A small, laminated card was included with our newest delivery of PaleoKits. It was so wonderful and simple, I had to retype it and share. This is ALL you need to know about health and wellness!
A note on the mentions of processed food: this does not mean just Goldfish and Cheetos and Chips Ahoy. This means NutraGrain bars. Special K. Oatmeal. Whole grain anything! You know all of those Earth's Best baby and toddler products that love to advertise about their whole grain content in enormous bold letters on the front of the box? GRAINS are the original processed foods! Rice is processed. Beans are processed. Soy is one of the worst things you can put into your body. Nearly all dairy is processed. {If there is one Paleo food I would be flexible on, it's raw milk, but we still prefer coconut here.}
It is truly unfathomable to me that people still use the Food Pyramid as a guide. My advice is to live by the guide above, but if you want to keep getting in your 6-8 servings of whole grains per day - go for it. At the end of the day, it's your body and your children's bodies. Do what you want, but at least read and gain knowledge of the consequences so you are making an informed decision with anything you consume or give to your babies.
Beans? How are dried beans more processed than dried cranberries or beef jerky? I just googled and cannot find anything indicating that something is done to them other than harvesting and drying them. I'm further confused because both grains and beans fall into the category of things that can be grown.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if I shared my blog post about Paleo from my physical therapy blog/website:
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/w4rJhJ
I am now offering Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Consultations in my office and remotely, if any of your readers want to learn more. (You got me hooked on Paleo Kits and I also love Primal Pacs!) Now, I'm happy to talk about it to anyone who wants to listen!
simple nutrition tips! i love it!
ReplyDeletewww.jeffandelizajane.blogspot.com
Suzy - saying beans are processed was an oversimplification. Beans need to be cooked to be eaten - in raw form, they are indigestible and terrible for our systems. Same with wheat - it has to be harvested. I encourage you to read The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, or The Primal Blueprint by Mark...I'll have to look at his last name. They go in depth about the effect beans, dairy, etc. have on our digestive system.
ReplyDeleteI have not done enough research into the process of soaking beans for a certain time period to ferment them (I believe...someone correct me if I am mistaken) which then does something to their content (again, my knowledge of this is limited), but that does not change their irritation to our gut, which is where disease stems from, hence the reason to avoid.
As far as processed dried cranberries, if they are dried in a dehydrator, they are not processed, so I am confused on this. Same with beef jerky. Gas station beef jerky is terrible, probably made with food lot meat, has added sugar and who knows what else. Grass fed beef jerky is no different than grass fed beef - rich in omega 3s. Fat content changes with grass fed beef to corn fed, which is why grass fed is essential so you get those great fats. Beef jerky is not technically cooked either.
Just because something can be grown doesn't mean it is healthy! Vegetables like corn and carrots turn right into sugar in our bodies and spike our insulin, as do potatoes. Modern diseases are traceable back to the start of agriculture... Read up on some Paleo literature - I think you'll be very pleased and interested with what you learn :) Happy Wednesday!
Sheridan,
ReplyDeleteAs a nutritionist, I appreciate your recent post! Also a fan of Steve's, just re-ordered grass fed beef sticks last night... I would love to see posts about things you feed your family or how you make this lifestyle work for you.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this, Sheridan -- my husby and I have been eating more and more Paleo over the past two years (thanks to reading Gary Taubes' books) and we feel great.
ReplyDeleteBut I second the above request for more posts about how you make this work when there are little ones to think about! So many kids' foods are not at all Paleo, so when I start thinking about eventually making truly healthy breakfasts for my daughter (who is now still in my tummy) I get overwhelmed.
I will definitely read the suggested book. I am interested to see what it has to say, though I doubt this diet would work for me as I am a vegetarian, and if I cannot have beans, then I really can't see how I'll get enough protein from this diet. Eating meat is simply something I cannot do and honestly, I don't know how anyone can stand to do so. I just cannot pet my cat and dog and see how much love they're capable of and not think that a pig or a cow could be so very different.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read more about the connection to agriculture and disease. I'm curious to know how this is determined, since there is presumably no record of diseases suffered by paleolithic man, and one can assume he did not live long enough to develop heart disease, for example.
I suppose I wasn't clear enough in my original question though. I only meant that I didn't see how dried beans would be processed any more than dried fruit. As I said, I will read the book, since I'm curious to know more about this, but as a vegetarian beans are a very important source of protein for me, as I gave up all soy products a few years ago, though that was due to the pollutants that find their way onto organic soy bean farms.
Hi Sheridan - I love your blog and am intrigued by the paleo diet (though it does intimidate me and I feel it would be impossible for our family to adopt). Can you tell me what coconut milk you drink? We don't drink any sort of milk in our house - I don't like cow's milk but when I look for an alternative - everything else in the store (almond, coconut) seems highly processed and to me it all tastes fake (even though it is natural) Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteLet me know your thoughts after you read it! I'd love to hear your take. Robb Wolf, the author, was a vegan so I think his perspective is especially valuable for vegans and vegetarians. He has done both sides and that really lends a wonderful aspect to his approach. I am such a science nerd that I love the research and facts, but just brace yourself that there are two chapters early on that are VERY heavily weighted scientifically...BUT I think they are the most important chapters in the book to give validity and credibility to the entire basis of Paleo, and it seems that this is what you might be most interested as it discusses the agriculture/disease connection in great depth. I'm rambling, but I think it's wonderful you want to gain knowledge. Key to everything, right?! Good luck and keep me posted!
ReplyDeleteJovan - I have gotten a lot of requests for family friendly meals recently! I'll post soon (hopefully ;) about how we do it with our kids. We do So Delicious Coconut Milk. I ADORE it. The vanilla tastes like a vanilla milk shake and is to die for. I think the red carton - Original - tastes most similar to cow's milk, but I haven't had cow's milk in a long time so my taste buds might be off! The green carton is Unsweetened and quite bland, but it has the best fat content. Personally almond milk is too sickly sweet for me, particularly the vanilla flavored one, but some people love this!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much - I will check those out. I agree about almond milk. I just bought some unsweetened almond milk the other day and it just has a strange feel to it if that makes any sense.
ReplyDeleteSome family friendly recipes would be awesome! However ... I am the obstacle as I don't eat anything with 4 legs. An old post of yours has really stuck with me though. You imagined that the slice of bread you were handing your boy had the word cancer on it ... I'm sure it is still bad but now I bake my own bread (hoping that at least I am eliminating some of the harmful ingredients). Anyway, I would be very interested to know how you guys do it with your kids. Thanks again.
PS your breastfeeding post rocked the house as well as your agave expose. thank you thank you
The paleo diet suggests that bread=cancer? Does the recommended book address then how the author accounts for the evidence of genetic links to cancer, in particular how people of different ethnic backgrounds have different cancer rates, regardless of geography? Does he address the link between colon cancer and diets high in animal fats?
ReplyDeleteCertainly our diet has changed since Paleolithic times, but so has our world at large. It just seems almost dramatic to me to say that bread equals cancer when there are so many other things that are different now.
I looked into Dr. Mercola at your suggestion. Are you aware of his opinions regarding vaccines? Everything that I could find on his website seemed to suggest that he is pro-Wakefield, and even defends his "study," which just really causes me to have a difficult time believing anything he has to say.
I should really have included a link to some sort of research regarding the meat/colon cancer risk. Obviously, as someone who is a vegetarian for moral reasons, I am biased, but I think this is a very good study.
Deletehttp://www.wcrf-uk.org/audience/media/press_release.php?recid=153
Relevant excerpts:
WCRF/AICR recommends that people limit consumption to 500g (cooked weight) of red meat a week - roughly the equivalent of five or six medium portions of roast beef, lamb or pork - and avoid processed meat.
The Expert Panel behind the CUP’s judgements also concluded that the evidence that foods containing dietary fibre reduce bowel cancer risk has become stronger since the publication of the 2007 report. They considered the evidence sufficient to strengthen the conclusion that foods containing fibre protect against bowel cancer from “probable” to “convincing”.
The analysis for fibre included adding seven more studies to the existing eight from the 2007 Report, and the result was that the evidence became much more consistent.
This strengthens WCRF/AICR’s recommendation for people to consume a plant-based diet including foods containing fibre, such as wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and pulses such as beans.
Teresa Nightingale, General Manager of WCRF, said: “Many people feel confused about cancer prevention because it can seem like a new study is published every week that suggests that a new substance either causes or prevents cancer.
“But the CUP takes the latest scientific findings and adds them to the existing body of evidence in a way that ensures our advice takes the latest research into account. This means people can be confident that our recommendations are up-to-date as well as being the most evidence-based information on cancer prevention available anywhere in the world.
Red meat refers to beef, pork and lamb. If a person eats 3.5 ounces of red meat every day (24.5 ounces per week), their risk of colorectal cancer will be 17% higher than someone who eats no red meat. If they eat 7.0 ounces of red meat every day (49 ounces per week), their risk will be 34% higher, and so on. The evidence shows that there is very little increase in risk for people who keep their intake of red meat to less than 18 ounces per week
Oh my goodness. Sheridan vs Suzy, Paleo vs Vegetarian. What a dilemma, and let me tell you both it's one I struggle with.
ReplyDeleteI've been a vegetarian since I was fourteen, but in college I began eating fish. I still wince a bit at the thought of a fish, who had a fish family and sea urchin friends, my goodness, on my plate. But who can pass up sashimi? And then I met Manton (your wonderful little brother, Sheridan), and he introduced his friends to Paleo. I thought he was crazy. He IS a little bit crazy, but he's also insanely fit and healthy. With his ideals in mind, my list of New Year resolutions included a go at the Paleo "diet."
So, as soon as the champagne was drained and the New Year's day hangover cures (macaroni and cheese and black eyed peas) were consumed, I began Paleoing. It was daring, really, a former PETA endorser diving into a "diet" so taboo. Here's the deal: I didn't add chicken or cows or the pounds of my boyfriend's elk meat in our freezer. I stuck with sea life, and it was difficult. Balancing mercury levels, groaning at the thought of another filet of grilled salmon. I thought I consumed plenty of produce before I began Paleoing, but wow, did I eat a LOT of fruit and vegetables. And nuts. And Larabars. And eggs! And coconut milk from the So Delicious green box, that I actually like. So many avocados. Every meal was fresh, and laborious, always something I felt good about putting into my body.
I've never really bought packaged or overly processed foods, but I did (do) like bread and cheese and beans and rice and pasta and chips that are not sweet potato chips to eat with guacamole. Who doesn't? We all LOVE those things, whether we're dedicated to Paleo or not. Which is why I haven't been Paleoing for about a week now. I wanted macaroni and cheese. And a pizza, please.
But guess what! I don't feel as great as I did while I Paleoed. My body seems annoyed with me. I've seen the light. And yes, I'm not Paleo perfect, nor should anyone feel like they must be. But it truly does matter what we're putting into our bodies. And what might work for one person may not work as well for someone else. Nuts sort of make me feel funny. And I will not eat four legs, or even two. I think the most important thing is to stay as simple and as whole as possible. This post (by a super adorable couple with a very cool blog) makes the most sense, I think: http://www.health-bent.com/blog/scarlet-letter
So back to Paleo (or whatever my body said it likes) I go. With the occasional bite of macaroni and cheese. Arrest me.
Suzy - I so wish I had time to really delve into this with you! There's nothing I love more than a great debate - sharing knowledge and discussing this subject - I really love it. I truly think that reading that book is the absolute best thing you can do because Robb was a vegan, and through his quest for perfect health and avoiding disease, he was lead to this way of eating. I cannot recall specifically, but I do believe it touches on the genetic-link argument, and certainly gets into countering that meat causes cancer. The key is the type of meat, but I still believe through my own research that "bad" meat does not do as much harm to our bodies as grains and dairy do.
ReplyDeleteIn a nutshell, the Paleolithic way of eating is all about foods that help achieve great health. The perfect physique is a nice bonus ;) The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature - game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. Our race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat (GOOD animal fat, NOT processed! KEY!!) and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods into our bodies with agriculture.
Robb has a great website here: http://www.robbwolf.com/
And Mark Sisson who wrote the Primal Blueprint has a great site here too called Mark's Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz1mb0kEas6
Good luck!!
Lindsay - laughing!!! Yes my brother is totally crazy (it runs in the family ;) Love hearing your story. I will tell you I am never 100% Paleo! The other night at dinner, I reeeeally felt like mac and cheese (pregnancy craving!) so I had a little side of it with my sea bass. At home we are pretty much 100%, but I definitely indulge when we are out on occasion. Like a kid bday party with the kids, I might have some cake. I think the importance is the knowledge of what is good and bad for our bodies, and the effects it has.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever looked at Peggy the Primal Parent's blog? Now she is HARD CORE Paleo. I mean, like, eats bone marrow. You could drop her in to the stone age and I have no doubt she would kill a Siberian tiger with her bare hands! BUT she cannot eat nuts - which is actually supposed to be a lesser Paleo food - and sticks to pretty much 100% meat and animal fats, marrow, blood (seriously) or else her health plummets. So I do agree that some bodies have more tolerance than others for sure.
I think it's great you were open minded and tried the Paleo route!! Brave! Thanks for sharing :)))
it's seriously intriguing! something i'd like to try. definitely sounds like a challenge, but one that has serious health benefits!
ReplyDelete@Suzy Yes, Robb's book covers all of the questions you asked in great detail. You can also see his website http://www.robbwolf.com/ for a great deal of information. And, yes, you can do Paleo as a vegetarian. Whole 9 Life is actually doing a talk on Paleo for Vegetarians during the Online Paleo Summit which is free if you register now http://www.paleosummit.com/
ReplyDeleteWhole 9 Life also has tons of info on their website, in their Success Guide, and in their one day workshops. http://whole9life.com/
And for anyone looking for family friendly recipes and info, see Sarah Fragoso's site Everyday Paleo.
You can buy Robb's book and Whole 9 Life's Success Guide through my website: http://prana-pt.com/ scroll down past the fold and you will see the icons on the right.
i just joined crossfit after my friend got down to her high school weight after two babies!! i've slowly started to go paleo and feel great! love reading your posts about it!!!
ReplyDeleteI am interested, do yours or your partners parents do Paleo?
ReplyDeleteIm also v intrigued by the whole thing, but I love breads (french kinds and pastries) and I loooove cheese. Just don't know how much I could live without them.
The modern dietary regimen known as the Paleolithic diet (abbreviated as Paleo diet), commonly referred to as the caveman diet, stone-age diet and hunter gatherer diet. It is a nutritional plan, which is based on the eating patterns of our most ancient hunter gatherer ancestors from the Paleolithic stone age period.
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