Opinion On Paleo Diet?

[Nancy W]

I read a book called The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain. Has anyone read this book? All you eat are protein, veggies and fruits, and 3 times a week you get open meals where you can have potato and rice, etc. It is gluten free by nature because it allows no starches or grains, or even dairy. That is the hard part for me because I have to have my coffee and I have to have it with cream! Any comments?

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Hi Nancy,

I did this, when I prepared for the world championships last year. The funny thing, I didn't even know, that it's called the Paleo diet. But from your explanation that's what it was then. And let me tell you I never felt better in my entire life. If you want to try it, go for it!

Hugs, Stef

[cornbread]

I am on the Paleo diet by default, because I have intolerances to pretty much all the foods it prohibits. I still have coffee though (black, no sugar - and organic home-roasted most of the time), and I have a weakness for bacon! (albeit organic/minimally processed...) But I'm 98% Paleo. And yes, I feel great on it. Healthy, energised, optimistic - just great. The only time I feel less than amazing is if I get 'contaminated' by something, ie: a medicine that contains corn. It's very easy for me to agree with the theory behind it because it confirms all of my food allergy/intolerance problems. I've also found the diet has meant I eat way more different types of fish, fruits and vegetables, instead of the few I used to stick to out of habit, which can only be a good thing.

[Carriefaith]

I'm reading the book now and I think that it's great! I would highly recommend it to anyone. I pretty much follow the diet anyway since I am gluten and dairy free, but I do eat a lot of rice. I am thinking of following the diet more closely when I move away and have my own kitchen.

[VydorScope]

by your description its not much different then what I normally eat, cept I do eat some dairy. It basicly sounds like it has most of the oringal and real (as in what he wrote before he died, not what currently carries his name! UGH!) Aktins concpets in it, and I am a firm believer in that, been eating that way couple years now (cept my stupid gltuen challegnes) and swear I younger then when I started!

[jerseyangel]

I have not read the book, but will as soon as I can get a hold of one. I also pretty much eat this way now. Since I'm gluten and dairy free and have cut way, way back on rice and the other grains we use, I guess I have, at least, a good start. Since starting to eat this way only about 2 weeks ago, I notice improvements in my skin and have lost some weight (my goal is to lose the 12 lbs. or so I gained after going gluten-free). I find that my sugar cravings are also beginning to fade.

[BBadgero]

Dr. Loren Cordain's book, the Paleo Diet, seems the way to go. Just spent about an hour reading his website and I am buying into it. I am sick and tired of getting TAG'd (totally ate gluten!). Since I planned on doing an elimination diet, this seems like the easiest way to start it.

Anyone have a doctor recommend this book?

[Nancym]

by your description its not much different then what I normally eat, cept I do eat some dairy. It basicly sounds like it has most of the oringal and real (as in what he wrote before he died, not what currently carries his name! UGH!) Aktins concpets in it, and I am a firm believer in that, been eating that way couple years now (cept my stupid gltuen challegnes) and swear I younger then when I started!

Loren Cordain is quite alive, so I assume you're talking about Rober Atkins?

The differences between Cordain and Atkins is basically Cordain promotes a diet that humans have been eating for > 10,000 years, while Atkins is just low carb. You can eat diary, wheat, anything on Atkins, as long as it is low carb. The premise is that we really have not had enough time to adjust to the dietary changes that agriculture brought about and that is causing problems.

The "Protein Power" doctors (Mary and Mike Eades) are friends with the Cordains and have a similar philosophy, except they don't think saturated fat is bad, and I don't think they're as fanatical about eliminating things like dairy. But I really enjoy their web site and blog: www.proteinpower.com

I am trying to stick to Paleo-ish dieting. I haven't read his book yet but I've gleaned a lot off the Internet and he is doing some really interesting research that I follow. My chief difficulty would be giving up peppers.

I think the diet is great and I know I feel better sticking closer to it than when I stray away.

[BBadgero]

Nancym,

Well 1/2 way through my first day Paleo'ing it and because I just went gluten-free about 2 months ago, my will power is still high. I am pretty excited to see how it might change me.... as I hear alot about the success stories out there.

I have always been sceptical about Atkins, just due to the cheese and high fat and salt content, and reading the Paleo Diet webpage, I am happy others felt the same way.

Any "words of wisdom" you might have for me? And what is it with peppers and the Paleo? That would have been something found 50K years ago, right?

[mle-ii]

Nancym,

Well 1/2 way through my first day Paleo'ing it and because I just went gluten-free about 2 months ago, my will power is still high. I am pretty excited to see how it might change me.... as I hear alot about the success stories out there.

I have always been sceptical about Atkins, just due to the cheese and high fat and salt content, and reading the Paleo Diet webpage, I am happy others felt the same way.

Any "words of wisdom" you might have for me? And what is it with peppers and the Paleo? That would have been something found 50K years ago, right?

If by Peppers you mean Bell Peppers I'm guessing the problem might be either:

1) that they are nightshades (like the potato) and folks have problems with those due them containing toxins

2) They were native to Central and South America pre-Columbian times. Meaning they weren't a normal part of the european diet where I'm guessing Cordain gets most of his paleo diet from.

Here's more info:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link or Nightshade

[Ursa Major]

I just read "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. Very, very interesting. She developed the 'specific carbohydrate diet', and many people apparently found healing of intestinal problems through this diet. It is similar in many ways to the paleo diet, but by no means identical. Here is the website link Open Original Shared Link In order to really understand it all, you'd have to buy and read the book. I think it is a good investment.

I meant to e-mail her to ask if she really thinks that the diet can cure celiac disease (which seems implied, but never specifically said). But as she died last year, that isn't possible. I will have to ask somebody else, which I will do once I get more into it and do my research. I only read the book yesterday.

This is my take on saturated fats: After much research, and my own experience, there are people like me who can absolutely not function without a lot of protein and saturated fats in their diets. It has been a well-known fact in the medical community (even though nobody will tell you, they'd have to also say they were giving you the wrong advice all these years, so they still give it) that LOW FAT diets cause heart attacks, as your heart (or other muscles, or your brain or any cell for that matter) NEED saturated fats to function.

It's a myth that saturated fats make you fat (unless you REALLY overindulge). The culprit is starches and sugars. If I as much as look at starches I gain weight (okay, I am exaggerating slightly ), while I lose weight when I eat lots of fat, and no starchy foods or sugar. And without fat and lots of protein I have no energy at all. It's the protein and fat that keeps you going, and keeps you from having cravings for 'bad' foods.

The fats that you should ALWAYS avoid are trans-fats, or hydrogenated fats, as they're pure poison. Also, most commercial oils you buy in the grocery store are no good for you, as they're rancid (yes, all those supposedly good for you vegetable oils). People who only use vegetable oils (even the excellent ones) will cause themselves to have deficiencies.

Now, not all people need as much protein and fat as I do. No one diet will work exactly the same for everybody. So, if you're trying the paleo diet, be advised to monitor how you feel, to know how you, personally, need to balance the nutrients. Some would need a lot of protein and fat and less vegetables, others less protein and fat and more veggies, and most people would be somewhere in the middle. Only each individual can decide how they feel, nobody can do it for them.

[Nancym]

Cordain is not 100% solid on saturated fat being bad. I think he's moderating his stance on that in light of new evidence that it probably isn't the main contributer to heart disease (actually... probably carbohydrates are).

Actually, I'm not sure what the Paleo position is on bell peppers, or hot peppers. I assumed it was nixed because they're in the nightshade family. But I might be getting confused with Neanderthin, another diet, or perhaps the arthritis diet: Open Original Shared Link

I really should give them up and see if my arthritis gets better. But they lend so much wonderful flavor to food!

Have you all seen this web site? Open Original Shared Link

And of course: Open Original Shared Link

I started this by reading BTVC and thinking, wow... this is really close to Paleo.

I'm not so sure my recent ancestors matter as far as food choices. I mean, we probably all originated from the same place. How long have Europeans been in Europe?

Oh, btw. I enjoy this message forum for discussing all things Paleo related : Open Original Shared Link? Lots of good support and recipes.

Any "words of wisdom" you might have for me?

Not really. Give it a whirl and let us know how it works for you. I'm just searching for ways to control this stupid autoimmune arthritis I have. :\

Oh! One last thing, it isn't 100% paleo but it comes close. There's a wonderful cookbook called "Garden of Eating", if you like cooking. Just order it from their website, not Amazon (they take weeks and weeks to ship).

[eKatherine]

The problem with "the" paleo diet is that there are numerous versions based on various assumptions about what people used to eat hundreds of thousands of years ago. You'll find vegans who tell you that the natural diet of humans is raw grains and roughage. Nope. People who do paleo feel Cordain's version clearly seems to have made concessions to the medical establishment in order to keep his book from getting totally slammed. My complaint is in his insistance on trimming all fat from meat, which Stone Age people never would have done, followed by the recommendation that you buy, of all things, perilla oil to supplement your diet, hardly a paleo food. Also, he says you should eat only foods of Old World origin, and no root vegetables whatever. I'm not sure about the logic of the root vegetable rule, as hunter-gatherers eat as many of them as they can dig up. If you eat paleo, you'll be eating meat, fish, and poultry, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

[mle-ii]

The problem with "the" paleo diet is that there are numerous versions based on various assumptions about what people used to eat hundreds of thousands of years ago. You'll find vegans who tell you that the natural diet of humans is raw grains and roughage. Nope. People who do paleo feel Cordain's version clearly seems to have made concessions to the medical establishment in order to keep his book from getting totally slammed. My complaint is in his insistance on trimming all fat from meat, which Stone Age people never would have done, followed by the recommendation that you buy, of all things, perilla oil to supplement your diet, hardly a paleo food. Also, he says you should eat only foods of Old World origin, and no root vegetables whatever. I'm not sure about the logic of the root vegetable rule, as hunter-gatherers eat as many of them as they can dig up. If you eat paleo, you'll be eating meat, fish, and poultry, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

Agreed, especially the root vegetables. Hell, I've recently picked up a book on Native American uses of vegetation in the Pacfic Nortwest, the defintly used root vegetables.

[jerseyangel]

I went the hard way, and through figuring out which foods that I am intolerant to, came to eat this way. Kind of by process of elimination!

I eat meats, veggies (including root), fruit, nuts, olive oil and spring water. When I eat this way, I feel better, clearer, and can maintain a good weight. I sometimes sneak in a little dark chocolate--but too much, and I can tell the difference.

[skinnyminny]

This type of diet makes a lot of since to me, I understand we do not need the grains and milk products do not seem like they should be digested by people.. Lots of people have trouble with both. I seem to be fine eating corn, potato and rice products. I am also trying to maintain my weight and without these added startches I do not see how that would be possible does anyone have an opinion on if this diet is for everyone or just if you are in need of weightloss?

[eKatherine]

Since you won't be eating as much starches, you will need to increase the fat content of your diet. You can do this by buying fattier meat and not trimming it well.

[BBadgero]

Agreed, especially the root vegetables. Hell, I've recently picked up a book on Native American uses of vegetation in the Pacfic Nortwest, the defintly used root vegetables.

I am going to buy both books, but on his website thepaleodiet.com/faqs, he states "We go on record as stating that Pre-Agricultural people ate few or no grains, however we have never suggested that they did not eat tubers." Like I said, I am buying the book this weekend, and I think I'll compare it with BTVC too (which I will try to find). Then, my master plan is to tailor to my needs.

I'll definitely let you all know how I feel.... and I hope peppers stay in the diet....

[bluejeangirl]

I am going to buy both books, but on his website thepaleodiet.com/faqs, he states "We go on record as stating that Pre-Agricultural people ate few or no grains, however we have never suggested that they did not eat tubers." Like I said, I am buying the book this weekend, and I think I'll compare it with BTVC too (which I will try to find). Then, my master plan is to tailor to my needs.

I'll definitely let you all know how I feel.... and I hope peppers stay in the diet....

I'm close to this diet also and have been most of the summer. However the changes I've made are all vegetables except potatoes (I just don't do well with them) and when I eat carrots and root veggies they're in small amts. I also added rice in small amts. I felt I needed the B vits. I did really good except a few times where I wasn't eating fruit and my carbs got too low. I couldn't sleep at night because of it. I need a certain levels of carbs to produce serotonin which turns to melatonin at night to sleep.

I added dairy back into my diet 6 weeks ago. I wanted to gain weight. Well I did which is good and now I'm at the weight I like....120 for my 5'7" frame but I don't like the gas I get having it. So I don't know what I'll do. I'm probably going to cut it out again and see if I start losing, hopefully not.

I haven't bought the book but I will eventually. I read off Internet sites. I always end up editing it for my own needs anyway so it keeps me from really adapting the philosophy of it all. I never entered any discussion groups about it although I read them. I do believe there was probably less disease eating this way, or the way we ate before agriculture. I'm just sort of anti grain. We should write a book called the anti grain diet and then we can have milk in our coffee. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_15')

Gail

[jcc]

Has anyone heard of the cookbook "The Garden of Eating" by Rachel and Don Matesz ?

" Our purpose is to guide you toward greater health through optimal nutrition. The Garden of Eating is more than a diet book and more than a cookbook. It's a comprehensive guide to natural eating. It's principles are not new. They are based on the ancient, time-tested food ways of preagricultural people free of modern degenerative diseases. This plan is vegetable rich but not vegetarian."

Can I post the link? I need to go read the rules here .

The Paleodiet Site has a pretty nice recipe page, too.

Cara

[Guest AutumnE]

I will be on the paleo diet starting in two days

I am also getting sick of glutened accidentally and I know its better for me with my insulin resistance. Im losing weight just going gluten free but my goal is to be healthier than I am now plus I know I will lose weight faster than I am now like I did when I was on it before.

[Nancym]

I've redoubled my efforts. I'm having a hard time staying away from peanuts and peanut butter though.

I've managed to trim my coffee consumption down to 2 cups a day (a small miracle I might add, I was heavily addicted).

My gut is doing SO much better.

[corinne]

Ursula,

A number of us on the board are following the spec. carb. diet. You can pick up the threads with the search engine. I'm doing the SCD minus dairy. The SCD doesn't cure celiac disease in that you can eat gluten again. It is a gluten free diet and cures the symptoms of celiac.