Our new diet...

I've hinted at our new diet in the past few posts, and I think I've held you in suspension for long enough.

I should preface my description of this diet with a disclaimer: First, I am neither an expert nor a scientist, and therefore my description of the diet and its inherent benefits may not sufficiently or accurately represent its intricate nature. Furthermore, I am not a paleontologist, and the beliefs indirectly expressed by the framework of this diet are not indicative of my personal beliefs.

We began this diet* shortly after scoffing at a friend of mine, Rob, for consuming copious amounts of bacon and other red meats while visiting us in Denver over Spring Break. Well, after a significant amount of research we realized the value in his diet and have since discarded “conventional wisdom”, replacing it with what is known as Paleolithic Nutrition. Essentially, we eat only what a caveman would have eaten some 10,000 years ago. So we eat plenty of grass-fed beef direct from farmer John (that’s his name, honestly!), as well as bacon (mmm…) and other products that are high in natural saturated fats. The reason being, fat is what our body needs in order to remain satiated throughout the day. By avoiding all processed foods and anything containing sugar (especially the worst of them all – high fructose corn syrup), we are able to regulate our bodies’ insulin levels and therefore decrease the cycle of hunger so frequently experienced by the typical “western diet.”

This is where the critic chimes in and says, “Dude, what about your high cholesterol? All this saturated fat is going to give you a heart attack!”… To which I reply, “Wrong!” First of all, there is no scientific evidence that high cholesterol is linked to cardiovascular disease. The conventional wisdom which tells us that high cholesterol is a risk for heart disease is fed to us by the same industry that is lining its own pockets with the sale of drugs that, while they keep your cholesterol level (measured by an obscure formula) down, don’t actually prevent your chance of heart attack. Cholesterol, I have learned, is actually necessary – it binds to the walls of the artery to heal the lesions caused by inflammation which is so rampant among Americans due to our diet of processed foods. Cut out inflammation and you significantly decrease your risk for heart disease. I could go on about this for hours, suffice to say I have stopped my statin intake and monitored my diet so as to decrease inflammation.

Now, I know this will sound strange (and may even offend some agricultural types out there), but we have also cut out all wheat and corn based products. This is where my lack of scientific expertise becomes evident… anyway, I’ll give it a shot. Starches and grains inhibit our body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and so by giving up grains we will be better able to process the foods we eat and benefit from their nutrients. I feel a little awkward ordering a burger without the bun, but it’s a small price to pay for long term health!

We do still eat vegetables and some fruit – although even some naturally occurring fruit will contain large amounts of sugar which we try to shy away from. We also just started getting whole milk delivered to us the old fashioned way – dropped off at our door every week! Did I mention the fact that I eat loads of bacon yet (reason enough to give the diet, ahem, lifestyle change, a try!)?

Anyway, I could go on, but I feel like I’ve already lost half of my loyal readers (what, maybe 3 or 4?), so I’ll pull the chord for now. If you have any questions about any of this or if you want to write me and tell me how crazy I am, please do so. Otherwise, to check out any of the real science on any of what I rambled on about, check out the following two sites:

www.marksdailyapple.com
www.paleonu.com

* Diet should instead read, “Lifestyle change” since diets are almost always short lived and this is a more permanent shift in our way of eating and living.