I am reading the book at the moment on the Paleo diet (I forgot the name of the writer and it is upstairs I think it is Corden). His book makes sense. But at some points, I am not convinced by the evidence he is using to show the paleo diet is better than any diet. For example he compares it with to very bad way is dieting. An average day out of a "normal" American, like having donuts for breakfast, going to the Mac for lunch and eat pizza for dinner. If with the normal food today, including wheat and dairy, you can have a much healthier diet. And the other diet was the protein diet, eating very fat meat en dairy and almost no fruit and veggies and very little carbohydrates. Yes well of course that is never a healthy at all. He does not compare it with the nowadays guidelines of what is a healthy diet (what does include fruit and vegetables, the good fat etc). Also I wish in his book he would compare the paleo diet with the Asian diet (before mc donalds invade that part of the world). A lot of rice is on the menu there too. A lot of the auto immune disease we know in the western part of the word, they don't know there (again before they started to change their eating habits there too to the more western style). No doubt I do believe that there is relationship with auto immune diseases and food (diary, soy, wheat the gluten etc) and that eating lean meat, all kind of seafood, vegetables and fruit is a very healthy thing to do.
I am just struggling with, I want to do what is best for my health. But also I would like to eat what I like (considering what is possible of being gluten, dairy, soy, egg, yeast and corn free). And between those two I am looking for a balance. Veggies and lean meat and fish for lunch and diner, fine, but even for breakfast include fish or meat, no thank you. I just like to have (some) cereals for breakfast of course gluten free (rice flakes for example) of course with fruit and stuff. And once and while I would like to eat an ice cream (water ice cream for example) or a bar of chocolate or candy. I now this is all bad according to this diet, no nutrients, wrong type of fat and lots of sugar. Or make pancakes, a cake, or my rice crackers with jam. Not a lot but at least every day a little bit of something nice and sweet. And to be honest I do not believe rice food for human beings, but it is on the no list of paleo.
How to people on this board do with this diet. Just use it as a guide line for healthy food and living for your meals and adjust a to your personal needs. In the book there is the 80/20 rule. It would be more like 70/30 I think. How to find a balance.
questions about the paleo diet
Moderators: Rosie, JFR, Dee, xet, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh, mbeezie
Dear Harma,
I understand your struggle. I follow the paleo diet about 95 percent of the time. I do indulge with some processed meat and bread as a special treat. That said, I have learned to enjoy a breakfast of leftovers from the previous day lunch or dinner. I am lucky in that I can eat eggs and don't remember if that is a problem for you. That makes a good breakfast as an omelet with my favorite veggies.
Check out the section on this Board for Paleo recipes and comments from others.
Good luck,
Jan
I understand your struggle. I follow the paleo diet about 95 percent of the time. I do indulge with some processed meat and bread as a special treat. That said, I have learned to enjoy a breakfast of leftovers from the previous day lunch or dinner. I am lucky in that I can eat eggs and don't remember if that is a problem for you. That makes a good breakfast as an omelet with my favorite veggies.
Check out the section on this Board for Paleo recipes and comments from others.
Good luck,
Jan
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. - Saint Francis of Assisi
Hi Harma,
I can't speak for Loren Cordain, of course, but I suspect that the reason why he chose to compare the paleo diet with the American food choices that he did, (rather than what is considered to be a "healthy" diet), is because that is the way that most Americans eat. Statistically, very few of us actually eat a healthy diet, (present company excepted, as they say). LOL. We like to talk about healthy diets, and pretend that we are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, but the fact of the matter is that most of us do not eat a healthy diet, and most of us do not live a healthy lifestyle, (we don't get near enough exercise). The traditional Asian diet might be much healthier than the typical Western diet, but it is a unique subset, and it is rapidly falling by the wayside, anyway, as the Western diet is adopted in that part of the world.
Rice is not on the "No" list because it is inherently unhealthy, it is there because it is not a paleo food. Rice, (like all grains), did not even exist, until roughly 10,000 years ago, so it was never a part of the paleo diet. The paleo diet is not based on "healthy" foods, (though all of them are indeed healthy) - it is based on foods eaten by our ancient ancestors, during the paleolithic period of time in our history, (from several million years ago, up until about 10,000 years ago).
Rice, (and all other grains), are neolithic foods. That is, they were developed during the neolithic period of time in our history, after agriculture became a part of the lifestyle of our ancestors, (roughly 10,000 years ago). There is no law that says that you cannot eat a modified paleo diet, that contains a few neolithic foods of your choice, and many of us do that. Jam, by the way, is a paleo food, (since it is made of fruit), so long as it does not contain added sugar. A little chocolate, now and then, never hurt anyone. A lot of chocolate can be toxic. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is an alkaloid, found in chocolate, tea, cola beverages, and açaí berries. 26 mg of theobromine, per kg of body weight, is toxic to humans. Dogs, cats and horses are especially vulnerable to theobromine poisoning, and less than 16 mg per kg of body weight can be fatal for them.
As Jan points out, we all have to choose a diet that best suits our needs, and our preferences. I used to eat cereal for breakfast pretty regularly, but now, I eat only protein-rich foods for breakfast - eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, etc. When I was in the healing stage of my recovery, I even ate things such as porkchops, or steak, for breakfast. I've always thought that protein is important for starting the day off right, but that's just my personal preference.
Unfortunately, most of the members here who are paleo diet "purists", rarely log in and post, but maybe one of them will happen to log on and see your post.
Tex
I can't speak for Loren Cordain, of course, but I suspect that the reason why he chose to compare the paleo diet with the American food choices that he did, (rather than what is considered to be a "healthy" diet), is because that is the way that most Americans eat. Statistically, very few of us actually eat a healthy diet, (present company excepted, as they say). LOL. We like to talk about healthy diets, and pretend that we are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, but the fact of the matter is that most of us do not eat a healthy diet, and most of us do not live a healthy lifestyle, (we don't get near enough exercise). The traditional Asian diet might be much healthier than the typical Western diet, but it is a unique subset, and it is rapidly falling by the wayside, anyway, as the Western diet is adopted in that part of the world.
Rice is not on the "No" list because it is inherently unhealthy, it is there because it is not a paleo food. Rice, (like all grains), did not even exist, until roughly 10,000 years ago, so it was never a part of the paleo diet. The paleo diet is not based on "healthy" foods, (though all of them are indeed healthy) - it is based on foods eaten by our ancient ancestors, during the paleolithic period of time in our history, (from several million years ago, up until about 10,000 years ago).
Rice, (and all other grains), are neolithic foods. That is, they were developed during the neolithic period of time in our history, after agriculture became a part of the lifestyle of our ancestors, (roughly 10,000 years ago). There is no law that says that you cannot eat a modified paleo diet, that contains a few neolithic foods of your choice, and many of us do that. Jam, by the way, is a paleo food, (since it is made of fruit), so long as it does not contain added sugar. A little chocolate, now and then, never hurt anyone. A lot of chocolate can be toxic. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is an alkaloid, found in chocolate, tea, cola beverages, and açaí berries. 26 mg of theobromine, per kg of body weight, is toxic to humans. Dogs, cats and horses are especially vulnerable to theobromine poisoning, and less than 16 mg per kg of body weight can be fatal for them.
As Jan points out, we all have to choose a diet that best suits our needs, and our preferences. I used to eat cereal for breakfast pretty regularly, but now, I eat only protein-rich foods for breakfast - eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, etc. When I was in the healing stage of my recovery, I even ate things such as porkchops, or steak, for breakfast. I've always thought that protein is important for starting the day off right, but that's just my personal preference.
Unfortunately, most of the members here who are paleo diet "purists", rarely log in and post, but maybe one of them will happen to log on and see your post.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Harma - Hi!!
You are making a lot of sense with your "common sense" attitude. It is a good idea to have a healthy balanced diet in mind as an "end result" after you figure out how to become symptom free. If you are new to figuring out which foods make you sick it is not so important to eat a balanced diet - you will find that balance later as you become better at knowing which things do NOT make you sick.
-
Rice, you mentioned rice. When I started to find my way after having been diagnosed in summer 2004 I ate a lot of rice, mostly brown rice. Rice does not give me a bad reaction. I am fine with rice as far as the MC is concerned. I can also eat potatos which I believe is also not a strict paleo food item.
If you like rice as part of your diet you can purchase a rice cooker or you can do some stove top meals tha consist of rice, vegetables, and meat - all cooked together. This is very easy. Also, it is easy to refrigerate leftovers, pull them out and reheat for breakfast - yes, meat and veggies for breakfast!!!!!! or as a lunch or dinner item the next day(s).
-
Later I experimented with the strict paleo diet after reading not only Loren Cordain's book but several other books including also reading some online forums where people where sharing recipes and paleo diet experiences (not people inflicted with colitis but "nuts" that wanted to follow the diet for other more idealistic reasons or as means of breaking away from the all American Average diet, perhaps wanting to loose weight etc, the reasons were many). In that period I stopped eating rice and/or potatos. It required a lot more preparing of vegetables as I was quite hungry and ate a lot, especially while training for long distance runs. There is one book in particular that inspired me and that educated me about insulin and the high glycemic foods. That book was/is written by two MDs (University Trained and Certifyed Medical Doctors), the book is "Protein Power" written by the Eades. They also have a web site now - I found it recently. When you eat refined carbs such as rice or potatos your body responds by increasing the production of insulin. The insulin lowers the level of glucose in the blood but it also signals the brain/body to store calories in the fat cells. In other words it is not helpful in terms of keeping a healthy weight. It can also cause a lot of other negative health implications - please, read the book yourself or find the web site and study. It will probably open your eyes and make you think twice about not wanting to eat meat or fish for breakfast.
-
Sweets and treats come in many forms, not just as cakes and cookies or sugary jams and candy. You can enjoy some dried fruit for example. Dates, especially the large Medjool Dates are wonderful and also contain fiber and nutrients not found in Cane Sugar (or Beet Sugar).
_Keep experimenting - you will find ways that work for you. I don't think it is necessary to keep a strict paleo diet in order to stay symptom free; I know I don't follow strict Paleo Guidelines anymore and I am still symptom free.
You are making a lot of sense with your "common sense" attitude. It is a good idea to have a healthy balanced diet in mind as an "end result" after you figure out how to become symptom free. If you are new to figuring out which foods make you sick it is not so important to eat a balanced diet - you will find that balance later as you become better at knowing which things do NOT make you sick.
-
Rice, you mentioned rice. When I started to find my way after having been diagnosed in summer 2004 I ate a lot of rice, mostly brown rice. Rice does not give me a bad reaction. I am fine with rice as far as the MC is concerned. I can also eat potatos which I believe is also not a strict paleo food item.
If you like rice as part of your diet you can purchase a rice cooker or you can do some stove top meals tha consist of rice, vegetables, and meat - all cooked together. This is very easy. Also, it is easy to refrigerate leftovers, pull them out and reheat for breakfast - yes, meat and veggies for breakfast!!!!!! or as a lunch or dinner item the next day(s).
-
Later I experimented with the strict paleo diet after reading not only Loren Cordain's book but several other books including also reading some online forums where people where sharing recipes and paleo diet experiences (not people inflicted with colitis but "nuts" that wanted to follow the diet for other more idealistic reasons or as means of breaking away from the all American Average diet, perhaps wanting to loose weight etc, the reasons were many). In that period I stopped eating rice and/or potatos. It required a lot more preparing of vegetables as I was quite hungry and ate a lot, especially while training for long distance runs. There is one book in particular that inspired me and that educated me about insulin and the high glycemic foods. That book was/is written by two MDs (University Trained and Certifyed Medical Doctors), the book is "Protein Power" written by the Eades. They also have a web site now - I found it recently. When you eat refined carbs such as rice or potatos your body responds by increasing the production of insulin. The insulin lowers the level of glucose in the blood but it also signals the brain/body to store calories in the fat cells. In other words it is not helpful in terms of keeping a healthy weight. It can also cause a lot of other negative health implications - please, read the book yourself or find the web site and study. It will probably open your eyes and make you think twice about not wanting to eat meat or fish for breakfast.
-
Sweets and treats come in many forms, not just as cakes and cookies or sugary jams and candy. You can enjoy some dried fruit for example. Dates, especially the large Medjool Dates are wonderful and also contain fiber and nutrients not found in Cane Sugar (or Beet Sugar).
_Keep experimenting - you will find ways that work for you. I don't think it is necessary to keep a strict paleo diet in order to stay symptom free; I know I don't follow strict Paleo Guidelines anymore and I am still symptom free.
thanks all for the replies, I think I just will give my self some time to get used to me new diet anyway, avoiding all the intolerances and get my life back on track. I will use the paleo diet as a guidance. What is not so difficult according to the things left to eat, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables and rice. I don't want to go back into the habits having carbohydrates as an important part of the daily food, expect for now the rice and rice crackers. Occasionally maybe make pancakes of bake a cake for a birthday or a party.
At the moment I still get quite nervous when I see the Paleo diet (even eggs are on my no list, but not a big problem I don't like eggs). It is me, not the diet. I suffered from an eating disorder for years and finally got totally over it 2,5 years ago. I still remember the day, 15 of July 2007, the same day I start meditating and get rid of my tele. The years of my eating disorder I always have been telling myself what I may or may not eat. I am finally over that. But having a new set of living rules in the form of a diet, it think mentally it will cost me more than what it will give me. Dealing with all my food allergies/intolerances that goes very well.
Funny part is also my whole life I have struggling with me weight. Once I gave up to years ago I start losing it. Not that I was fat, not at all. Thinking I was too fat. And now, with all my intolerances and the 'diet' I am on now, I will never get fat again. Also for the first in my life with the MC I started to worry not wanting to loose any more. But it is going perfect now, I don't gain I don't loose.
I will use the cordain book for preparing lunch and dinner, they look quite good to make meet, fish and veggies more tasteful.
At the moment I still get quite nervous when I see the Paleo diet (even eggs are on my no list, but not a big problem I don't like eggs). It is me, not the diet. I suffered from an eating disorder for years and finally got totally over it 2,5 years ago. I still remember the day, 15 of July 2007, the same day I start meditating and get rid of my tele. The years of my eating disorder I always have been telling myself what I may or may not eat. I am finally over that. But having a new set of living rules in the form of a diet, it think mentally it will cost me more than what it will give me. Dealing with all my food allergies/intolerances that goes very well.
Funny part is also my whole life I have struggling with me weight. Once I gave up to years ago I start losing it. Not that I was fat, not at all. Thinking I was too fat. And now, with all my intolerances and the 'diet' I am on now, I will never get fat again. Also for the first in my life with the MC I started to worry not wanting to loose any more. But it is going perfect now, I don't gain I don't loose.
I will use the cordain book for preparing lunch and dinner, they look quite good to make meet, fish and veggies more tasteful.
Dear Harma,
I am glad that things are going well for you (including what you put in the other post). I have struggled with weight most of my life, even when I was actively flaring with MC. I would encourage you to not think of this as a "diet" but rather a better way to feed the body that houses you. Since I have got paleo I have been able to lose some weight, without effort, for the first time in years. If you start losing weight, which I understand you don't want to, then you should be able to increase the quantity of food you are eating.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey. We're here to be your cheerleaders as you learn.
Jan
I am glad that things are going well for you (including what you put in the other post). I have struggled with weight most of my life, even when I was actively flaring with MC. I would encourage you to not think of this as a "diet" but rather a better way to feed the body that houses you. Since I have got paleo I have been able to lose some weight, without effort, for the first time in years. If you start losing weight, which I understand you don't want to, then you should be able to increase the quantity of food you are eating.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey. We're here to be your cheerleaders as you learn.
Jan
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. - Saint Francis of Assisi
Hi Joonas,
It shouldn't cause any problems. Humans do not need carbohydrates in order to stay healthy. Just be sure that if you eat an all-meat diet, you select somewhat fatty meat, or you could develop what is known as rabbit starvation (protein poisoning), because we do need animal fat in the diet — we evolved on it. Here are links to a couple of references. The first is an old reference showing that animal fat in the diet actually lowers cholesterol levels, and the second shows that an all-meat diet is safe and healthy (if it includes enough fat). The first research article was published 30 years ago, and the second article is much older, but doctors tend to ignore research conclusions when they don't agree with the conclusions.
Reducing the serum cholesterol level with a diet high in animal fat.
Eskimos Prove An All-Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health
Here's some current research to show that the medical community is beginning to "rediscover" what was discovered and published many years ago.
Eggs not linked to cardiovascular risk, despite conflicting advice
Eating lots of cheese does not raise cholesterol, study shows
I hope this helps.
Tex
It shouldn't cause any problems. Humans do not need carbohydrates in order to stay healthy. Just be sure that if you eat an all-meat diet, you select somewhat fatty meat, or you could develop what is known as rabbit starvation (protein poisoning), because we do need animal fat in the diet — we evolved on it. Here are links to a couple of references. The first is an old reference showing that animal fat in the diet actually lowers cholesterol levels, and the second shows that an all-meat diet is safe and healthy (if it includes enough fat). The first research article was published 30 years ago, and the second article is much older, but doctors tend to ignore research conclusions when they don't agree with the conclusions.
Reducing the serum cholesterol level with a diet high in animal fat.
Eskimos Prove An All-Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health
Here's some current research to show that the medical community is beginning to "rediscover" what was discovered and published many years ago.
Eggs not linked to cardiovascular risk, despite conflicting advice
Eating lots of cheese does not raise cholesterol, study shows
I hope this helps.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.