Paleo Diet

[Eliza13]

Hi everyone,

I was glutened last week (I think!!), and as a result had vomitting for 2 days and extreme abdominal distention all week. I am kind of afraid to go without rice, potatoes and starchy vegetables since these have become my staples, but the only time I remember ever having a flat belly was when I was on a protein type diet. Could this be b/c I have other allergies that I am unaware of, or do I just not do well with starches/grains in general?

Anyone have experience with this diet and what were your results? Is it just hocus pocus, or is there some truth to it?

Skar.

[Guest BellyTimber]

The foods you call your staples are probably good. There isn't much protein in the list. My nutritionist said include protein in all meals and snacks.

Don't forget green veg also - calcium.

What did you mean by protein type diet?

Hoping you are & feel a lot better soon,

[kess]

Since discovering my gluten intolerance, I've gradually gone to a grain-free diet, using fruits and vegetables (lots) and low-fat dairy as my source of carbs.

I really like it, it's easy, tasty and it helps regulate my blood sugar swings. I used to get that a lot, from "food coma" to "crabby & hungry."

It's not a low-carb diet by any means, but probably *lower*-carb than the typical American diet. I.e. it's hard to gorge yourself on salad and steamed veggies.

I concur with previous poster, you need to include protein with every meal or snack.

To give you an idea of what I'm eating:

Breakfast -- smoothie made with yogurt, cottage cheese, banana, frozen berries. Plus eggs or nuts or cheese, to round it out.

Lunch -- big salad with all sorts of veggies, with olive oil for dressing. Some protein (chicken breast, tuna, hard boiled eggs).

Dinner -- fish with steamed veggies, plus salad or just diced tomatoes on the side.

Snacks/treats -- fruit, raw veggies, cheese, nuts, dark chocolate, yogurt (plain), cottage cheese

Good luck.

[Carriefaith]

Anyone have experience with this diet and what were your results? Is it just hocus pocus, or is there some truth to it?

I think that there is some good to the diet; however, I don't think that you need to give up rice and potatoes. Basically, the diet says not to eat junk food (eg. sugar) and foods that are hard to digest by humans such as gluten and dairy products. From the reading that I have done, I believe that we were not meant to eat gluten and dairy. The diet does say to avoid other foods too, but I think it is all a personal decision.

[Bonnie]

Hi everyone,

I was glutened last week (I think!!), and as a result had vomitting for 2 days and extreme abdominal distention all week.  I am kind of afraid to go without rice, potatoes and starchy vegetables since these have become my staples, but the only time I remember ever having a flat belly was when I was on a protein type diet.  Could this be b/c I have other allergies that I am unaware of, or do I just not do well with starches/grains in general?

Anyone have experience with this diet and what were your results?  Is it just hocus pocus, or is there some truth to it?

Skar.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Skar, I have never heard of of the Paleo diet but I also only have a flat stomach when eating a basic meat and veg diet, and having protein at every meal. I also felt that I had more energy and just generally felt better.

Rice and potatoes bloat me terribly. Grains definitely do not agree with me However I have looked at the SCD diet and I don't think I could do it.

Kess do you not get terribly bored with your diet? I get so sick of eating vegetables all the time although I really like them.

I would like to try your diet though because my sugar cravings are driving me mad. I am sucrose and chocolate intolerant so giving in to these cravings is giving me big problems.

Yvonne

[cornbread]

Hi Skar,

(Short answer: yes!)

When I went gluten free I slowly realised that most other grains also bother me, as in they bloat me, make me break out and make me crave starchy, sugary foods. If I have a corn tortilla or sushi with rice within 10 mins I have a little pot belly and within 20 mins I'm starving. So I'd pretty much cut these foods out as well as gluten. Then I discovered I was starting to get a casein problem too (exactly like my gluten symptoms), and I cut out all dairy.

I read some stuff online about the Paleo diet and was like "Hey, that's what I eat!" I'd actually been joking to friends that I was on 'the caveman diet' after I had to cut out dairy (they were all saying "but what can you eat now??")

So, my curiousity piqued, I bought the Paleo Diet book a few weeks ago and read it straight through. It's basically the diet I had naturally ended up with after carefully listening to my body protest against all those other foods.

The book just laid out a good theory as to *why* my body was acting this way and, to me, it made a lot of sense. (In brief for those who don't know, the theory is that because our genetic makeup is only 0.02% different to what it was in the stone age, our bodies haven't had time to adapt to modern foods - grains, dairy, processed stuff, etc. I know for sure mine haven't! ... so if we eat more like our ancestors did, our bodies will be happier).

I eat more chicken eggs than our ancestor's probably would've though. If I can't have breakfast at home I'll have a banana for sure (I practically live on them if I'm in transit), but on the whole I try and go for berries, kiwis and pears because the more sugary fruits get me really craving sweet stuff and before I know it I'm buying boxes of gluten-free cookies I am breaking out and have gained 5lbs overnight . I will have a teaspoon of local honey if I'm in the mood, and I certainly won't be cutting out my coffee!! I have it black with no sugar though (always did so no hardship ), and after 1 or 2 cups I switch to green tea (yerba mate these days).

The book basically showed me how to optimise the diet I had already naturally stumbled upon. I'm now cooking in flax oil (as well as olive oil), and trying to make sure I have a bigger variety of meat and fish. I'm also having salmon for breakfast with my eggs instead of sausages/bacon. For dinner I'll have either meat or fish with some veggies, and I stick either fresh herbs, ginger or garlic into most dinners which makes all the difference on the yum-o-meter.

Within a couple of days of eating this way I felt fantastic - just mega calm and happy. My body feels completely 'balanced' and I have a lot of energy. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but I think that if your body is pointing you in this direction anyway (as mine certainly was) it makes sense to give it a go. For me it's just a fine-tuned, more thoughtful version of the way I had started to eat anyway. There are now less glutenings as well (I've had zero since eating this way), probably because I'm eating whole natural foods so less chance of cross-contamination, etc. Not to mention way less preservatives, etc. All that's got to be a good thing. I miss dairy though and if I could eat it I would. There are some versions of the Paleo diet that permit dairy - I just gave it up because of the casein reaction. I still live in a house and drive a car that doesn't require my feet to stick through the floor though.

[GFManiac]

Ideally, I try and eat as close to this as possible: no gluten, dairy and legumes (I just happen to have reactions from these foods anyway). I try and only eat rice and potatoes in moderations. I think these foods tend to mess with your blood sugar anyway and it doesn't seem like they contain a whole lot of nutrients...

[kimjoy24]

I researched the Paleo diet a couple of years ago before deciding upon the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I think most of us agree that no one diet is perfect for everyone. For me, the SCD was a turning point in my life. The problem for me with all of these diets was sticking with them, because often, I would see no improvement in symptoms and get discouraged. With the SCD, the results were truly amazing. Within days my chronic gas was alleviated, my bowel movements started to return to normal, my stomach stopped its constant gurgling, etc. I stuck with it for several months before transitioning into a gluten-free diet (which for me was great, because I found I was able to add much more variety to my diet!)

I think the Paleo and the SCD make sense and I can't see them doing actual harm, as long as you take supplements for any nutrients you might be missing out on. It is a strict regimen, but it seems to work well as sort of a "cleansing out" phase or when one is trying to rebound from a "gluten episode." It's difficult to go wrong with organic meats and fish and organic vegetables that are simply prepared.

[Guest BERNESES]

I was just reading about the Paleo Diet last night and I was thinking- this makes so much sense! It basically eliminates everything I think might be a potential problem. I no longer feel like gluten free is the only solution for me. I think I may have multiple intolerances (including all grains and potatoes- definitely dairy) but the thought of a rice-less, potato-less life, peanut-butter less (and chocolate-less even though I'm down to dairy-free dark chocolate) life is really hard for me to contemplate right now especially since those foods were my staples when I first when gluten-free even though I suspect they may be feeding into my reactions. I want to try it, but I'm so exhausted right now that I'd need to hire my own personal chef Beverly

[Eliza13]

Thank you all for your replies. I bought the book today and plan to start tomorrow. I will keep all of you posted. It makes alot of sense to me, but I'll believe it when I see it. I think I'm tired, but I will try it if will mean feeling great. Maybe we can all add to the thread and provide updates on how the diet is working for us. Anyone agree??

Skar.

[cornbread]

Skar - glad to hear you're gonna try it. Looks like you're in the same situation as me, it just seems like the next logical step if you are intolerant to most of the 'no go' foods. I will update here in a week or so. I think I'm losing a little weight eating this way, but I'm never 'starving' hungry like I used to get. I haven't weighed myself but my arms look healthier, like someone photoshopped some of the fat off.

Berneses - I still have coffee and a little dark chocolate and bake myself gluten-free snacks for special occasions. Plus I regularly drink wine. I think the trick with anything like this is to make it workable for you. On the whole I eat Paleo, but I try to be realistic about my own willpower when it comes to my sweet tooth - better to incorporate a small amount of dark chocolate into my diet than fall completely off the wagon. Also, if I'm travelling and choices are limited I cut myself some slack - the priority then is to stay healthly, so for example if a baked potato is the safest option, I'll have one, and if there's truly nothing I can eat then Organic Food Bar to the rescue. I just don't make a habit of eating sugar or grains/starches daily.

I also cut myself huge slack if I get glutened (I know I said I hadn't yet post-Paleo, but I licked an envelope yesterday and spent the day in glutenville! ) so tonight I did some gluten-free/CF baking to pamper myself a little. I haven't sampled the goods yet but I did lick the bowl.

So I guess I'm saying... if you think it sounds like a good way to go but you'd want to eat rice or dark chocolate, then you could incorporate a certain amount of those foods into it, maybe just ensure that the chocolate is organic and the rice is brown for example, you know, just your own little rules to make these foods as healthy as possible. It would still be worthwhile, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. For me it has altered the way I look at food, I'm much more aware of ingredients and after only a few weeks eating this way, the thought of eating something with processed ingredients freaks me out.

[Carriefaith]

I bought the book today and plan to start tomorrow.

What is the name of the book that you got? I am very interested in this topic.

[Eliza13]

What is the name of the book that you got? I am very interested in this topic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is called The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain.

Skar

[LUAP]

One of the wonderfull things with the paleo diet is you leave most grains (contains mycotoxin and turn out to be acid food) to replace it by green veggies. green veggies are alkalyne and are well recognized for their anti-carcinogen and anti-fungal properties. green veggies can be 100% more alkaline than fruits. When eating lots of green veggies, you balance your body's ph. by turning your body into a non-acidic one, your going to be able to practice much more sport, endure much more stress than before, two things that produce acid into your body. people are often sick only because of an over-acid body.

the only thing you have to be aware of when cutting on carb is the risk to fall into ketosis. to drastic low carb diet such as the atkins one can lead you to a condition called ketosis. ketosis leads to kidney failure leave a bad breath.

personnaly, i have removed all grains of my diet for 6 month and reintroduced small quantity of rice (the less toxic grain according to the prolamine theory) after 6 month because i was always falling into ketosis, no mather what was the amount of green veggies i was eating.

david holland said the best way to eat grains is on pasta form. most of mycotoxins they can contain go into the sink when you remove water from pasta.

[cornbread]

Ketosis is often confused with ketoacidosis.

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[LUAP]

i am not type 1 diabetic so it was probably not ketosis acidosis.

i have talked about ketosis because mercola have wrote on it in his book the 'no grain diet'. It's good to be aware of it. you get a bad breath on a low carb diet...may be you just got to far into cutting carb of your diet. just pay attention to it. Speaking of adjustment here. not to say that low carb diet aren't good. i am following one myself so... and i am healthy like i have never been before.