In the Zone by Dr. Barry Sears and Protein Power by Drs. Eades introduced me to the concept that the best diet for modern people is the diet that was best for paleolithic people, because our bodies are virtually the same as they were before the agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago.
Since the mid 1990s, other diets have improved on or clarified this idea, such as the Paleo. Now a former world-class marathon runner and triathlete who has studied health, fitness and nutrition has come up with The Primal Blueprint.
First of all, let's be clear. The biggest enemy to our health is excess carbohydrates -- starches and sugars that drive our insulin up to high levels.
So, frankly, all these diets have adherents who have lost weight on them, improved their energy and increased their health -- and that makes sense, because all of them are a great deal better than what Sisson calls SAD - Standard American Diet.
He has been writing articles on his site Mark's Daily Apple, and he and I both encourage you to browse those articles, because they contain a lot of information not contained in the book.
If I had one major complaint about this book, it's that. I'd rather have seen it longer and more complete. Sisson and his editors evidently decided it'd do better if it were shorter and more concise to get the main points across.
But by browsing his blog I found important details on training and diet that were not included in this book.
His goal is to help us improve our health and chances of living a lot longer (without making any illegal medical claims). So he comes up with ten rules of health, many of which are common sense (though admittedly that's not as common as it used to be), such as relaxing and not doing stupid things. Getting sunshine does go against conventional wisdom and advice. But the heart of the blueprint lies in diet and exercise.
Unlike other diet plans that recommend but don't include exercise, he makes exercise a part of the total blueprint. Of course, many people will do part but not all. But he also says that doing it eighty percent gives good results.
He advises not eating grains at all. Dr. Barry Sears allows grains if you keep the amounts low enough. Sisson throws them all out, even the politically correct ones, including wheat, corn, rice, amaranth, barley, quinoa, oatmeal, beer and soy.
He is in favor of grass-fed meal and eggs including the yolks. On his site (though not unfortunately in the book) he explains how grass-fed beef and organic eggs get around the arachidonic acid issue Barry Sears brings up (but Sears never addresses grass-fed beef or organic eggs).
His recommendation for amounts of carbohydrates works out to eating less of them than the Zone, though a lot more than Atkins. And he doesn't enforce a balance at every meal, just that you keep daily consumption of carbs within the right amounts.
His exercise prescriptions validate what I'd learned from other sources, that long aerobic exercise is too stressful. Short bouts of intense sprints are better for your heart and lungs. And you need to do some heavy lifting.
Eats lots of vegetables, some fruit, and fish and meat and nuts. He's much less judgmental than many health authors. If it works for you, do it. If not, not. He also advises Intermittent Fasting, though only if it works well for you. Barry Sears says to not go hungry. But I'm sure that cave people did have to go without food for long periods.
One gripe about the book - he spends lots of space describing a typical cave family and their health habits versus a modern family. It takes up too much space.
I've long been a fan of the Zone and followed it when I could, and did get results. But I believe the Primal Blueprint is even better.
