The Paleo Diet is not just a typical fad diet you see on commercials. The whole purpose of this lifestyle is to eat exactly what God put on this earth to eat...no human manipulation, no augmentation, just food in it's natural form. It primarily aims to eat food that was at one point living, and get in touch with our primal caveman instincts. What did our hunter and gatherer predecessors eat? All they had access to was animal meat, plants, tuberous crops, and nuts/seeds. There were no factories or machinery to create that fake powder cheese you find in your Kraft blue box, or to process that Rice a Roni we all know and love. They had to know how to use what they were given on Earth as a source of nutrition, and that is what the purpose of the modern-day Paleo Diet is.
The first step is learning what you should and should not eat on the Paleo Diet. Below is an outline from The Paleo Mom (Dr Sarah Ballantyne), who's insight I used from her book, The Healing Kitchen.
This is a bit of a stricter form of the Paleo Diet, called the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). I just started on this protocol to totally cleanse my system to ease my systemic inflammation. The typical paleo protocol usually allows eggs, alcohol and coffee (in moderation), nuts & seeds, and some legumes. I am embarking on this Autoimmune Protocol journey for a month, to find triggers for inflammation in my body. After the month, I will slowly reintroduce certain foods that are still paleo compliant to determine if they aggravate my lupus symptoms or not. With the help of my nutritionist, Debbie Miccolis, I set my diet for the next month in addition to phasing in and out with medical grade supplements from Xymogen. This will support my immune system, gastrointestinal system, and liver. Then, I will live on the standard paleo diet and have my system adapt to a new totally healthy lifestyle.
Many people may ask when seeing this...no carbs or sugars?? How will I get my energy?!
Well, we were not biologically equipped in the hunter and gatherer era to eat these grains & sugars. These grains are also known as simple or refined carbohydrates, and many people make the mistake of assuming this is our only source of carbohydrates. Typically, we would get these simple carbs from pastas or breads, which is all man-made. It isn't even found in nature! This is the misconception that paleo gurus and nutritionists are trying to debunk, because we get natural, or complex carbohydrates from eating a lot of greens and fruits which are given to us on the land. If everyone eats a balanced and colorful diet, they will have the proper amount of energy to sustain them throughout their busy day.
On the other hand, if you eat too many simple carbohydrates, you will retain fat easier since our bodies normally would not use all that energy right away. These simple carbs, which are derived from monosaccharides or simple sugars (yes, that bagel you are eating is full of sugar), goes through a biological process called glycolysis, where we form pyruvate and ATP. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is our ultimate molecular energy source that makes our muscles move. However, when it comes to simple carbs and processed sugars, this extra glucose and glycolysis product is stored in our bodies for when we actually need the energy, which is usually just stored in our adipose reserves or fat tissue. When you eat the proteins in meats and complex carbohydrates from veggies, these are used directly as fuel and help build lean muscle, which drives ATP production in a more efficient way.
"But I'm gluten free..I just buy gluten free products!" Sorry to say that those have the same effect on your energy and fat storage that normal gluten-filled items have. If you are truly "gluten free" due to Celiac disease or an insensitivity, you should eat strictly paleo and eliminate the grains. Grains, even "gluten free" grains, produce the protein lectin which is a protective barrier natural grains developed over time to guard against breakdown and digestion. This of course does not sit well with our stomaches and GI tracts, and causes many other issues such as bloating and Leaky Gut Syndrome. This is the same for many proteins found in pure dairy.
Why would I go Paleo? The Paleo diet truly encompasses the entire span of nutrients we need from food in our natural state. I personally use this for my autoimmune issues with lupus, however many can use it to revitalize their health and lose unnecessary weight as well. In autoimmunity, patients like myself strive to eliminate inflammation from their bodies. I know with lupus, if I have joint inflammation that is out of control, then it can eventually reach my heart, kidneys, or my brain and cause severe problems like a stroke or heart attack.
When I eat paleo, I am eliminating these negative proteins from processed grains, sugars etc., and therefore eliminating the perforation of my intestinal lining from an overgrowth of bad bacteria. When these perforations happen (leaky gut syndrome), bacteria that is not supposed to be freely in your body float through your bloodstream, causing your antibodies (soldiers that fight to destroy foreign bodies) to respond, and aggravating the autoantibodies that attack your healthy tissue. This then causes chronic inflammation due to the disease. When you eat naturally, everything is in your body that's supposed to be in there, and therefore maintaining a healthy ecosystem within your body. This goes for eating organic as well. When you eat organic fruits and veggies, antibiotic-free/grass-fed meat, or wild caught fish; you eliminate the chance of autoantibody aggravation and activation because there are no added toxins on your food.
So please don't write the paleo diet off as just another gimmick to make people spend money. You have the ability to completely do this on your own from the items at your grocery store. This DOES NOT focus on counting calories, macronutrients, or how little you can eat in a day. This is unleashing nature's potential to give you the healthiest you there is! From protein in meat, complex carbohydrates, antioxidants, and more; you will have the proper energy and fulfillment from all of your meals as a substitute for short term stimulants feeding bad gut bacteria and fat production. It is a huge lifestyle change, don't get me wrong. Our body craves sugar. But after a few weeks, you will find hundreds of recipes designed to satisfy you naturally and you can kick that sugar/carb addiction to the curb!
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