Category Archives: Paleo

Update on my weight loss and BMI

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I switched to full Paleo in March 2009.  Before that, I had eliminated sugar and refined grains for many years.  I started at 234 lbs, and have lost 35 lbs since then—so about a pound a week (BMI went from 31.3 to 26.6, and my waist size has dropped by about 5 inches).  My exercise during that time has been relatively light.  The main difference for me was eliminating all grains, a few lingering processed snack foods, and nuts.  The carb cravings were a little tough the first month, but after that my average hunger level dropped dramatically.  Now, it’s easy to go 15 hrs or longer without eating, and I often skip breakfast entirely.  I’m in relatively constant mild ketosis.  Not enough for acetone breath, but enough that it shows up on the ketostix.

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Paleo Snacks

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Since switching to the Paleo diet, I find I don’t get hungry very often; I tend to eat only 1 or 2 “traditional” meals a day.  However, I also enjoy snacks, partly as a social thing, and partly for a change of pace.  Unfortunately, my portfolio of Paleo-compatible snacks isn’t very large.  If you have any ideas, I would very much like to hear them.

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Caffeine and cocoa

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One of the goals of the Paleo diet is to reduce the level of insulin in the body.  Insulin is a pro-aging hormone; it encourages excess energy to be stored as fat, and acts to inhibit lipolysis.  One of the side-effects of a low-carb diet is increased insulin resistance, which can lead to higher levels of insulin and larger peaks in blood glucose (BG) levels (high BG levels are worth avoiding because they can damage many internal systems, particularly nerves).

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Calcium supplementation and Paleo

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Most people don’t require calcium supplementation, particularly when eating Paleo.  Meat and green vegetables are rich sources of highly bioavailable forms of calcium.

I would even suggest the reverse, which is that most people get too much calcium.  Calcium is actually a cellular poison; if too much calcium gets into a cell, it dies; before it dies, it becomes sluggish and poor-performing.  One aspect of arteriosclerosis is arterial calcification, which may be encouraged by having too much calcium.

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Problems with chronic IBS, constipation, etc

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I’ve had chronic IBS and associated problems most of my life.  My solution to this is to take 1 tbsp of soluble fiber daily; works great.  If you’re into supplements, you can also add 1 tbsp of Natural Calm, which is a magnesium supplement (Mg is a natural laxative). The psyllium-based fibers are too rough for me.  Look for a soluble fiber that doesn’t have sugar or sweeteners and that isn’t wheat-derived.  Apple pectin or glucomannan are other options.  Increasing fluid intake slightly is also helpful.

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Long-term low-carb tips

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Something that happens to many people on a low-carb diet is that their insulin resistance increases slowly over time.  In an initial low-glucose environment, the large muscles begin to burn fat (ketosis).  As they do so, they need less glucose, and therefore become resistant to insulin.  The result is that fasting blood glucose levels increase, along with HbA1c.

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What about legumes?

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Legumes contain anti-nutrients such as phytoestrogens and phytic acid (both are particularly high in soy).  Phytoestrogens encourage the growth of certain cancers, and are pseudo-hormones that can wreak havoc on the body.  Phytic acid can block the uptake of essential minerals, including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc.

Unlike animal products, legumes are actually not safe to eat unless they’ve been either fermented or sprouted or soaked and cooked, but even then, the toxins aren’t completely gone.  In fact, the phytic acid in soy is actually resistant to long, slow cooking.

More scientific support for Paleo

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Those looking for additional technical / scientific support for a Paleo-style diet might enjoy the following books:

Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life
By Christian Allan PhD and Wolfgang Lutz MD

Dangerous Grains: Why Gluten Cereal Grains may be Hazardous to Your Health
By James Braly MD and Ron Hoggan MA

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What is a “Paleo” diet, anyway?

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My interpretation of the “Paleo” diet is that it’s not about eating the exact same things that the Paleolithic people ate, or somehow returning to the primitive.  Rather, it’s about duplicating the human metabolic environment of the period.

Quite a bit is known about the diet and lifestyle of the period.  For example, have a look at Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, by Wrangham, or  Meat-Eating and Human Evolution, by Stanford and Bunn.

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Effect of grain on livestock

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It’s interesting to think about why farmers feed grain (including corn) to livestock: they do it to make them fat.  Grain-fed livestock don’t just “mature early”; they’re obese.  Unfortunately, feeding them grain also weakens their immune systems and makes them prone to infection, which is why they require antibiotics.  Grass-fed livestock don’t have those problems.  In fact, grass-fed cattle can be amazingly lean animals.

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