The Paleo Diet: So Easy a Caveman did it! By Dale Wyrick

As I mentioned before, this week is dedicated to lifestyle diets. I like to explain the difference between a lifestyle diet and weight-loss diet by using this quote, "A lifestyle diet transforms a poisoned life into a healthy life. A weight loss diet changes your pant size. Be smart. Eat. And eat right." - Author unknown. Special thanks to Dale for introducing the Paleo Diet to GiveThemRoots.

Many of you have recovered from the Holidays and set a New Year's resolution to lose weight and eat healthy. You may have found it difficult to select from the new faddish diets and decide what to do. You also are wondering if the claims of health, vitality and weight loss are true. Possible you have wondered if the diet has even be tested.

I have been in the same boat, confused by all of the information, skeptical of the claims and worried if the prescribed diet is a healthy lifestyle change. I found a diet. NO, not a diet, a way of eating that is well researched, has thousands of years of proven results and is not just for temporarily losing weight. The Paleo Diet is a regimen of eating based on the diet of our ancestors.

I feed my entire family based on the rules of the Paleo diet and we have all seen healthy changes, physically and emotionally.

This is not about dieting but eating food your body is evolutionally designed to eat.

Imagine, 2.5 million years ago, a man and woman wandering the land to hunt and gather food. This lifestyle may not be remotely similar to what we are experiencing now, but our genetic code and the evolution of our bodies found its roots in this lifestyle. Thousands of years, man ate naturally and did not farm or process food.

The agricultural revolution of roughly 10,000 years ago and subsequently the industrial revolution have defined our lifestyle eating habits of today. The problem is our bodies are not designed for these changes and we have not overcome the 2,490,000 years of evolution prior to these changes in diet. The result for our society has been crippling. We have seen a dramatic increase in so called "lifestyle diseases"; obesity, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, gout, osteoporosis, strokes, and asthma (too name a few.) No one of those diseases were present at these levels in pre-agricultural societies and were not the leading causes of death, as they are today.

Obviously, we need a change. We need a model for better eating. The model comes from our ancestors and is presented in the form of The Paleo Diet researched and published by Dr. Loren Cordain.

The rules of The Paleo Diet are simple and make logical sense.
Eat lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots, nuts and seeds; exclude grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

That's it people. Simple as that. Stay away from the middle of your grocery store. Buy your food fresh and eat only in these categories. It's pretty broad based, you have a lot of room to create great tasting meals and still be healthy.

So how does the diet work?

"With readily available modern foods, The Paleo Diet mimics the types of foods every single person on the planet ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (a mere 500 generations ago). These foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood) are high in the beneficial nutrients (soluble fiber, antioxidant vitamins, phytochemicals, omega-3 and monounsaturated fats, and low-glycemic carbohydrates) that promote good health and are low in the foods and nutrients (refined sugars and grains, saturated and trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods) that frequently may cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems. The Paleo Diet encourages dieters to replace dairy and grain products with fresh fruits and vegetables -- foods that are more nutritious than whole grains or dairy products." from http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs

What results can I expect?

You will begin to look like our ancient ancestors, caveman or cavewoman! Don't worry. No animal skin clothes or excessive hair. Dr. Cordain describes our Paleolithic ancestors as "lean, fit and free from heart disease and other ailments that plague Western countries." Now, he adds: "Look at us. We're a mess. We eat too much, we eat the wrong foods, and we're fat."

Can I feed my children this way?

Absolutely, I recommend it. Paleo man did. Here is the answer directly from The Paleo Diet website:
"I do not advocate completely restricting processed food from children because eating involves behavioral issues that transcend the pure nutritional issues. We do not live as hunter-gatherers but rather as westerners in an industrialized world, and it is important to make children aware of good and bad food choices. The best way to get your child to eat junk food is to completely restrict it. In our household, we serve typical Paleo foods (fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats and seafood) at every meal and encourage our children to eat these foods. We stock very little processed food in the house, so if your children are hungry their choices are primarily healthy nutritious foods. We do not allow unlimited access to either TV or computers or electronic games, but rather encourage our children to be active in outdoor games and play. I believe that for active children certain high glycemic load foods, particularly during growth and development, may not be harmful. We do not restrict dried fruit (raisins, dates, etc), potatoes, and encourage consumption of bananas, yams and sweet potatoes."

Generally, I provide all the healthy options but I do not force my children to eat strictly. It will become too unpleasant and later a force of negativity between you. Understand that they will have to make their own choices but under your guidance will be much healthier.

Where can I find out more information?

The ultimate resource book. The Paleo Diet by Dr Loren Cordain

Here are some useful links.
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/ Frequently Asked Questions answered by Dr Cordain and staff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCFZoqmKf5M A Video Explanation for those without time to read more

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/nutritional_tools/recipes.shtml Paleo Diet Recipes

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/about-2/who-is-grok/ Mark Sisson author of Primal Blueprint has similar ideas and research

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/

Recent Press Articles:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101611.html

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100104/COLUMNISTS0603/1040320/1002/sports/Paleo+diet+takes+us+back+to+healthy+caveman+days

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/fashion/10caveman.html


Dale Wyrick. I am a fitness enthusiast with a recent hobby of cooking and healthy eating leading me to research nutrition. I spend much of my free time reading blogs, research and discussing diet with other people. I would be glad to answer questions about this article or direct you to where to find out more for yourself.