Day Eighty Five!!

Paleo-a-go-go


The Paleo diet, or lifestyle, mimics that of the caveman diet or lifestyle. This is when people ate nuts and seeds and berries, root vegetables and lived on the land, eating grass fed wild animals and wild caught fish. Paleo friendly foods include; salmon, cold water fish, free range poultry, grass fed beef, walnuts, brazil nuts, flax seed, broccoli, collard beens, raspberries, and strawberries. All great sources of omega 3 fatty acids. 


On this plan, the goal is to promote wellness, and limit any unnecessary inflammation, and as such, promotes fruits and vegetables with low glycemic levels. Foods to avoid are; that of grains such as wheat, oats, barley, quinoa, rice, as well as potatoes, beans, soy beans and peanuts. In the Palaeolithic era, vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and paprika were considered poisonous, leading to problems of inflammation. Dairy products are controversial in this diet, and many people on the paleo diet do not consume them. Some, do eat dairy though, consisting of heavy cream, butter, and cheese, and the suggestion is to use organic only. Substitutes are suggested; such as coconut cream, olive, avocado, or coconut oil, almond or coconut yogurt, and vegan cheese (by the way a lot of vegan cheese is made out of potatoes). 


The strict version of this diet consists of no dairy, alcohol, vegetables (list as previously suggested), coffee, grains, or beans. Calcium rich foods are suggested to be added to the diet which include; bok choy, dandelion greens, collard greens, sweet potato and swiss chard.


The difficulty that I have found with this diet, is that even though it talks about being grain free, it does include almond flour, hazelnut flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, coconut milk, coconut oil, baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, honey. Almost all of these items are high in carbohydrates, and I am not convinced that in the Palaeolithic era those poor buggers were able to get ahold of any of these products.  


I actually tried this diet for a while, I worked with it as best as I could. I made what turned out to be the most horrible pizza crust (with coconut flour) not only was it useless but disgusting. I had no weight loss. So then I got to thinking about the Palaeolithic era and how the people at that time were hunter gatherers, extolling a huge amount of energy, dealing with the elements, and when they were hunting and gathering these foods, not actually really being rolling in dough, so to speak, it would either be feast or famine. Most probably there was a lot more famine than feast. Have you ever tried to make a fire? Fuck that’s hard.


So! The result of which was for me this diet was a no go. The carbohydrates killed me, and the truth is, I am not that energetic. I am not running the plains after work, chasing a deer, trying to shoot it with my bow and arrow, drag it back to my cave, skin it, gut it, cook it over a fire, that I just spent the last two hours trying to get going. The paleo diet is not for me.

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