So maybe you've heard about this Paleo diet thing...I know many people who follow it, but most people I know haven't heard about it. As I mentioned in the introductory post to this blog, I'm still learning about it and most of my information comes from my husband, the nurse, who is actually reading "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. Have I mentioned I'm a stay-at-home mom with two kids under 3 years old? No time to read. So he reads, then explains things to me, and I get most of it (some of his medical words go over my head) and write what I learn here. :) This is why we are "pre-paleo-ing". We haven't completely adopted a full Paleo diet...we're actually still questioning some things, keeping an open mind, but wondering why...like no dairy? Zero? Nada? Haven't gotten to that part of the book yet. But I get it: we overdo dairy. Too much of anything isn't good. So for now, until I understand that part of Paleo better, we have cut way back on our dairy intake, like switching to Almond Milk and sometimes, I don't include cheese on the grocery list. (I never thought I'd survive!) I'm getting ahead of myself though...
Before anything else, the Paleo diet as I understand it, is going to sound terrible to you right now. Here it is: Eat meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts. Don't eat grains, dairy (and eggs are not dairy), sugars, legumes, or anything processed or artificial. The end.
How awful, right? :) Well, anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a weirdo and I love desserts and pasta and bread and cheese...that sums up my favorite foods in the world. So why would I be ok with this?? Read on...
As you can tell, I don't claim to be a nutrition, Paleo, diet or medical expert. I'm just a wife and mom, always wanting the best for my family and willing to sacrifice something if I learn that it isn't good. I didn't always think like this, but marrying a nurse has really opened my eyes to a lot. Paleo is kind of new, but the concept isn't. Maybe you've heard of eating whole or real food, or shopping mostly around the outer aisles of the grocery store, not the middle (that's where most of the junk is). Maybe you've watched Jamie Oliver or other people that really stress eating fresh food, not fast food, and not eating anything that has a bunch of words you can't pronounce on the ingredient list. All of these people, books, diets, methods, whatever you want to call them, are basically saying this: WHAT are you eating? What is actually in that package you just opened and are feeding your kids? Why would you put something in your mouth with ingredients you don't even recognize? Do you wonder why there are so many symptoms and diseases these days that weren't around before?
Basically, we've become accustomed to eating what we're given without questioning anything. Maybe us humans are too trusting, but there are companies out there way more interested in your money than your health and just because the label says "Vitamins and Minerals" does not mean it's good for you. That usually means they took everything good out of it and then added it back in an unnatural way.
But how can you know who to trust? It seems like every couple years there is a new diet trend. That's what I think too and that is why we are taking this Paleo thing slowly. But the thing about Paleo is that from a medical point of view, my husband has seen the positive results in people's symptoms just by changing their diet. There are so many diseases that people don't realize have a lot to do with their diet...things you would never imagine, like ashtma or blood pressure problems or migraines or even difficulty getting pregnant! Those are only a few that I remember right now. My husband and I have seen first hand the incredible difference in a couple of our relatives that took on a Paleo-style diet for just 30 days!
So why does this seem to be working for people? Because, similar to the "real food" or "whole food" movements, it's going back to the basics. Back to eating the way people did before there was anything processed or artificial. Paleo itself is based on the idea that this is how cavemen ate in the Paleolithic Era, 2.5 million years ago. STOP right there! We don't believe that. We believe that God created the Earth, animals and humans, as it says in the Bible and that was NOT millions of years ago. We don't believe that there was a time when people evolved from monkeys and lived in caves and wandered around hunting and gathering whatever they found to eat. In the Bible it's clear from the very first people on the planet that they knew agriculture; they worked their land and raised their animals. Yes, there was hunting, but it wasn't as if they had no plan and just wandered aimlessly trying to survive.
However, the basics are still the basics. But what about grains and dairy? And beans and rice? There sure is a lot of bread mentioned in the Bible! Yes, but bread then was different from now. There has been research made on what all the genetics in agriculture have caused in our food and from what I understand, grains in our day and age, in our country, are not at all like what they used to be. As I've said, I'm no expert and you can go research all this yourself, but I like logic and that makes sense to me. Grains have been so genetically changed that they are no longer actually good for us. Are they 100% bad? Or is it just the excess that we are used to that is bad?
I don't yet know. But here is my logic about grains and dairy. Just look at what the typical meals are in our culture. Breakfast: cereal and milk, yogurt, oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese, pastries, pancakes. Lunch: Sandwich, chips. Dinner: Pasta with bread sticks and cake, pie and/or ice-cream for dessert. Do you see it? Grains, dairy, grains, dairy, grains.... Yes, we throw in the occasional salad or fruit, and usually there's some meat somewhere. Or we think drinking orange juice gives us our fruit intake for the day. I'm not pointing fingers, because this was us. We thought we were being healthy because everything was whole grain and made from scratch. But excess is still excess. So I get that, and that's why I'm giving this a try.
In Part 2 I'll tell you more about how my "healthy thinking" has had to change to a "new healthy thinking" and how that has practically played out in our house. Also, we feel better! In the short time we've been doing this (and not even 100%) we have noticed a difference! So come back and I promise to make the next one shorter!! :)
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