Introducing the paleo diet
by Ed Biado
Before agricultural practices were discovered 10,000 years ago, man’s source of sustenance was hunting and gathering. As early as the ‘70s, the paleolithic way of eating has been advocated as Mother Nature’s design and is the answer in eradicating “diseases of civilization,” like obesity, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases and a host of other medical conditions.
Recently, more people have transitioned from the regular agrarian diet to the caveman diet. But mainstream nutritionists are not convinced. Both the American Dietetic Association and the national Health Service of England have classified it as a fad diet. But what is the paleo diet really all about? Here are the basics:
1. The diet tries to mimic its prehistoric basis as much as possible but because of the absence of wild sources, cultivated plants and domesticated animal meat are consumed instead. It consists of foods that can exclusively be hunted (meat, offal), fished (seafood) and gathered (insects, eggs, sees, nuts, vegetables, herbs). Although, today, no actual hunting takes place to obtain the foods.
2. Grains, legumes and dairy products are avoided because these only started to become readily available during the Neolithic, the first agricultural revolution. It is, therefore, extremely low in carbohydrates and, perhaps, calcium. The diet further excludes salt, refined sugar and processed oils. Everything that’s manufactured is also prohibited.
3. Grass-fed animal meats are generally preferred over grain-fed ones as they contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Also. grass is what animals would normally eat in the wild.
4. A high-protein and low-carb diet, the paleo lifestyle may have cardiovascular protective properties and prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes. It is, however, also unhealthy for someone to practice excessive carbohydrate restriction. Carbohydrate consumption during the paleolithic is debated, as hunter-gatherers at that time could have had a carbohydrate-rich diet by eating tubers.
5. The unrestricted consumption of unprocessed meats translates into high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and virtually zero trans fat. The risk of cardiovascular diseases are, therefore, drastically lessened. Cholesterol, on the other hand, is present in high quantities.
6. A paleo-based diet is generally gluten-free, which could prove suitable for those with gluten sensitivity. (Gluten is a component of wheat, rye and barley.) It is also free of casein, a protein in milk and dairy products that’s been linked to weakening glucose tolerance in humans.
7. Contrary to some beliefs, paleo is not a raw food diet. Cooking is widely accepted and practiced by paleo dieters, as it has been in existence by the middle of the Stone Age. Some proponents, however, prefer to follow earlier practices and refrain from any form of cooking.
8. The viability of the peleo diet is intensely contested. The biggest criticism, perhaps, is that paleolithic cavemen had relatively short lives, an indication that the diet may not promote longevity. Proponents defend this by saying that the early deaths can be attributed to hunting accidents and when the hunter becomes the hunted.
9. The very fact that modern humans have different lifestyles, activities and metabolisms from cavemen poses a valid concern. Opponents are arguing that prehistoric hunter-gatherers (both men and women) was very physically active and presumed to have been able to digest large quantities of meat whereas contemporary humans with sedentary lifestyles can only do so for smaller quantities.
10. Critics are also pointing out that should the paleo diet be proven and generally accepted to be a beneficial diet, implementing it on a worldwide scale is impossible, providing arguments other than the obvious that it’s unpalatable. Discontinuing the cultivation of grains would impair the livelihood of farmers, producing the prescribed food items would be expensive and the supply of the un-fattened pasture-grazed cattle would not be enough.
(Note: The Daily 10 is neither endorsing nor criticizing the paleo diet. This article is for information purposes only.)
from:
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideLifestyle.htm?f=2010/february/17/lifestyle4.isx&d=2010/february/17---------
We are getting popular. Nice catch!
I would like to add that we who practice a RAW PALEO DIET do so because it is the SUPERIOR variant to the cooked paleo diet.
- healing
- cleansing
- mucus free
- pollution free
- raw animal fat is "magic", the original, the healing, nourishing, lubricating, uncorrupted fat. Same with raw protein.
(do you really think you can cure omega3 deficiency using cooked tuna? Obvious logic.)
And I'm also gunning for longevity. If I have grandparents and great grandparents who are centenarians on rice, veggy and cooked animal diets, then I'd like to be a swinging centenarian and live much longer. Hopefully I can reverse the damage done to my system during pre-rpd days.
And as far as implementing paleo diet on a worldwide scale... forget it. Call me selfish. I try so hard publicizing raw paleo diet on my blogs and people don't get it or won't do it. As long as I'm healthy and my family and my descendants are healthy... I'll be happy with that.
I'm on paleo diet because I was sick and dying on SAD. My children heal fast on raw paleo diet. We have very good personal reasons to be on the paleo diet because it keeps us healthy.
