Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Embrace Your Inner Caveman!


Ever heard of the Paleo Diet? During my searching on TOO MANY fitness and nutrition sites, I have come across many different diets or eating habits. But when I came across the Paleo Diet, I had to do some research, this one was new to me, and I might add, I don't think it appeals to me at all.

Here is some background:

  • It is a simple dietary lifestyle that is based the Paleolithic Era (in) foods that we ate prior to agriculture and animal husbandry (meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruit, berries, mushrooms, etc.). And the Neolithic Era (out) foods that result from agriculture or animal husbandry (grains, dairy, beans/legumes, potatoes, sugar and fake foods).
  • Under the paleo concept the quantities consumed of each “in” food is up to the individual. You can make it meat heavy if you want, or more fruit and veggies if you prefer, as long as the foods you eat are paleo. Fruits in the Paleolithic would have been tart and smaller, and you may want to limit modern fruit because of this.
  • Only oils from fruit and nut trees are acceptable ie. olive, avocado, coconut.
  • Meat should be wild game, but as a substitute grass-fed meat is allowed.
actually the list goes on, if you are interested here is the Paleo website and check out the top 10 Paleo foods here.

It seems that the crowd over at CrossFit are big proponents of this diet, along with some triathletes.  It seems to be to be similar to the Atkins diet, although possibly a little more restrictive.

Want to know how to be a modern day cavemen? check out these city-slickers.


I hate being restricted in my food choices - life is just TOO SHORT!  I am a big proponent of avoiding processed food.  I have to eat, wherever possible, home-cooked and  healthy food - and this diet looks just too boring for me - there has to be some joy in food don't you think?


Do you have an opinion?



(google image)

3 comments:

  1. Hi Amanda

    Here is my opinion on the Paleo diet.

    Good:
    - whole foods (organic, local, grass fed, non processed etc)
    - hell of a lot more healthy than a traditional diet
    - crossfit respects nutrition, unlike gyms like goodlife who won't hire nutritionists

    Bad:
    - not enough carbs after training limits results
    - the way they teach it (from what i've seen) is not practical or easy to implement

    Notes:
    - how can they limit processed everything, but then make it ok to have some supps like vitamin D. This should open the door for other interventions

    - just b/c people did something to survive doesn't make it optimal. Just like we can't use this rationale to justify yoga and herbs as a cure-all, or traditional martial arts training (no strength training) as ideal

    I'm not saying modern science is the answer. It clearly is not! take whole foods + sports nutrition + a method to implement it that works, that's Kyle Byron Nutrition. And that's why my client are successful. toot toot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I couldn't live my life without bread!! Bread is not evil! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Any nutritional protocol the requires hyper vigilance has the ability to increase daily stress and thus, increase cortisol levels. There has to be a balance between stress management and implementing healthy lifestyle behaviours. If I put one of my busy mom clients who is going for tenure in the highly academic arena, I would be pushing her over the edge. Anyone who is truly interested helping an individual needs to look at that person in a holistic way (physical, emotional, spiritual). I always come back to the slight edge: it's better to find sustainable changes that someone can stick with FOREVER than get someone doing something extreme for a short period of time.
    That's my experience relevant to the population I attract at Urbanfitt. I especially don't throw judgement at people for what they can and can't manage during the lifestyle change process.
    Jane Clapp
    Urbanfitt

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails