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History of the Paleo Diet

The history of the Paleo Diet is also referred to as the Paleolithic Diet or Caveman Diet. This concept of eating natural, raw food is not new when it comes to diet books. Back in the 1970′s this theory was discussed by Walter Voegtlin in his book, The Stone Age Diet. His idea was similar to the popular Atkins diet of that time period.

This caveman theory was based on the fact that people were hunters and simply ate what they found in the wild. This included meats, fruits and vegetables. Animals were not domesticated at that time and so there was no milk, butter and cheese available. Only natural foods in their raw state, this is the basis of the Paleo Diet today.

The Paleo or Caveman concept was overshadowed by popular diets such as the South Beach Diet, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and other dieting methods.

The History of the Paleo Diet

The modern history of the Paleo diet began in 2005 with a new book published by Loren Cordain’s The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance. This book caught the attention of many professional athletes who began to follow the methods described. They began publicly endorsing the concepts and the Paleo Diet came to the forefront of the diet revolution.

Today the Paleo Diet is based upon what we assume cavemen ate. This is based solely upon research done by scientists. Cavemen ate any animal which they could hunt and they foraged for fruits and vegetables. These three things became the staples of their diet.

If you do any research on the Paleo diet you will find that there are different versions available. Some versions state that you must only eat grass fed animals while other versions allow you to have dairy products. One thing that you must take into account is that our farming methods have evolved over the centuries.

Humans raise their animals to be eaten not to be hunted. They are fed chemicals and nutrients to improve the quality of the meat. Milk and other foods are pasteurized so they stay fresh longer. So it can be difficult to truly eat a Paleo Diet.

However you can eat on the notion of the Paleo Diet and include whatever foods you are comfortable eating. If you want to include milk and cheese do so, but remember that they contain fat and are high in calories.

Foods that might have been available to cavemen were potatoes, hard grains and certain legumes. The reason why these foods were not eaten was because they did not know how to cook them. Most of these foods are inedible in their raw state and so were never used.

As cavemen evolved it can be assumed that these foods were added to their diet. The problem with eating foods like potatoes and grains is that they are not a food that man is accustomed to eating. In fact grains can be linked to a whole slew of health issues including digestive problems. Scientists have shown that whole grains are extremely difficult to digest and many people have sensitivities to this food group.

Looking back over history and watching how diets changed, the introduction of not just potatoes and grains, but sugars and oils have caused major health problems. As these foods became available more instances of medical concerns were seen. People began to become overweight, they started having heart attacks and strokes. Even cancer could possibly be linked to the introduction of unnatural foods into our diets.

Another consideration is that cavemen would eat different foods depending upon where in the world they lived. Certain fruits and vegetables would only be available in certain areas. So knowing exclusively what you should and should not eat on the Paleo Diet can be a little challenging.

So What Should You Eat on the Paleo Diet?

History of the Paleo Diet

How strictly you follow the Paleo Diet concept is up to you. It would be best to choose as many natural and organic raw foods as possible. If you want to add foods like potatoes and milk then do so carefully. These foods tend to have lots of carbohydrates and calories in them. It may be best to lose weight first and then slowly incorporate them back into your diet.

Health wise you can’t go wrong with eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables along with lean protein choices. You should see and feel improvements in your health very quickly.

There are many Paleo Diet books and resources available so choose one that fits into your way of thinking and stick with it. Remember if it works and you are comfortable with it then use it. You can see from the the history of the Paleo Diet that these ideas are not new but are very natural

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Do artificial sweeteners make you fat?

Artificial sweeteners are everywhere. And I used to think a calorie is a calorie but maybe I was wrong. There is a good chance that your diet soda is making you fat.

Diet Blog has just posted the results of a study done on rats that shows that eating artificial sweeteners in the form of saccharin will actually make you gain weight faster then using the sugar itself.

Artificial sweeteners Research

I know that I have seen these kinds of results before and have always been confused by how it would work but essentially the thinking by the scientific community is that your brain notices the “sweetness” of the food and think that the artificial sweeteners it is sugar. and stores food as fat because the brain thinks that the body has more than enough fuel (calories) to keep it going.

I know that some people will say in seeing this that people are not rats but still physiologically this makes sense to me. Also, if you look at all the diet pop that is sold and people in North America just seem to be gettng bigger and bigger then maybe there is some merit in the conclusions of this research.

Do artificial sweeteners make you fat?

Does this jive with any other research? Well yes I remember that the University of Texas did a Diet soda study that showed that drinking one Diet Soda caused people to get fat and drinking two definitely caused weight gain. This was not a short study either, in fact the results were based on before and after 8 years. There would be a lot of other factors involved including the fact that people try to lose weight by replacing regular soda with diet for lower calories.

The conclusion of the artificial sweeteners study actually points this out as well

A common interpretation of the direct correlation between increased use of artificial sweeteners and increased incidence of obesity is that people have turned to calorie-free sweeteners as a means of reducing energy intake and controlling body weight.

However, our findings and theoretical framework are in closer agreement with the possibility that increased intake of no-calorie sugar substitutes could promote increased intake and body weight gain, which is consistent with recent data from prospective human clinical studies that have documented increased risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome in individuals consuming beverages sweetened with high-intensity sweeteners (e.g., Dhingra et al., 2007; Liebman et al., 2006). Although much research has been directed at selecting among these alternatives, a consensus opinion about the effectiveness of consuming artificially sweetened substances as means of weight control has yet to emerge

I have always been against diet soda anyway because they are usually sweetened with the artificial sweeteners Aspartame which as we all know is poisonous according to lots of studies, even in small doses.

So what can you take from this kind of study? Maybe that you should try to cut out all sodas or at the very least cut back and just drink regular sugar sweetened soda and take the calories for it instead. By all means look at artificial sweeteners as a problem and stick to non sweetened drinks or just water.

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Endocrine Disruptors

Endocrine DisruptorsI have seen a bit of info lately on the concept of Endocrine Disruptors and thought it would be a good idea to do a little environmental awareness of this issue

What are Endocrine Disruptors?

Endocrine disruptors are naturally occurring compounds or man-made chemicals that may interfere with the production or activity of hormones of the endocrine system leading to adverse health effects. Many of these chemicals have been linked with developmental, reproductive, neural, immune, and other problems in wildlife and laboratory animals.

What does the Science say about Endocrine Disruptors?

Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence suggests that numerous chemicals, both natural and man-made, may interfere with the endocrine system and produce adverse effects in humans, wildlife, fish or birds. Scientists often refer to these chemicals as “endocrine disruptors.”  These chemicals are found in many of the everyday products we use including some plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.  Although limited scientific information is available on the potential adverse human health effects, concern arises because endocrine disrupting chemicals while present in the environment at very low levels, have been shown to have adverse effects in wildlife species, as well as in laboratory animals at these low levels.  he difficulty of assessing public health effects is increased by the fact that people are typically exposed to multiple endocrine disruptors simultaneously.

So What Do We Do Now?

Endocrine disruptors are essentially pollution in the air and water systems. The only way to avoid these is to live in a clener atmosphere which for many of us living in or near cities is close to impossible. Follow these tips whenever possible and remember that hte cleaner your diet is the better anyway.

  • Educate yourself about endocrine disruptors, and educate your family and friends.
  • Buy organic food whenever possible.
  • Avoid using pesticides in your home or yard, or on your pet — use baits or traps instead, keepin your home especially clean to prevent ant or roach infestations.
  • Find out if pesticides are used in your child’s school or day care center and campaign for non-toxic alternatives.
  • Avoid fatty foods such as cheese and meat whenever possible.
  • If you eat fish from lakes, rivers, or bays, check with your state to see if they are contaminated.
  • Avoid heating food in plastic containers, or storing fatty foods in plastic containers or plastic wrap.
  • Do not give young children soft plastic teethers or toys, since these leach potential endocrine disrupting chemicals.
  • Support efforts to get strong government regulation of and increased research on endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The science and society are still at odds with the issue of endocrine disruptors but this does not stop us from being more careful in the way that we eat and live to minimize their effects.

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