorie counts stayed the same.

My daughter is Paleo and is featured in the book "The Paleo Miracle". Rachel looks and feels great. I've tried to go Paleo but have problems sticking with it. I do eat mostly gluten free. I have many paleo recipes and love trying new ones. Some Paleo experts do allow some dairy. Rachel does eat butter and cheese (all grass fed).

Regarding fructose, fructose passes directly to the liver where it is converted into triglycerides, fatty acids, which are stored as fat.
Regarding sugar: Carbohydrates are saccharides - sugar. White sugar, sucrose, is composed of equal parts of glucose and fructose. Glucose moves directly from the small intestine into the bloodstream. Inulin is secreted by the pancreas to transport glucose into the cells to be used as fuel. Insulin also causes the liver to secrete triglycerides for storage in the fat tissue. High levels of glucose in the bloodstream, producing high levels of insulin, can lead to insulin resistance, leading to Type 2 Diabetes.

So fructose never ever converts to glycogen and never ever is oxidized just stored as fat? What a silly fantasy world paleo adherents live in

In glycolysis performed in the liver, the first step is the phosphorylation which is the controlling step in setting the speed of the reaction.
The glucose 6 phosphate is isomerized to fructose 6 phosphate.(then phosphorylated again)
The enzyme that phosphorylates fructose (fructokinase) directly to fructose 6 phosphate is NOT controlled. When you eat a lot of fructose, your fructokinase levels go crazy. The amount of fructose in a piece of cake is at least ten times the amount in most servings of fruit.

What this suggests is that fructose intake can consume the available ATP within the mitochondria--which means that it can make someone who consumes a lot of fructose (remember that table sugar--sucrose--is 50% fructose and, as a nation, we eat a LOT of sucrose) quite sluggish from the loss of energy it causes in the processing. In the animal world, this is a normal part of preparing for winter hibernation (that is why black bears get very fat by gorging on massive amounts of wild blueberries late in summer---in preparation for the long winter). They get fat and sluggish. Keep eating lots of sugar if you want to get fat and sluggish.

Technically, fructose 6 phosphate CAN be converted to glucose 6 phosphate but THE REACTION IS PRIMARILY IN THE OTHER DIRECTION due to the energy gradient.

I reading the Paleo Diet book right now! But I don't think I can cut dairy out of my life.. I love cheese and milk too much. I cannot also cut out grains (cereals, bread, etc.) but I think i can at least cut back The book is giving me lots of insight into eating more protein and which meats are better than others.

I agree with this - I took a good look at some of the recipes but ... Cheesy-biscuity goodness just keeps calling out to me!

Modern wheat and milk are not terribly good foods (okay if you are starving but they will not maximize health). Cheese and yogurt made from raw organic milk are good alternatives to regular milk (although it is difficult to get yogurt that is made from unpasteurized milk). In any case, it is not a good idea to eat a LOT of dairy if you are trying to slim down. Modern wheat (since about the 1960s) is not even close to the grain our ancestors ate (read "Wheat Belly" to find out why). High-gluten wheat (modern wheat has been specifically bred to have large amounts of gluten) is not terribly well-digested in the human gut and another substance called gliaden makes modern wheat addictive. Better choices are organic rye (they haven't messed with it much since it is not a terribly popular grain) and organic oats. A bonus in eating a bit of rye is that it has a better "muscle-sparing" function than some other carbs.