The paleo diet has been named one of the worst diets of the year by the British Dietetic Association (1) and U.S. News (2). But the year before it was on top of the charts. What makes this so? Find out why I still prefer the paleo diet, regardless of this year?s highs and lows.
Diet fad lists are often no more than popularity contests. Journalists generally don?t study the patients but ask the dietitians who are simply trying to keep up with the newest trends. Diet reviews that publish results based on popularity often come out skewed and biased. Dietitians can be of great assistance, but they usually don?t have the tools to test blood levels and body patterns in order to find out what?s really going on with the clients. That?s why they often just promote what is in demand at the time.
Then when journalists write about health findings, they have to create their articles from an interesting perspective. Headlines are written with a pointed purpose. Whatever needs to be said to gain popularity will be said. For instance, there was once a plethora of articles that came out after a study, and they all had headlines that read something like ?Ginkgo biloba has no effect on Alzheimer?s disease or dementia? (3). However, that same study showed that the drugs like Aricept and Namenda didn?t help prevent or treat dementia either. Did this part make a headlines? No, it usually didn?t even make the articles.
What is the Paleo Diet?
Regardless of this year?s diet fads and lists, I still favor a paleolithic diet. The paleo diet, for those who are unsure, is eating like our hunter-gatherer ancestors in the Stone age. This includes fruit, vegetables, fresh lean meat, fish, nuts and natural fats. Of course, we are constantly evolving here on earth. But the human body hasn?t evolved as fast as our technology. Processed foods are not natural for us to digest, nor are refined vegetable oils like canola or large amounts of refined sugar. Our digestive systems evolved while hunting and gathering food, not mass farming. That?s why wheat (gluten), dairy products, potatoes, dairy, coffee, refined sugar and salt, and legumes can be taken out of the diet completely. That?s right, no Captain Crunch, no Starbucks, and no ice cream man!
This ?caveman diet? as some call it might give you the support you need to help prevent many common health ailments: heart disease, inflammation, obesity and high blood pressure. It might aid patients with diabetes (4). It also might give you the support to prevent and treat high cholesterol. The widespread conventional belief that cholesterol comes from fat or ?bad fat? is inaccurate?small amounts of natural fat is great for the body. That?s why the paleo diet encourages fats like olive oil, coconut products, and nuts or seeds. Cholesterol might be a result of carbohydrates from grains and gluten, starch, and refined sugars. Our stomachs were not designed to digest those foods, especially grains, simply because there wasn?t agriculture back when.
The bread that we know to be normal has changed greatly in the last 60 years. The strain of yeast has changed, so instead of taking all day or all night for the yeast to take over the gluten, the process has been completely sped up. Bread hundreds of years before this technology was a completely different makeup?especially sourdough bread. Sourdough made traditionally is actually almost gluten-free (5). There are naturally occurring yeasts and lactobacilli that take time to break down the enzymes. This way the dangerous gluten is broken down.
Whole grains are also terribly bad for health. Grain is designed to spread genetic material. Mother nature made grain able to move and spread for crops to flourish. We were not meant to try to digest this hard shell, as it?s just there to protect itself. Like a large nut, the hard toxic shell is an anti nutrient and the genetic material inside is protected by this hard toxic shell. For example, think about a credit card. You aren?t going to keep it in your sleeve or pocket, but in a wallet or purse, where it?s secure. The same goes for whole grains. Nature protects its genetic material in a shell, just like a wallet.
A Diet Alone May Not Change Health
It?s easy to think that if you put something healthy in your mouths (or refrain from eating it) it will magically work. We think the body will absorb good things and make us perfectly healthy. Not the case! This assumption is absolutely not true! I have made this mistake many times over the years as well.
In order to benefit from a paleo diet, the digestive system must be healthy. If it?s in bad shape, no amount of great food will make a difference. For instance, a slim girl once came to me concerned that she was eating more than her very large husband and still never gained weight. Because her digestive system was flawed, everything went right through her system without allowing any foods or nutrients to be absorbed.
Companies often sell cheap products that don?t affect the body. Keep in mind that when you swallow a pill, that pill had to be made with another material to make it hard and colored. White pills might have magnesium stearate in them, which actually creates biofilm and causes huge problems in the digestive system. Biofilm can often be detected in people with teeth that look dirty and not shiny.
Tips for taking healthy pills:
Vegetarian capsules are much more easily digested than pills
Use a liquid form of whatever medicine you?re taking
Stay away from pills with magnesium citrate?you pay money for a pill that can barely be absorbed.
Be aware of pills with magnesium stearate?it?s basically poison
Healthy Diets Still Need Supplementing
There are several areas on earth, called blue zones, where people live much longer?Loma Linda, California, Okinawa, Japan, Sardinia, Italy, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica (6). While there are many theories of why they get the extra years and lessened health issues, there?s no clear pattern why they?re healthier. There?s even plenty of pollution. So what do they have that others don?t? What I?ve noticed is that all of the blue zones have volcanic activity. Minerals come from the bottom of the earth and seep into the fresh foods. Without microelements like these in the body, it?s not possible for enzymes to function.
In most other places around the globe, there is 7-10 times less magnesium in every piece of produce. That means that in order to get an appropriate amount of nutrients, we need to eat 7 apples instead of 1. Obviously, that?s not possible. This is the reason why we need nutrition supplements to assist the modern-day farming. This is the second part to eating a successful diet. You can eat a paleo diet, but if you?re getting 7-10 times less nutrients than our ancestors, so what. What is the point of taking the extra effort?
Although I highly recommend it to many of my patients, the paleo diet alone doesn?t work and it is not for everyone. Do not make any health decisions without consulting your doctor and start paleo diet without doctor?s advice. Due to digestive system problems and to soil exhaustion, other parts of the body need to be addressed before this great diet can take full effect. See a doctor to find out if eating like a caveman can work for you. And if you want to learn more about how it could affect your health specifically, make an appointment today.
1. http://au.ibtimes.com/paleo-diet-comes-second-worst-diets-2014-after-ur…
2. http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/paleo-diet
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/health/research/18gingko.html?_r=0
4. http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/DiabetesStudy.html
5. http://www.celiac.com/articles/23145/1/Is-Sourdough-the-Future-of-Glute…
6. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/longevity-hot-spots