Don't Believe Everything You Hear

Where do most people get their health and food knowledge from? The media, government, doctors and word of mouth, basically. Should we trust them? It seems that these sources aren't very trustworthy, so why don't people do their own research?

My impression of they way people 'research' their food is this: they'll click on an article on Yahoo.com, if it's convenient, or listen in when the news channel reports on the latest diets. They probably think the food pyramid, er, food plate, created by the government,  is healthy because that's what they've been told. They don't know that canola oil is bad. The labels say it's heart healthy and full of Omega 3's. Why give it a second thought?


Before I started researching for myself, never in my life would I have thought that 'healthy' whole grain was bad for me. I mean, to doubt this common knowledge is like believing in conspiracy theories! It goes against everything we've come to know. 

The USDA's recommendation to eat whole grains is based on what they call "Moderate Evidence". Sounds solid (can you sense the sarcasm?). They define "Moderate Evidence" as something that "reflects somewhat less consistent evidence or less consistent evidence. The body of evidence may include studies of weaker design and/or some inconsistency in results. The studies may be susceptible to some bias, but not enough to invalidate the results, or the body of evidence may not be as generalizable to the population of interest.".

I want more than 'moderate evidence' before I go eating 'whole' grains again. I've eliminated grains completely from my diet and I feel so much better now. If I do eat grains for whatever reason, I can tell a difference in my body almost immediately after eating them. Not a good difference, either. THAT is enough evidence for me. 

A little off subject, but the term 'whole grains' bothers me. I see it all the time plastered on packaged bread, cereal, flour, pasta, etc. When was the last time you bit down on a whole grain (in one piece) from one of those things? It's processed, not whole.

You've heard that cholesterol is bad, haven't you (from your doctor or the government, no doubt)?Well, have you heard that every cell in your body is made with cholesterol? Or that your liver makes your body's cholesterol? To me, it doesn't make sense that if our bodies need cholesterol and our liver makes cholesterol, that it would be bad for us. Here's a quote from the article "The Cholesterol Myth That Could be Harming Your Health" talking about cholesterol:

"It is taking it back to your liver so that your liver can recycle it; put it back into other particles to be taken to tissues and cells that need it," Dr. Rosedale explains. "Your body is trying to make and conserve the cholesterol for the precise reason that it is so important, indeed vital, for health."

Stay with me here, I'm laying bread crumbs. Grains cause inflammation in the body. It could be anywhere in your body - stomach, skin, arteries, etc. Remember, doctors and the government tells you that whole grains are heart healthy. Well, inflammation is linked to many, many diseases, one of them being heart disease. So, the very thing that is supposed to be helping our heart (grains) is hurting it (inflammation). 

What is inflammation?A small example of inflammation is if you were to get cut -  inflammation springs into action.  The blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding too much, the blood becomes thicker so it can clot, cells multiply to repair the damage, etc. Then the cholesterol comes in to replace your damaged cells. No cell can be made without it. So, your liver will make more of it if it needs to. 

I think the doctors and medical researchers are seeing the increase of cholesterol with heart disease present and thinking that the cholesterol must be causing the heart disease. When in fact, the cholesterol is only at increased levels because it's trying to replace the damaged cells because of the heart disease.

Now that you know a little about cholesterol, do you trust the government when they say that cholesterol is bad and chemically made vegetable oils and whole grains are good? 

Alright, so what about the doctors in this country? They're in line with the government on what's healthy and what's not. It's not surprising. In medical school, they require medical students to only have 25 HOURS worth of nutrition study. As in, they only study the way food affects our bodies for less than one week! A recent study found that most medical school students don't even meet the required 25 hours! How will Doctors know if whole grains or anything else for that matter, are healthy or not?

It drives me crazy that people don't know that what they're eating is so unhealthy and that there are doctors telling them otherwise. How will they ever find out if they don't take the time and effort to do the research themselves? Will they ever know that they don't need to take prescription drugs if they just changed their diet? The doctors won't tell them, they get too much money from the drug companies. They'd be shooting themselves in the foot.

Ideal Weight ≠ Healthy

There's a certain mentality in America when it comes to health and food. People think just because they're skinny that means they're healthy. If I tell someone I'm on a 'diet', they'll usually tell me that I don't need to be because I'm skinny. I try to explain that I'm just trying to be healthy, but they usually don't seem to understand why. 

It's like some people think all food is good for is taste and body weight only. It's so much more than that!

A person could look like the picture of health on the outside, but on the inside they could be having all kinds of health problems (heartburn, constipation, low energy, etc.). They don't realize that what their eating is causing these problems. They probably think it's just apart of life like I used to. For example, I thought you were supposed to have an unpleasant full feeling after eating and I though burping was normal, too. I don't deal with those things any more! FYI - Too much burping after eating is a sign your body is not digesting the food well.

The reason I eat Paleo is that I don't want to be miserable with problems like heartburn, headaches, stomach issues and conditions like diabetes and heart disease. When I get older, I don't want to have to take multiple prescription drugs that give me horrible side effects. I want to live a good life in a healthy body. 

I think some older people don't know if their health problems are because of their old age or the pills their taking! I don't want to end up like that and I don't want anyone else to be like that either.

 I hope this post helped you realize that food is important to your health and well being. Research the food you eat. Don't take someone's word for it, find out for yourself! 

What is Paleo?

Hello there, welcome to my first blog! I've always wanted to blog, but I really wasn't passionate about anything to blog about, until now. I talk about the Paleo lifestyle a lot in real life. I worry about it being annoying to my family sometimes, but they need to hear it. Being healthy is important. So, I thought about a blog. It's a great way for me to "talk" about what I love & get information to my family & friends on their time when they feel like reading this blog.

First, I should explain what Paleo is. Keep in mind, this is not a diet people follow to lose the last unwanted pounds before swimsuit season. It's not a diet you count calories and points. It's a way of eating for the rest of your life. I know that's dramatic, but it's true. Of course, there will be times when you'll eat something not Paleo and that's ok. Life should be enjoyable and if you feel like having ice cream once in a while, go for it. 

What to Eat

Let's get to the nitty gritty - I'm sure you're wondering what you should eat and what you should avoid when eating Paleo. Here it is:

Eat:

• Meat / Fish
• Vegetables / Fruit
• Fats
• Seeds / Nuts

Avoid:

• Dairy
• Legumes
• Refined Sugar
• Grains              

The avoid list is probably freaking you out a little, isn't it? Grain and dairy are very prominent in the Standard American Diet, so it may seem like it's impossible to eat this way. It's not. 

The main focus of the modern Paleo diet is nutrient density. Most of what you eat will have a great deal of vitamins and minerals. Those are called micronutrients, you'll see that word a lot. Even sweeteners and cooking oils will have something that will benefit your body!

Intolerance's

Now, there is wiggle room.  For example,  I eat grassfed butter. It's dairy, obvs. Grassfed butter is considered a super food to the Paleo community. If you tolerate dairy or that form of dairy,  you should eat the butter!  When you first start the Paleo diet you want to cut out all the bad foods, probably for at least a month.  That's what I did.  When I started eating dairy a little I found out that I do not tolerate it in the form of yogurt, cheese & milk. I can tolerate butter.  Yogurt and cheese gave me digestive issues,  for others it may give them skin irritation.  Everyone's different. Just be aware of what symptoms you're experiencing.

Cooking Oils

Something else that's a little different is your cooking oils. You will have to stop cooking with canola oil, vegetable oil (which is probably soy), even olive oil.  Those oils are unstable at high heat & canola and vegetable oils are very processed. Instead,  you will cook with coconut oil, grassfed butter, ghee (clarified butter), or animal fat! I'll go into more detail on cooking fats/oils in an upcoming post.

The cooking fats I use most.

Fat & Cholesterol

Eating fat does NOT MAKE you fat. When you stop eating an American Standard Diet,  your body will start to burn fat for energy.  You need fat! Now, I'm not talking about trans fats here. I'm talking about fats like omega 3s.  Same with cholesterol,  eating cholesterol only increases your cholesterol by only 1% of the amount you just ate.  AND your body needs it, your cells are made of cholesterol (a great book on cholesterol is "Cholesterol Clarity" by Jimmy Moore)

Grade B Maple Syrup, Dried Dates, Raw Honey & Coconut Sugar

Sugars

Sugar is bad for you.  I think everyone knows that, but i want to refresh your memory. Too much sugar can cause liver disease, heart disease, and cancer.  Also,  sugar makes you hungrier by releasing a hunger hormone, Leptin. Not only are you eating sugar, but you are also eating more than you normally would because of the Leptin release. On this diet when you want something sweet, you should use raw honey, grade b maple syrup, coconut sugar, dates, etc. These sweeteners have micronutrients! At least when you have a treat,  it will do your body some good.   You may be wondering why only raw honey and not regular honey.  That's because the pasteurization takes out the nutrients. Same thing for maple syrup.  Try to avoid refined sugar and keep the your intake of sugar low.

Processed Foods

One last thing,  no processed foods are allowed.  Most processed foods are made of sugar & grain. Even food that appears to be Paleo compliant,  is probably not.  There's corn and soy in most packaged food.  To be clear, corn is a grain and soy is a legume - both on the no list. It'd be nice if we could just have real food instead of weird additives like corn syrup and soy lecithin in our food. Take Chocolate for example - it's allowed on the Paleo diet. BUT, you have to be careful because soy lecithin is in chocolate 9 times out of 10. Why?! Who knows? A good brand of chocolate is Lindt. The 90% chocolate bars have very little sugar, no weird ingredients and are easy to find in grocery stores.

This may be overwhelming for some people.  It's a lot of information and science all at once.  Just take your time and research. You may not want to do it because it seems too hard. Being unhealthy is harder. Or you don't want to give up your morning cereal or ice cream. There are Paleo versions of those! You may be thinking about your budget. You can make this fit your budget. Think about the money on soda you'll save. It's up to $2 for a 2-liter now! Think about money you'll save on doctor & dentist bills! Hopefully,  you get my point.  Start small,  don't get overwhelmed & stress out. Maybe instead of cereal for breakfast, you could eat egg muffins (just scramble the eggs and add meat and veggies. Bake in muffin tins) or Paleo granola and coconut milk.  Or stop drinking soda and drink water or tea instead.  The Paleo Mom has I quote I love - "It's only effort until it's routine". So true.

I can't possibly tell you everything about the Paleo diet. I'll leave it to the experts.  I really like Diane Sanfillipo's way of explaining the Paleo diet and the science behind it.  Click here to read her explanation of the paleo diet & check out her book - Practical Paleo. I think it's a great first Paleo book.  It's half information,  half recipes.

Here are a couple of my favorite Paleo recipes just to give you an idea of what Paleo food is like. I've made both of these multiple times & they are a couple of my husband's favorites.  Click the link for the recipes.

Fried chicken in Coconut Oil

Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I've touched on it here, but in my next post,  I'll talk more about grains.