Paleo/Primal/Evolutionary/Caveman: What's in it for you? (Part 1)

When I first started to play around with the paleo diet, I looked at it as exactly that: a diet. To me this meant it was a restriction of certain food types with the goal of lowering my body fat percentage. Though this is one feature of eating paleo, it is by and far not the only feature, and to see it only in that light would be a great misunderstanding of what the diet truly does. Yes you will lose weight, probably effortlessly; and that will be wonderful, but you'll get more in return than just a thinner waist and lower fat count.

The paleo diet is also great for energy, which is funny because everyone believes that if they kick grains from their diet that suddenly they won't have any energy because they believe they need their carbs. Well here's the thing, you do need carbs to fill your glycogen stores, but once they are filled all the extra glucose in your system will be stored as fat. And here's another thing, there are more than enough carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables to sustain you and your glycogen stores. There are folks out there maintaining 8% or less body fat working out heavily 3 days a week, depleting their glycogen stores on a regular basis who never touch grains. So if you're an average person, you probably don't need as many carbs as you think in the first place.

So it fills your glycogen stores, limits the amount of fat you have to carry around, and gives your body an extra  boost of nutrients because you are eating food that is natural and healthy for you. I plan on doing a post about phytates and how they harm the human body, but the skinny is they're anti nutrients that cause a whole host of problems for people who digest them on a regular basis. Like I said though, more on that later.

The paleo diet boosts your immunity. Did you know that sugar inhibits your immune system? It does so well in fact that one teaspoon can shut down your IS for approximately 6 hours. It's no wonder kids get sick so often. How often do you get sick? It may be related to your sugar consumption, so when you take on the paleo diet, not only are you fortifying your body with vitamins and minerals from your natural foods, you're allowing your immune system to function properly without being hampered by regular blasts of sugar. And guess what also counts as sugar? Carbohydrates. Art DeVany, father of the Evolutionary Fitness movement, once said "Eating a plate of pasta is like eating a plate of sugar." And he wasn't exaggerating. Glucose (blood sugar) comes from carbohydrates and must be dealt with via insulin. This is also why excess fruit sugar (fructose) can be counter productive to your fat loss goals.

Paleo protects your bones better than milk. Did you know that Harvard did a study of 80,000 nurses over 20 years and found that those who drank 1-3 glasses of milk a day actually suffered more from osteoporosis than those who drank none. Once again this study flies in the face of conventional wisdom because from the time we're little kids we're told that milk makes your bones strong and healthy because of it's high amount of calcium right? Well here's the thing. The milk you find on the shelves at your local albertsons is not actually milk. In fact some professionals feel it shouldn't be classified as a food. After all the chemical changes that milk is made to go through (to increase shelf life of course) it is but a mere shadow of it's former healthy self. I have another post in the works on this subject, so keep a look out for it. For now, back to the bones. Bones require more than just calcium in order to be healthy and strong. They require Zinc, Magnesium, iron, and daily Vitamin D along with calcium. Also, seeing that bones are kind of like muscles in that stress causes them to strengthen over time, regular weight training goes a long way to increase their sturdiness.

The reduction of grains alone helps in your battle for bone health because grains contain Phytates. Phytates are the salts of Phytic Acid which scavenge Zinc, Magnesium, Iron, and Calcium in the body. This not only compromises the health of your bones, but it can lead to mineral and nutrient deficiencies as well. But where do you get the minerals and nutrients for bone health in the first place?

Now Vitamin D comes in plenty of foods but the best source is direct sunlight. 15 minutes a day if possible. If that's not possible due to schedule or weather, then a daily Vitamin D supplement will do wonders. Sara and I just got a great buy one get one free deal at albertsons for about 5 bucks.You can also get magnesium and zinc supplements, but they're present in delicious healthy foods like nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and artichokes. Leafy greens are also incredibly rich in calcium.

Bone health is also largely dependent on your bodies acid/base levels, which paleo regulates naturally. But more on that in part 2.

The paleo diet promotes higher activity levels. Many of us are slaves to our jobs, the T.V., the internet, movies, napping, or anything that involves long periods of little-no motion. The problem with this is that our bodies literally are created to move. The lack of movement causes our muscles to degenerate, joints to stiffen, posture to suffer, and also makes it hard to appreciate life. The great thing about having more energy via a healthy natural diet, is that now you can spend more time doing things you love to do. When you lose 20-50 lbs, you can run more, play more, have more fun and be more active as a result. This frees you from the idea that in order to get healthy you have to have access to a gym and a detailed workout program written up by a beefcake personal trainer. NO! To be healthy, you have to live healthy. That means eat what your body is designed to eat, and move like your body is designed to move. It's really that simple. If you sit or lay down too long, you get sick and weak, if you eat crap you get sick and weak. If you eat and live correctly, you get healthy and strong and life becomes something more than just the day to day grind.

More later

-Rob