I have a post I'm working on that addresses the many reasons to avoid grains. And no, it's not just because they are full of carbs, leading to spiked insulin, leading to fat storage, leading to muffin tops! But that post will have to wait because it is dear to my heart and I really want to give it my all :) I just can't tell you enough how much avoiding grains has impacted my life for the better and I look forward to sharing the "science" behind why grains are bad for you.
So back to this post.
It seems that many people wonder how eating fat (yes, even saturated fat - it's good for you! Just read Nourishing Traditions, to name one fabulous book, to find out why), red meat (100% grass-fed and organic, that is), and the incredible, edible (and demonized) egg impacts their inner health. I have read more stories than I can count on both hands that go something like this: "I was tired of being on medications to control my blood pressure/diabetes/cholesterol/thyroid (etc.). My doctor didn't give me any options other than "Take your medication, eat low fat, avoid red meat, avoid eggs, make sure you eat your whole grains." Frustrated with seeing absolutely NO improvement, and on top of that, I was still gaining weight, I decided to become my own advocate. I researched and found out about the paleo diet. I've been on it for X days/months and my doctor can't believe my blood work results. It's a MIRACLE."
No, it's not a miracle. You are just giving your body what it needs to function normally, and those foods happen to be all the foods your doctor has been telling you to avoid. Did you know that medical doctors receive next to zero training in diet and nutrition? Oh, maybe one class for one semester of the EIGHT PLUS years they attended school. Hmm. Food is medicine people.
So on that note, I thought I would leave you with a testimonial I read over at http://www.everydaypaleo.com/ (I just ordered her cookbook by the way and it's suppose to be fab! I love all her recipes...kid/husband tested and approved):
"My wife Yvonne joined Norcal S&C in March 2007 and has been a loyal member ever since. They encouraged her from the get go to change her diet. Originally it was a bit of a more zone/paleo combo but as Robb Wolf is the owner of this gym it became definitely more paleo focused soon enough. Over the past few years she has tried to convince me to “go paleo” with her. I gave it half-hearted efforts a few times (and saw results in weight loss) but always reverted back to my old ways of eating. She too went on and off it as it was just easier to cook the same food for both of us, but she remained more strict than I was.
I am an active guy, play tennis everyday, and don’t eat a lot of fast food, sweets, etc, but seven months ago I found myself on five different medications for things ranging from hyper tension to high cholesterol and tri-glycerides. This was also right about when Robb’s book came out. I am not much of a reader but got through that entire book very quickly. This time we both committed to really making the change to paleo.
Sarah was Yvonne’s trainer so we had lots of great support and recipes to get us going. We quickly found that we were eating a greater variety of more interesting and tastier food. My wife who had always been a food is fuel person and hated grocery shopping was suddenly very enthusiastic about creating meals and new dishes. Rather than a banana for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and grilled chicken with rice and veg for dinner, we were now having frittatas for breakfast, leftovers for lunch (which means meat and veg) and recipes ranging from Moroccan Spiced Beef, African Fish or Mexican Chicken Stew for dinner.
After one month of eating paleo I had my blood work run again. Already my cholesterol was down from 272 to 160 (with a 1.9 ratio) and my triglycerides were down less than a quarter what they had been. I had also dropped some weight and was feeling better.
I just had my 6 month blood work review this morning. I am now down 2 pants sizes (20lbs), my cholesterol is even better (3.2 ratio), my triglycerides are “perfect” according to my doctor and my C-reactive, the one thing that was a bit high last time, is now down from 5.7 to 2.3. I am now only taking medication for my hypertension (which is hereditary).
My doctor said to me that it made no sense medically but that my blood work keeps improving. She thinks I must have an angel on my shoulder.
My wife and I are very happy with our life with our Paleo angel."
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