How to begin a paleolithic diet?***

I don't see why grains should be excluded. Cereals (oats, barley, maize, etc.) are found in nature and were surely capitalized upon as a food source, even before they were cultivated en masse.

Michael polin has a good line.

Eat real food. (as in not processed foodlike substances)

Eat mostly vegetables.

Not too much.

One of the arguments against grains is based on fossil records. Around 10,000 years ago when society transitioned from hunter gatherer to farmer there was a drastic deterioration in health reflected in the height of people dropping from 6 feet down to about 5'2-4. The problem with grains, in contrast to fruits that are intended for consumption to spread seeds, is that they contain defense mechanisms like gluten or lectin to avoid being eaten. These are actually anti-nutrients that damage the intestines and inhibit the absorption of vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin D.

Ok, I am getting interested in going gluten free. Not ready for dairy quite yet, though. For people on the paleo diet and gluten free, what are things that I could take to work with me for lunch? I normally take a sandwich, fruit and a granola bar. Depending on how much I run in a day, I estimate that I need 3500-4000 calories.

Actually, I'm gluten free vegan, at least most of the time - it's not like I'm avoiding gluten, there's just so much normal food without it...

getsome wrote:

The problem with grains, in contrast to fruits that are intended for consumption to spread seeds, is that they contain defense mechanisms like gluten or lectin to avoid being eaten. These are actually anti-nutrients that damage the intestines and inhibit the absorption of vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin D.

This is ridiculous.

tomtom, just curious where you get the majority of your calories. I'm guessing legumes and nuts?

I just ordered Pizza Hut, including wings and pan pizza. Paleo-whatever.

Hunt and gather.

What you can't hunt and gather don't count.

God, where do these diet crazes come from. Do you think they would have eaten that way if they had supermarkets?

getsome wrote:

One of the arguments against grains is based on fossil records. Around 10,000 years ago when society transitioned from hunter gatherer to farmer there was a drastic deterioration in health reflected in the height of people dropping from 6 feet down to about 5'2-4. The problem with grains, in contrast to fruits that are intended for consumption to spread seeds, is that they contain defense mechanisms like gluten or lectin to avoid being eaten. These are actually anti-nutrients that damage the intestines and inhibit the absorption of vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin D.

They got shorter because they were dependent on grain for the majority of their diet - low meat, low fat, not great nutrition. It's similar to the way Asians are shorter because they eat mostly rice, which isn't nutritionally complete.

I'm waiting on any study supporting the idea that grains are bad for you.

getsome wrote:

tomtom, just curious where you get the majority of your calories. I'm guessing legumes and nuts?

Nope. Corn, bananas, oranges, potatoes, rice. Not like I'm fanatically against gluten (yes, it is unhealthy but won't harm you much unless you have cases such as mercury poisoning or omega 6 overdose), I like bananas more than bread, simple as this.

As interesting side note, I was able to "cure" some cases of "impossible to heal" diseases, such like rheumatoid arthritis, mostly with gluten and dairy ellimination. There was always other problem lying underneath, like mentioned above mercury poisoning (one girl had 14 amalgam fillings), or insanely high omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, still gluten was responsible for aggravation of symptoms.

Ho Hum wrote:

I'm waiting on any study supporting the idea that grains are bad for you.

There is one - can't find it yet, but I'm sure there is very accurate study (and I'm saying this being against paleo diet). They measured allergy reaction using most sensitive way, 80% of us got some kind of allergy reaction against gluten, 29% got serious one (undetectable using normal tests). Almost 60% of people with random gastrointestinal problems got gluten intolerance measured this way, while "normal" blood test can detect problem only of 12% of them.

I'm not avoiding grains...just simple ones like white bread, cereal, and white rice. Eating natural whole grains.

i met the author of the paleo diet at his house a few months ago. he had bookshelves full of his books. i was asking him about it cuz a couple of my friends were on it for a bit. and he didn't even give me a free copy.

All grains are bad due to the anti-nutrients gluten, lectins and phytates. These proteins bind to minerals and the intestine causing the body to attack itself in defense. People who stop consuming grains, especially wheat, usually feel much better and are cured of some diseases and nuisances (long term illness, diabetes, gastrointestinal havoc, arthritis, etc.)

bad grains wrote:

People who stop consuming grains, especially wheat, usually feel much better and are cured of some diseases and nuisances (long term illness, diabetes, gastrointestinal havoc, arthritis, etc.)

So the cure to diabetes, arthritis, long term illnes (LOL) is to avoid wheat?

Dude start preaching, because you could be a billionaire if this crap was true.

jumping all over the world wrote:

bad grains wrote:

People who stop consuming grains, especially wheat, usually feel much better and are cured of some diseases and nuisances (long term illness, diabetes, gastrointestinal havoc, arthritis, etc.)

So the cure to diabetes, arthritis, long term illnes (LOL) is to avoid wheat?

Dude start preaching, because you could be a billionaire if this crap was true.

Nice straw man argument. People who eliminate grains, esp wheat, often experience a reduction or elimination of joint and muscle pain at rest and during normal activities of daily life.

I am one of these people. I still have an arthritic right knee, elbow tendonosis, etc. but joint pain lessened and the chronic low-grade muscular pain I experienced at rest or while sitting in a chair...vanished.

Google wheat joint pain and the like and you will find this is a very common experience.

tomtom wrote:

No one can be 100% sure which factor leads to improvement, but fact remains - so far it's only and one proved case of reversed atherosclerosis (and reversed cancer, if it matters). At Atkins diet (very similar to paleo) heart disease progressed much faster than on typical American diet, as it was proved in studies.

On Atkins blood lipid profiles (read: heart disease risk) consistently improve relative to other diets.

laughingostrich wrote:

Ok, I am getting interested in going gluten free. Not ready for dairy quite yet, though. For people on the paleo diet and gluten free, what are things that I could take to work with me for lunch? I normally take a sandwich, fruit and a granola bar. Depending on how much I run in a day, I estimate that I need 3500-4000 calories.

Today at work I had ground lamb saturated in garlic and olive oil upon which I dumped a small tub of whole milk yogurt.

Dairy, incidentally, is a "matter of dispute" among paleo circles--you can read an overview here:

Things you can take to work = limitless variations on non-neolithic "real food." Grapes. Hard-boiled eggs. Salads. Shrimp stir-fry. Almonds...