A Review of the Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

I've been hearing a lot about the Paleo Diet (also known as the Paleolithic Diet, or Caveman Diet) lately, so I thought I'd check into it and see what it's all about. Here's my review on this new diet fad that's sweeping the nation.

A Review of the Paleo Diet

The idea behind the Paleo Diet is that ancient people ate natural foods, and were leaner and healthier than we are today, with our myriad of modern diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The kind of diet they ate was high in raw plants, fruits, vegetables, and meat. They, of course, did not eat all the suedo-foods we find in the grocery stores today, full of refined starches, chemicals, and preservatives.

Some people argue that ancient people were not healthier than we are today, and it's true that some cultures ate more "refined foods" and had more health problems to show for it, or just didn't have the foods available to make healthy choices, but most traditional cultures all over the world did have an ancient wisdom about their food and lifestyle choices. The Weston A. Price Foundation has tons of scientific research that backs up the idea of the health of ancient and traditional diets versus the modern diet.

The Paleo Diet argues that farming and the foods it produces, as well as food processing, the cornerstones of the modern diet, are the enemies of health. The Paleo Diet believes in cutting out milk, grains, beans and potatoes, as well as modern processed foods.

I disagree with some of this and believe instead that modern farming practices, such as striping the soil of natural nutrients and adding chemical fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers, not to mention franken-foods and gmo's are the true enemies of health today. Traditional farming, as practiced by most cultures for centuries (and organic and bio-dynamic farming today) produces very healthy foods to eat.

Of course, I agree that modern food processing, which kills live food and strips away any nutrients that are left, and then adds even more chemicals such as preservatives, hydrogenated oils, and synthetic vitamins, does indeed produce food that is unhealthy and should be avoided.

I also disagree with the Paleo Diet about avoiding milk and milk products. Certainly the over processed, homogenized, pasteurized dead milk you find in the grocery store is unhealthy, and should be avoided. But raw milk and raw milk products from reputable organic grass-fed dairy farms are wonderful additions to any diet.

The idea that we should be go back to eating a more natural diet, like our ancestors did, is not really a new idea at all. I've been preaching a similar diet for almost 10 years now with my Enzyme Health Diet Plan and my Coconut Oil Diet website. The Weston A. Price Foundation has tons of scientific research that backs up the idea of the health of ancient and traditional diets versus the modern diet.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Lose Weight the Cave Man Style

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

Never underestimate the basics! Primal living takes a whole lot more than what it meets the eye. Prehistoric humans ate food only when they are able to hunt down wild-animals and gather edible plants, which are basically fruits and vegetables. Nothing synthetic or artificial substances were taken up as part of their food pyramid. All is natural and organic. Such ways of food lifestyle brings forth a diet plan inspired by imitating a prehistoric way of eating, called, the Paleo Diet. Paleo Diet is also called the Cave man Diet, the Evolutionary Diet and oddly, the Dinosaur Diet.

Lose Weight the Cave Man Style

Paleo Diet is mainly based on the food lifestyle of these prehistoric humans. Paleo Diet, a much healthier diet where food is purely based on meats, fruits and vegetables. It principally holds down the idea that what we eat is what we've become. The more we ate processed foods the more we become unhealthy, eating such foods cause a lot of implications that turns out into terrible diseases. By aping the food group eaten by the cave men, it mainly brings us closer to a more natural way of eating, bringing a healthier outcome to a man's body.

Paleo Recipe-List

Paleo Diet, what is not eaten by these prehistoric ancestors is out from your own the food list. On the food list, includes only, meats, eggs, seafood, fruits and vegetables that are only gathered naturally but not cultivated. It looks likely offbeat eating without the energy-giving food group but what is really eaten by ancestors is what we mimic through this diet. Grains, rice, pasta and dairies are restricted all throughout the diet. Carbohydrates may only be obtained only in eating vegetables.

Oils can only be gain out from non-agricultural raised seeds, such as, avocados, olive, oil palm and coconuts. Meats that are eaten should also be lean, raised only in non-agricultural manner or preferably grass-fed animals, these are better off than eating those who are commercially fed. Fish and other seafood should be caught wildly rather than in cultured pens.

As for beverages, water is the only beverage allowed but organic tea leaves are also considered. Alcohol consumption and fruit juices are eliminated from the diet. Fruit juices are eliminated due to their concentrated fructose, glucose and sugar contents which is basically not a Paleolithic way. Salt is also removed from the diet; no salt is used during the prehistoric times. Anything related to excessive sweets and sugars are also not welcomed.

Do the hunting yourself!

It's not basically you go out hunting for your own food in today's modernized era but rather copying the active lifestyle of these prehistoric ancestral hunters. They go out fishing, hunting and walk for days in search for food. As a substitute for hunting food, you can walk, jog and do several exercises equivalent that to a caveman's hunting activity. The point of this is that do not rely too much on a low-caloric diet but walking out those sexy legs would just be a whole lot better than doing nothing.

Back-to-the-Basics

Paleo Diet, is not just an ordinary diet. It takes out a lot of modern-based agricultural foods and it takes a lot of guts in eliminating them from your diet. Purely are based on foods can be hunted and gathered. It is a low-caloric diet and highly nutritious considering vitamins and minerals present in the organic meat, fruits and vegetables. Taking additional food supplements is highly not considered since it is a non-Paleolithic way. Sticking to the basics is basically what this diet is all about.

Paleo Diet is also a lifestyle change. The more basic your food lifestyle is, the more it is healthier. Looking up to the ancestors who were free of artificial food products and living life the simpler way models out this amazing ancestral diet.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Your 'New' Old Fashioned Diet - Paleo Recipies

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

Living the 'Old Fashioned' Way

Your 'New' Old Fashioned Diet - Paleo Recipies

Great grandma baked her own bread and grew her own vegetables. She canned what she grew for winter's consumption and when there was chicken for dinner, it came from the shed in the back yard. She didn't have a huge grocery bill because she made all the food from things she raised and grew. She raised chickens for their meat and eggs. The family cow provided her with milk, cream and butter. The children were sent to the woods for blueberries for pies. An apple tree and maybe a peach or pear tree also provided the ingredients for pies and jam. If she needed pocket money, she sold some of the eggs or vegetables she didn't need.

Grandma never dieted a day in her life. She had no 'labor-saving' devices and had to prepare all the meals from scratch. She also maintained a slim figure well into old age. By her standards, we have it soooo easy.

And because we have it easy, we eat too much, we don't get enough exercise, and we complain all the time.

When I was in my 20's and 30's I could eat several thousand calories a day and still lose weight. Today I have to watch every mouthful and I still have trouble with my weight. This isn't only because I exercise less, but most of the food I purchase has been processed in one or more ways.

Cattle and chickens are fed processed feeds; plants are chemically fertilized and fruit and vegetables picked long before they are ripe, and then exposed to gasses to ripen them.

When was the last time you had a peach or an apple as large as a softball... juicy and flavorful; or an orange picked from the tree in the evening and refrigerated, squeezed in the morning for breakfast. Salad picked fresh from the garden, tomatoes still warm from the sun. Sweet corn should be eaten within 12 hours of being picked, preferably it should be picked and eaten within 6 hours. How long before you bought your corn do you imagine it was picked? Out of season it could have been 2 or more days... all the nutrients are gone.

Farm stands offer an alternative to the supermarket. The vegetables are naturally grown and you can purchase as much or as little as you need. For the shopper who wants the best quality early morning is the best time to buy. There's no substitute for fresh sweet corn on the cob.

Today you can also find plans for a 'pocket garden' on your patio or porch. Hanging planters and window boxes offer a way to provide some fresh vegetables for the city dweller. Gardens can provide not only beauty but health as well.

I have found some ideas that you could use to improve your diet and health. For those of you that have never tried growing vegetables, a new experience awaits you. And if you don't succeed at first... try again. It's worth it... trust me.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Losing Weight With Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

Losing weight has never really been a walk in the park. Even though one would feel guilty in indulging in a tub of ice cream while chatting up with friends, enjoying cup noodles and canned goods when you are too lazy to cook or eating pizza after a day's work; giving up all those sinful foods seems to be completely and utterly impossible. Processed foods, dairy products and all other foodstuff with refined sugar and too much salt clearly has become a part of our daily diet and preferred food nowadays.

Losing Weight With Paleo Diet

You can burn a minute amount of calories by simply sitting and contemplating on how you are going to lose weight, since your brain needs glucose to function or you can just surrender yourself to a very exigent workout plan. However, it will take a lot of willpower to control yourself from eating.

It is a natural instinct, to hunt for food when one's stomach is growling. Wouldn't it be nice to just eat whatever we crave for and not worry about gaining weight? To eat to your heart's content and not fret about all the fat deposits that might clog at your arteries and other cardiovascular diseases, excessive sugar that might lead to diabetes and all the other conditions which appears to be plaguing us these days? Like what our ancestors did ages ago.

Did you ever wonder why they were so fit and agile, and fully capable of hunting for food and living out the past in a dingy cave and still able to create a history? Why they were able to live longer even though they were just feeding on wild animals, nuts, fruits and herbs? Well, the answer lies in the quality of their foods. They had no additives, refined foods or unnatural sugars in their diet to disrupt their metabolism.

Apparently, some people believe that losing weight without actually starving yourself is preposterous and too good to be true. And that's where Paleo Diet comes into play. It is a plan based on our ancestor's diet during the Paleolithic era, hence the name. There are actually various recipes and cookbooks about Paleo diet available that might prove how beneficial it is to your health if you plan to lose weight without restricting food altogether.

People from the Stone Age survived without burgers, pasta, processed oils and other additives and they seemed to hold out just fine. So, if they can successfully pull that off, can't you?

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

The Paleo Diet: Getting Eaten by a Lion and Losing Weight

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

It's gone by a variety of names (the Paleolithic diet, the Caveman diet, or simply the Paleo diet). By any name and in any of its forms, though, the Paleo diet has become increasingly popular and also increasingly ridiculed.

The Paleo Diet: Getting Eaten by a Lion and Losing Weight

It's not uncommon to hear critics say that the Paleolithic diet is a "fad" or simply weird or ridiculous. However, despite all of the criticism, more and more people are adopting the diet. In addition, a growing body scientific research supports and underpins the core principles that make up the Paleo diet.

What, then, are the core principles of the Paleo diet and lifestyle? And why have so many people chosen to adopt it?

A. The Food (the Diet)

Although many experts emphasize the need for change in various aspects of the modern lifestyle (stress, sleep, exercise, etc.), Paleo is first and foremost a diet centered around food choices.

The core dietary principle of Paleo is that modern humans should attempt to eat more like our 'cavemen' ancestors. No matter where your ancestors originated from, it wasn't until pretty recently that humans were able to eat certain foods. For most of human existence, foods such as processed sugar, as well as wheat, rice, and other grains were not able to be eaten by humans.

The primary problem with eating these foods is that the human body never evolved to digest these foods very well. And because we can't digest the foods very well, they can cause a lot of problems in our body, especially if we eat these foods for a long time. Prolonged ingestion of these foods can often lead to long term illnesses, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. Highly processed grains and sugars (such as cakes, cookies, breads, and sodas) are particularly bad and are highly discouraged by experts.

What should someone eat if they want to adopt a Paleo diet?

Basically, most experts encourage us to eat a lot of unprocessed meats and vegetables (especially green leafy ones), along with small amount of fruit and nuts. If you think about it, these recommendations are not all that surprising - after all, how many people really think that cakes, cookies, breads, and sodas are particularly healthy? Very few of our mothers or grandmothers would have encouraged us to eat our bread and soda at every meal.

One of the main complaints about the Paleolithic diet is that preparing unprocessed meats and vegetables can take a lot of time. After all, we don't actually live in the Paleolithic area, where our primary concerns would be hunting and gathering food and escaping predators. We all have high-stress jobs and kids to take to soccer practice.

That's why many Paleo diet practitioners adopt a more flexible diet. If you're able to cook your own food every day, then kudos! However, if you don't have the time, then there are more and more ready-made "Paleo" products being made available for purchase. These products range from cereals to diet drinks. As the diet grows in popularity, more and more of these products are becoming available.

B. Exercise (and Movement)

Besides the dietary aspect of Paleo, most experts recommend also trying to be more like our ancient ancestors in terms of exercise.

In particular, our ancestors rarely sat in one place for very long - very unlike we modern humans do for 8 or 10 hours in our office jobs. When possible, Paleo practitioners try to move around more during the day, rather than sitting for a prolonged period of time. Unfortunately, this is one of the aspects of the Paleolithic lifestyle that is the most difficult to actually implement, since most of our bosses wouldn't appreciate us getting up from our desk every half-hour to stretch, walk around, and do a few squats.

Although many of us can't adopt that aspect of the lifestyle, there is another aspect that is easier to fit in. If you picture life in the Paleolithic Era, then it probably involves images of running from lions and bears and also images of chasing and hunting deer and wild boar (or similar animals). The common theme to these activities is that they required our ancestors to exert a lot of energy and strength in a short period of time. These activities didn't require our ancestors to run for an hour or to be continuously exercising all day.

Many Paleo dieters seek to replicate this sporadically but intensely active aspect of our ancestors' lifestyle. One way that this is done is through a program known as "CrossFit." CrossFit is a brief, high intensity workout involving a lot of strength training and emphasizing "natural" movements. Many of the movements involved in CrossFit workouts seek to imitate the movements often performed by humans in a natural environment (i.e., not sitting in an office chair!).

CrossFit exercises are very diverse, but some examples include pull-ups, squats, and deadlifts. In each case, our ancestors probably didn't do these exact exercises, but the exercises approximate movements that they did do. If our ancestor wanted an apple or coconut high in a tree, they probably had to pull themselves up the tree to get it. If they wanted to move a big rock or create a temporary shelter, they needed to be able to push heavy objects around to do it. Likewise, if they killed an antelope and actually wanted to get it back to where the rest of their tribe was, they were going to have to lift it off the ground in order to carry it.

Conversely, although our ancestors were in pretty good shape and could probably jog for quite a while, it's unlikely that they did so particularly often. One doesn't "jog" away from a dangerous animal or after a fast-moving meal. In addition, continuous work-outs that take several hours and occur several times a week can cause severe inflammation in our bodies and often lead to overuse injuries.

C. Stress

Weren't our ancient ancestors stressed? Surely when a hungry lion wandered by, our ancestors got a little worried, right?

Of course our ancestors got stressed. However, it was most often what's called "acute" stress. In other words, the stress was severe, but it was very short-lived. Either you got away from the lion or it ate you. Either way, you weren't stressed for very long.

Experts emphasize that the modern human faces a lot more "chronic" stress. We may not be quite as worried about our job or our bills as we would be about seeing a hungry lion, but the stress our jobs and bills cause never ends. Having this sort of chronic stress actually does physical damage to our bodies because of the hormones that constantly get released as a result. Like the dietary advice, this is not particularly surprising, since most of us know that we feel much worse physically during times when we're constantly stressed.

Getting rid of the chronic stress is the hardest part, but many Paleolithic practitioners find that eating better, exercising well, and just paying attention to what stresses them help to begin relieving some of that chronic stress.

D. Sleep

Most cavemen slept a healthy 9 hours while the sun was down. After all, it's pretty dangerous in the dark.

Experts suggest that we should all sleep when the sun sets and wake when the sun rises, perhaps by using thick curtains to ensure that street lights don't disturb our sleep. This is not controversial for the most part, but many people don't know just how much lack of sleep can affect their lives. From heart disease to weight loss, lack of sleep has been scientifically shown to negatively affect almost all aspect of our health.

Weird, Ridiculous, or Mostly Common Sense?

Now that you know all about the Paleolithic diet and lifestyle, what do you think? Is eating more vegetables and fewer cookies ridiculous? How weird is it to suggest sleeping for 9 hours every night? Does it really defy common sense to exercise in ways that mirror movements we might need to use in our every-day lives?

Perhaps mirroring some aspects of the caveman lifestyle isn't so crazy after all. Cavemen may have died early due to a lack of medicines and many natural dangers, but they didn't die very often from cancers or diabetes-related illnesses. Many of our modern-day foods, exercises, and stresses combine to put our minds and bodies into situations that we simply were not designed to handle. Perhaps one day we will evolve to easily digest grains and work for 72 hours straight without sleeping, but sadly(?), that day has not yet come.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Halitosis: Bad Breath Solutions!

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

Halitosis, A.K.A, "bad breath" is something that everyone can relate to, at least every morning. But if your breath continues to offend throughout the day 24/7/365, then you may want to keep reading.

Halitosis: Bad Breath Solutions!

First of all, get with your dentist and make sure you don't have periodontal disease or any other type of underlying infection.

There are 6 areas of the body to investigate.

Teeth and gums: Book an exam with your dentist. Rule out periodontal disease and infections.

Sinuses: Sinuses can harbor bacteria and yeast. Excessive mucus will clear up for most people within 3-6 weeks when they switch to a Paleo type of eating program. Sinus problems can also be the source of post-nasal drip that can aggravate the bad breath issue. A 1999 Mayo Clinic study showed that Fungus/Yeast may be an underlying cause of chronic sinusitis and a strict Quantum Paleo program will support the condition from a dietary perspective. ( "Mayo Clinic Study Implicates Fungus As Cause Of Chronic Sinusitis." ScienceDaily, 10 Sep. 1999)

Throat: Chronic sore throat, tonsils, adenoids, coated "yeasty" tongue can all be the culprit. As you build health and clean up your diet these areas will improve. See the peroxide gargle tip below.

Digestion: Eating clean, healthy food is the key. Eliminate junk, additives, artificial sweeteners, dyes, coloring, transfats,grains, dairy and sugar.

Elimination: You must work towards moving your bowel daily, if not 2-3 times per day (optimal). A lot of bad breath issues will clear up once the person gets a handle on their underlying constipation.

Toxicity: Smoking, chewing tobacco, alcohol, foods and snacks with colors and chemicals are all items that can give you bad breath. Many pharmaceutical medications can dry out your mouth as a side effect. All of the above items can contribute to bad breath.

Very few patients have ever come into my office for a consult to discuss bad breath. They come in to lose weight, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, digestive disorders, natural hormone balance, etc. My intake paperwork filled out by the patient will sometimes clue me to the fact that halitosis may be a problem.

I always suggest to my patient to clean up their diet. I recommend that they try to go 3 weeks with zero grains, sugar and dairy.

It not only cleans up the body but helps you break the bad habits very quickly. I call the process, Restarting the Computer.

I often hear a patient remark that their halitosis clears up during the 21 days!

When you get the gut working correctly, the rest of the body benefits.

Getting off of sugar and grains are the main reason.

Here are some solutions and ideas to try.

1 Dentist- get checked.

2 Peroxide Gargle. Household hydrogen peroxide (3% solution). You can either do it straight up, or cut it 50:50 with water. Don't swallow. Gargle and spit it out. Then rinse your mouth out, and repeat. It will foam up a lot. But keep with it. Do this 2-3 times per day for a month. Then make a decision on the results.

3 Digestive enzymes with each meal. I prefer ones with Betaine HCl, it will have it on the label. This will help digest proteins especially and undigested proteins can putrefy and cause bad breath.

4 Start drinking water as your only beverage. No sugar drinks, no soda drinks. Just water. Drink a minimum of 2-3 liters per day. Dehydration can also cause bad breath.

5 Apple cider vinegar. 2 Tablespoons in 8oz. of H2O, 2-3 times daily for a month. This is an oldie but goodie. It will help digestion as well as so many other areas of your body too numerous to list.

Did I mention that the diet is important?

Dr. Doug

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

The Life of a CrossFitter - It's More Than Training, It's Eating Well!

Paleo Diet To Lose Weight :

Five rounds for time of 20 Double unders, 20 Wall ball, and 20 Burpees. Your heart is pounding; you can barely catch your breath. Keep going, you tell yourself, your almost there. Your legs are burning as you complete your last set of burpees. You yell, "Time!!" and can't help but fall to the ground. Shit... the fan is on the other side of the gym.

The Life of a CrossFitter - It's More Than Training, It's Eating Well!

The life of a CrossFitter is just that; you push yourself with not just all you've got, but more than what you've got. You move as fast as you can in your WOD's, but sometimes, it's not as fast as you would like. You add more weight to the bar, only to find you cannot lift what you thought you could. You look in the mirror at that extra layer of fat on your belly that is really only visible to you. However, your significant other tells you that you are a bonafied hottie. What the hell is going on here?

No matter what your goals are, whether it is to lose weight, get stronger, increase your athletic ability, get buff, or just decrease your times on your WOD's, you need good nutrition as a supplement to your training. Every single one of us will plateau in our training if we don't eat well. Simple as that. There's your answer.

The reason why eating well will keep you from hitting a plateau is because you will have more than enough energy to complete a WOD like Fran (21-15-9 Thrusters & Pull-ups). You will also be supplying your body with the perfect ratio of protein, carbohydrate, and fat, which will, in turn, allow your body to function at its optimum level as well as provide tons of energy. The result of eating well and high intensity exercise is a longer, healthier, happy life not to mention you will look your best and be in the best shape of your life. Let's not forget that one.

The phrase 'eating well' means something different to everybody. For some, it may mean not eating junk food or prepackaged food with preservatives. To others, it means eating a strict combination of the Paleo and Zone Diets.

The Paleo diet, which is based on the diet of 'Cavemen' in the Paleolithic era, is super simple: meat, vegetables, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. The Zone diet is a low carbohydrate diet based on the glycemic index and your 'block' prescription. They are both very effective diets that become a lifestyle, rather than a yo-yo diet.

CrossFitters from all around the country have experienced the benefits of eating such a diet. Their times get better. They have more energy; they reach 375lb max deadlift PR for the first time; they lose that extra layer of belly fat for the first time in their lives. If they fall off the wagon for a week or two, they feel the effects immediately while completing a WOD.

So the next time you're struggling during a WOD, ask yourself, is CrossFit really all I need to reach my goals?

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more