So… you’ve heard of the Paleo Diet? (This article will not be useful for vegetarians/vegans)

I saw Loren Cordain (Author – The Paleo Diet) who’s been researching food and how it affects us for over 20 years, at a congress in 2009.  Loren was amazing.  He linked just about anything that wasn’t on the Paleo Diet to chronic disease.  This’ll be no surprise but preservatives, flavourings, processed foods, sugars, excessive salts, meats with marbled fat, foods that have been genetically changed, grains, grains, grains… all are linked with insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, ADHD, Aspergers and Autism, cancer, dementia and so much more.

The idea of the paleo diet is to eat what we are genetically designed to eat – for thousands of years.  Our body’s are not keeping up with the changes to foods in the past 50-100 years and as a race, we are suffering!  Think about your genes for just a second – do you have dodgy genes? Do you look at family members and think you’re just having a lot of bad-luck-health-wise?  Well, Paleo can help to reverse genetic defects by feeding our body the food it is genetically designed to eat!

WHAT TO EAT?!

Meats, seafood and eggs are perhaps the most important component of the Paleo Diet. So many people are reducing these foods for reasons such as cholesterol, bowel cancer, acidity, cancer – but to what effect?  These health issues have not reduced in the past 30 years – they’ve increased!  As always, there’s a balance in life!

In a perfect world, or if the choice is there, the meats, seafood and eggs should be organically grown, bred in the wild (not grain fed), and best choosing low-fat meats.  For example, here in Australia kangaroo meat is fantastic – 2% fat compared to lamb meat which has up to 40% marbled fat (even lean-lamb).   Obviously they shouldn’t be ‘breaded’ or ‘coated’ when cooking.

Vegetables are encouraged… pretty much all vegetables that can be eaten raw are allowed on the diet.  Since legumes are not permitted in Paleo, that means green beans and peas not allowed since they are legumes. Potatoes and other starchy tubers are not allowed.

Fruits… are generally allowed.  For those with insulin resistance (Triglycerides / HDL Cholesterol should be < 0.8) or who want to lose weight:  reducing to 1 piece per day until insulin resistance/weight gain is under control.

Nuts…are generally allowed.  For those trying to lose weight, keep nuts to around 140g daily.  Raw is best.  Cooking nuts changes good oils into carcinogenic oils.  Or lightly roast them yourself so that you are in control of heating, oils and salt.  Unsweetened almond milk and coconut milk are used in place of dairy milk.

Oils…  Generally oils from allowed plants are fine. Olive oil, nut oils, and flax seed oil are universally endorsed. Cordain recommends canola oil, but not coconut oil. Fish oil supplements are often recommended.

Beverages…  Cordain is quite lenient about beverages.  Many Paleo researchers say it’s water and tea, and limited quantities of juice – specifically no coffee and no alcohol. Cordain – anything other than water should only be drunk in moderation, with the following recommendations.

• Diet soft-drinks (very controversial in the Paleo community from what I can tell – diet drinks contain neuro-toxins and naturopathically I would never recommend them.)
• Coffee & Tea (limited)

Also, although in one place Cordain says alcohol “should be limited to an occasional glass of wine, beer, or spirits”, in another place in the book he defines moderation as:

• Wine – 2 x 1/2 glasses
• Beer – 1.5 glasses
• Spirits – 2 x 1/2 glass (which is more than is recommended by anyone else, Paleo or not)

FORBIDDEN!!!!

Refined Sugars

There is a long list of foods which are basically sugar – Some allow small amounts of honey or pure maple syrup – but this would have been a rare treat.

Grains

Yes, there were wild grains, and a few roasted kernels have been found in ancient fires. But really – how much wild grain could have been collected at a time? Answer: not much. Corn is a grain.

Starchy Tubers

No starchy tubers, including

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Yams
• Cassava
• Manioc
• Some say beets

Legumes (Beans, Peas, Peanuts)

Generally not allowed – much is made of the lectins in legumes, but basically, no!

Dairy Products

No  Paleo researchers endorse eating dairy: milk, butter, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese,,,

Some Meats

Most processed meats (made with nitrites and additives) are not allowed, including hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and lunch meats, although sometime more healthy forms of these can be found. Cordain does not allow fatty cuts of meat, including poultry skin and dark meat.

Oils

Definitely avoid the following:

• Corn oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Peanut oil
• Soybean oil
• Rice bran oil
• Wheat germ oil
• Palm Oil (environmentally – worst oil)

This includes products, such as mayonnaise, which include these oils.

Oils with a better ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids are preferred.  Cordain is down on coconut and palm oils yet other researchers allow these.

Salt

Using natural flavours/herbs is best.

Other

• Vinegar – Lemon or lime juice is preferred over vinegar; no pickled products.
• Yeast is not allowed

Madonna Guy ND
New Leaf Natural Therapies
33486098 / 0417 643 849
www.newleafnaturaltherapies.com