Positive Coping Mechanism Of Paleo Diet

[WheatChef]

I very recently decided to give the Paleo diet a read after connecting stomach discomfort to gluten-free potato chips and other high carb meals. The more I read, the more it made sense and so I finally decided to take the plunge a week ago and make a dedication to try the paleo (plus low carb dairy) diet a try for the remainder of 2010. Aside from the awkward mood issues associated with my body switching to full on ketosis I noticed something the other day as I was grocery shopping. Almost all of the frustration I normally feel while in a grocery store surrounded by a lack of variety of safe products had dissipated as I no longer cared at all about finding a safe gluten-free alternative to a normal gluteny type of item.

Instead of walking down the baked goods aisle and hopefully looking for any new safe brands I simply realized that I didn't care at all what that aisle had to offer. After having read over all of the potential health implications of eating grains and starchy vegetables I no longer felt the need to find safe gluten-free versions of products based on such foods and the majority of what I was shopping for (meats/organs/fats/eggs/leafy vegetables/herbs and spices) were naturally gluten free with no ingredients labels to have to check.

I know the transition into going gluten-free was severely stressful to me as I had to read what seemed like every single letter on every single supermarket item and it was something I had no choice in. With the power to have actually voluntarily chosen to go paleo however it seems to make abstaining from all these foods much easier emotionally than if it were just by medical necessity alone.

What about the rest of you? What diet types have you settled into after going gluten-free? (poll at top) Have these diets made it more or less stressful to remain gluten free in consumption?

[Katie B]

Hi WheatChef,

What paleo diet are you following? Is there a specific website?

I still can't tolerate carbs very well and, like you, when I cut out (or was forced to cut out) a lot of gluten-free carbs I found I was less frustrated as well and spent less time foraging at various health food stores.

I still consume small portions of carbs because I have a very limited diet and need the calories.

Are you worried about high protein intake and its long-term effects? Are you worried that you won't get enough energy/calories from this diet?

[missy'smom]

Sorry for the goofy posting. My posts are getting messed up

[WheatChef]

My diet's kind of just based on a large number of research papers I've read. I haven't read through it yet but the Primal Blueprint diet: Open Original Shared Link seems pretty close. I've taken care to increase my fat consumption more than my protein intake (this is where the dairy comes into great use) and it's somewhat difficult to fully assess what the damaging effects of increased protein consumption would end up being since most studies related to that are still high in carb intake or low in fat intake. High carb intake however is also what causes fat consumption to be potentially problematic. So basically you'd need to look only at studies of people in ketosis with a high protein intake of which there are very few available.

I would have gone paleo before but I was always slightly averse to the concept of its stricter forms as I've never been totally convinced of any argument that thinks people or European descent should abstain from dairy products.

As far as getting an appropriate amount of calories... well fat is a much more abundant source of calories than carbs! While protein and carbs contain 4Cal/g a gram of fat contains 9 Calories. Through a constant supply of eggs, fatty cuts of meat, avocados (love em), nut butters, butter butter and coconut/olive oils I doubt I've developed a deficiency of calories. The main calorie light items I eat would be things like leafy greens, at least until they get the butter/lard treatment =). As far as personal energy goes, day to day energy actually increases in ketosis as it's a much more steady supply of energy. The only problem you would have with energy would be something like running a marathon where the body would eventually need glycogen stores but there are still people on these diets who run in marathons.

[missy'smom]

Hi wheatchef,

I've been low-carb for a year and a half now. I felt the same way for a long time at first. It was freeing not to have to bake my own bread etc. I thought almond meal muffins were so much easier than mixing up a bunch of gluten-free flours. I'm just struggling now because I am restricted beyond Paleo. If I could upgrade to Paleo, I happily would. But, on the positive side, my health has benefitted much from the changes I've made.

To the other poster. No worries about higher protein and low-carb and health. I follow a low-carb diet developed by a diabetes specialist, Dr. Richard Bernstein, who has been on the diet for decades and is a doctor with type 1. He gets regular, extensive tesing and is in fantastic health. He actually reversed his kidney disease, that had been caused by poorly controlled blood sugar with conventional methods. My bloodwork is great too.

For weight, energy, calories, it's important to get enough fats and protein.

I like Mark's Daily Apple too. Great recipes!

[rdunbar]

I've been eating paleo @ 8 months now, with great results. no dairy, nightshades, quinoa, very little nuts. i've gotten where i'm really happy, and comfortable with it. like wheatchef, when i go to the grocery store, i don't miss any of the packaged stuff at all. thanks for the tip about Marks' daily apple, i'll check it out!

[cahill]

Moderate carb consumption (30-40%) without grain products ,

I track my food on another web site. My carbs for today were at 33.41%,, which was 148 grams of carbs from non-grain sources. I am eating non fat dairy and nightshades seen to be ok for me so far.

I have seen the web site Marks daily apple and I agree that eating paleo is a great way to eat, if you can consume that much meat. My body is not to fond of meat.I try to eat as much of the meats my body will tolerate as I can. I need the dairy and the potatoes to keep my calories and protein from dropping way to low.

I am still a work in progress

[chasbari]

When I tried the western equivalency gluten free sort of like normal diet in the beginning I experienced much of the same anxiety with label reading, etc. I also felt less bad but not really better. Within 48 hours of going paleo not only did my celiac respond in a much more profoundly positive way but my rheumatoid arthritis, er, should I say severe rheumatoid arthritis, and reflux and heartburn and seemingly everything else, radically improved. Been sticking with it for over two years. Wouldn't do it any differently. Made compliance very easy. I would recommend it to anyone but they all think I am certifiably crazy for eating this way. I see it just the opposite...

[gfForLife]

I voted in the Paleo catergory although I'm not ultra low carb. I eat low-moderate carbs with starchy vegetables and some fruit. I've been off and on primal/paleo since march of this year and it's actually how I learned about my gluten intolerance. I never knew how many stomach/digestion issues I had until they were gone for a while and I would "slip" off the diet, feel horrible, then realize I used to feel like that all the time. Awful! I am so much happier now.

And yes, it is SO MUCH easier just eating paleo than worrying about making gluten free replacements for SAD foods and finding "safe" processed foods. Once those things are out of the picture most of the anxiety, stress, and annoyance of it all just goes away. I've tried plenty of gluten-free replacement foods and none are really worth the time and money for the poor nutrition and taste of them.

Right now I am on The Whole 30 plan for november. No dairy, no sugar, basically paleo but stricter and my stomach has never felt better than it has the last few days.

Grains are for the birds...or whatever animal is supposed to eat them but they don't agree with me.