The ABC's of Paleo

I'm a linguistics major; I enjoy letters and words and alphabets and all that jazz. So with my linguistics classes kicking off for the semester, I give you the ABC's of Paleo!

A is for Ancestral Health, another term for the way we eat according to our ancestors. Just last month, there was the first-annual Ancestral Health Symposium, and a lot of the speeches from it are online, so check them out-- they're awesome! Click here!

B is for Vitamin B12, an essential vitamin that can only be obtained from animal products and is necessary for a properly functioning brain and nervous system. Deficiency in this vitamin can lead to a myriad of health problems, including anemia, fatigue, depression, dementia, and more. It is for this reason that going vegan is so dangerous-- without B12 supplementation, you will get very sick... and even then, it is much more ideal to get this vitamin from the actual source, i.e. animal products.

C is for Customization. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to Paleo/Primal-- some people need low-carb, some higher-carb, some people can do all-meat, some people do well with a lot of veggies... Just because a book or blog or podcast says that you should eat one thing or avoid something else doesn't mean that this is the best option for you. Finding a Paleo/Primal lifestyle that works for you will take time-- your body will know when you've found the right balance of macronutrients and Paleo-approved foods.

D is for Vitamin D, another absolutely essential vitamin that is necessary in achieving optimum health. It is responsible for "bone health, calcium and phosphate concentration, reducing inflammation and regulating the proliferation and differentiation of cells" (source) and promotes a healthy immune system. The best way to get Vitamin D is by going out in the sun, but some foods (particularly certain types of fish) also contain it... or you can supplement. But why supplement when you can just go outside in the sun for a little bit every day? (For more information on Vitamin D, click and click.)

E is for Evolution, the reason we follow the Paleo/Primal lifestyle. We didn't evolved to eat processed crap, GMO "foods," grains, legumes, refined sugar... The list goes on. We didn't evolve to eat a diet devoid of animal products, and we certainly didn't evolve to eat grain-fed animals either. Check out this paper, "The western diet and lifestyle and disease of civilization," which explains how we've all become sickly since the dawn of agriculture, and how eating like our pre-agriculture ancestors is the best way to achieve optimum health.

F is for Fat! If you're following this lifestyle, you know that gone are the days of lipophobia-- no more low-fat, reduced-fat, non-fat products! Fat is absolutely essential for all of your body's functions, and it won't make you fat (I promise-- read this or this and watch this for the real reasons we get fat), and it won't clog your arteries either (check out this great post about how the lipid hypothesis is a big lie). So eat your bacon, coconut oil, and avocados-- they'll keep you healthy! (Here are a few guides to Paleo fats: click and click.)

G is for Gluten, something that you should avoid at all costs. In fact, the road to hell is paved with gluten! Gluten is actually a protein found in many grains (like wheat, barley, and rye) that is responsible for the elasticity of the dough. It not only causes serious inflammation in the gut, but is also the cause of many other health problems. For information about why gluten is the ultimate evil, check out "Why Grains are Unhealthy," "The Grain Manifesto," "Is Your Gut Leaky?", and "Excessive bloating from gluten."

H is for Hunter-Gatherer. Before the Agricultural Revolution (which was only 10,000 years ago), humans lived as hunter-gatherers and they were extremely healthy, tall, and strong. Once agriculture happened and people settled into towns/villages/cities, our hunter-gatherer ways were no longer and, as a consequence, our health was no longer as well. Speaking of hunter-gatherers, check out John Durant's blog... appropriately titled Hunter-Gatherer.

I is for Intermittent Fasting, a technique in which you fast for a period of time (could be 16 hours, could be 24 or more-- here's how to do it). There are many health benefits associated with IFing, including "increased longevity, neuroprotection, increased insulin sensitivity, stronger resistance to stress, increased mental clarity" (source) and more. So don't believe that crap about how your metabolism will slow down if you skip a meal!

J is for JERF: Just Eat Real Food. This is a pretty easy one-- real food doesn't come in a bag or box, doesn't need a nutritional label or ingredients list (I mean, c'mon. Broccoli-- Ingredients, Broccoli. So difficult!), and would be recognized by your great-great grandmother.

K is for Ketosis, a condition during which your body burns fat stores for energy. This can be reached by eating low-carb, so your liver changes fatty acids into ketones... which will became your main energy source and will keep your blood sugar low. Ketosis has been shown to be good for you health, so don't believe the "Your body needs carbs!" argument, since that's just not true. (Note: Paleo/Primal does not need to be low-carb or ketogenic-- some choose to stay low-carb or even zero-carb, but others choose to have a much higher amount of carbs per day. See C: Customization.)

L is for Lift Heavy Things, one of the components of Paleo/Primal fitness. Heavy lifting is essential for putting on lean mass-- you don't need to work out for an hour every day on the treadmill to get or stay fit! So start lifting weights, do bodyweight exercises, go out into the woods and move some rocks or logs, pick up heavy boxes and move them to the other side of the room and back... There are a million ways to lift heavy, so pick one (or more) and put on some lean mass!

M is for Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint and the amazing website Mark's Daily Apple. His approach to evolutionary nutrition is "Primal" (what's the difference?) and is a really big voice within the Paleo/Primal community. If you ever hear about Grok (the fictional caveman), thank Mark Sisson!

N is for Nora T. Gedgaudas, author of Primal Body, Primal Mind. Her book is one of my absolute favorites on evolutionary nutrition, and her website and podcast are full of really fantastic information. Here's one of my favorite posts of hers, "Top 10 Nutritional & Dietary Mistakes People Make."

O is for The Omnivore's Dilemma, a fantastic book by Michael Pollan that examines our food culture-- processed/factory food, organic food, and food we hunt/gather ourselves. It's a must-read, as is his other book, In Defense of Food. Pollan is a fabulous writer and is really well-known for his food rules, such as "Avoid products containing ingredients that are A) unfamiliar, B) unpronounceable, and C) more than five in number," "Don't eat anything your great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food," and "Avoid foods bearing health claims." Check out this New York Times article of his, "Unhappy Meals."

P is for Play, a really important part of this lifestyle. In Exuberant Animal, Frank Forencich talks about how we are, at our roots, animals-- we should be outside and move freely and play! Playing has been known to decrease stress and promote happiness with, of course, leads to health and longevity. Check out this great post, The Lost Art of Play.

Q is for the Quilt, also known as Dr. Jack Kruse, who runs this great blog and is a wealth of information both there and on PaleoHacks. His site is incredibly detailed and informative, and covers everything from leptin resistance to epigenetics to the brain/gut connection. It's a site you should definitely check out for all types of health issues.

R is for Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution and owner of robbwolf.com. He has an awesome sense of humor, and his book, blog, and podcasts are all hilarious and informative. Check out this great video, Ask Robb Wolf Anything!

S is for Sleep, a really important component of the Paleo lifestyle. Our bodies need sleep (and by "sleep" I mean "at least 8 hours in a completely dark room") in order to function properly and keep our immune systems strong and healthy. Sleep does everything from helping your memory to boosting your athletic performances to helping you cope with stress. Here's a Definitive Guide to Sleep and tips for Sleeping like a Cavebaby.

T is for Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. These are both books that explain how fat does not make us fat; instead, it is the bad carbs and sugary, processed foods that people eat that cause obesity and other health problems. He also writes awesome health articles for the New York Times, such as "Is Sugar Toxic?" and "What if it's All Been a Big Fat Lie?".

U is for Unconventional, which is what this lifestyle is to 99% of people. Our views are anti-Conventional Wisdom-- we don't buy into the "low-fat, high-carb, whole-grain" diet that has been one of the major causes of the obesity epidemic. We know that our bodies don't need grains or run on carbs; we know that it's okay to be barefoot; we know that fat is good and won't make us fat. People think we're crazy, but it is our unorthodox views that will lead us to have better health than those who blindly follow the Food Pyramid/Plate and the advice of their doctors who don't know anything about proper nutrition.

V is for Vibram FiveFingers, a brand of minimalist shoes that is quite popular among the Paleo/Primal community. For more information on minimalist running and VFFs, check out "Paleo From Head to Toe with the Barefoot Lifestyle," "Vibram FiveFingers" at MDA, and read Born to Run.

W is for Weston A. Price, a dentist who examined the link between dental health and the Western Diet, and found that the teeth of people who ate indigenous diets were, essentially, perfect, whereas the teeth of those who ate diets high in processed crap had dental problems. His book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, should be required reading for everyone (especially doctors and dentists!), and his legacy lives on through the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), which has chapters all over the world.

X is for Xocolatl (hah- I came up with an X word!), the word in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs) that is the most likely etymology of chocolate due to a combination of xococ ("bitter") and atl ("water" or "drink"). Dark chocolate (that is, 70% cocoa content and higher) has been shown to have a lot of health benefits, and Mark Sisson calls it a "sensible vice" and gives tips in this post about chocolate consumption in the Paleo/Primal lifestyle. (Dark chocolate is also used a lot in Paleo baking, like in these scones or this cake.)

Y is for YOU. Paleo isn't a fad diet-- it's a lifestyle all about making YOU healthier, happier, leaner, and stronger. People are going to try to sabotage your efforts by saying, "Oh, just eat one cookie-- it's okay!" and "One piece of bread won't kill you!" But don't listen to them-- this is your body, your life, and your choices. Don't let other people bring you down or make you sick. Believe in yourself, and know that only YOU control your own present and future health-- not doctors, not the FDA or USDA, not the media, not your friends. You can do it, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Z is for Zinc, a very important mineral that is essential for digestion, healing wounds, fighting infections, the immune system, brain function, fertility, bone health, eyesight, clear skin, and quite a few other things that will add to your health. Meat, seeds, fish, and 100% unsweetened chocolate are all good sources of zinc.

Quote of the Day, in picture form (from Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida):

Reflections on the Last Four Semesters/My Paleo Journey

Classes ended this week, which means I'm now halfway done with college. As I reflect over the last two years, I realized that I've made a lot of life changes that have left me happier and healthier than I've ever been before.

Paleo and my health/nutrition passion changed my life. I'm physically much healthier than I was fifteen months ago, but my whole outlook on life has changed as well-- I'm much more positive, I worry less, and I enjoy things a lot more now in general. I feel like a completely different person.

I started college 50 pounds and 5 sizes bigger than I am now. Like any new college student, I went crazy on carb-loaded, sugary foods-- cereal and pizza were eaten at any time of the day, Wawa milkshakes and Insomnia Cookies were the best 2am snacks, and Ritz crackers and Nutella were my favorite food groups. I rarely, if ever, got enough sleep-- I was constantly exhausted, stressed out, and suffering from colds and mood swings. I was sedentary, putting on the Freshman Fifteen, and not really caring about what I ate in the least bit. I can always just go low carb one day and I'll be fine. No problem, I told myself. I've done it a million times before. So the semester ended and I went from eating a ton at school to eating a ton over the holidays.

By January, my jeans barely fit and I felt sluggish all the time. I was getting a bit more sleep than the previous semester, but I was still almost always exhausted, sick, and moody. I remember my last night on the SAD: January 31, 2010. I'd eaten a bowl of Fruity Pebbles for dinner (I'm shuddering at that thought right now), but was still ravenously hungry... so I went to Wawa and ate a hoagie as well. What the hell was wrong with me? Disgusting! That's when I made up my mind: tomorrow would be the first day of the rest of my life. Of course, I'd told myself this a million times before, always with the same result: I'd eat low-carb for a month or so, lose some weight, then go right back to the SAD and be even heavier than before. But, as I've mentioned in some of my previous posts, February 1, 2010, actually was "the first day of the rest of my life."

I always talk about how awesome Paleo is (because it is!) and how fantastic I feel, but it hasn't always been so easy: that first semester of healthy eating was really, really freaking difficult. Eating low carb (which somewhere along the line turned into the Caveman Diet) in an SAD world was extremely isolating. "No, I don't want to order pizza. No, I can't go out for fro-yo. No, I don't want to make pasta and popcorn. Yes, all I'm eating for dinner is salad and a piece of chicken. No, I'm not crazy-- I swear."

I developed major food and social anxiety-- it was easier for me to not go out at all than to have to deal with food-related situations (which, at college, is almost all of them). This was before I discovered the Paleo/Primal community, so I felt really isolated, anxious, and alone-- and that carried through the summer, where I had to deal with my friends from home telling me to "just eat a sandwich" or that "a little ice cream won't kill you." God, that was difficult. I didn't want to go out, I didn't want to see anyone... and I didn't want to talk about it because I was so afraid of being lectured again or having people think I was even crazier than they did already. So I spent my first six months eating like a cavewoman feeling totally out of my mind and living as a hermit as much as possible. I was still coping with my big lifestyle change and I was still trying to grow into my new body-- I still saw myself 50 pounds ago and would wake up every morning amazed at the size of my new jeans.

End of the Fall, 2009 semester vs. End of Spring, 2010 semester

About a week before the fall semester started, it was like a switch flipped in my mind-- the anxiety went away and I no longer saw that former fat girl in the mirror. I realized recently that it was because I was no longer speaking to some of the people who caused a lot of my anxiety and brought a ton of petty drama and negative energy into my life (mostly because Penn starts later than most schools, so no one was around much that late in the summer)-- I could just focus on me without hearing the constant lectures and unnecessary BS. I cut my hair short for the first time in years; I went shopping for some new clothes in bright colors (after years of only wearing black because I wanted to look thinner). I wanted to put my SAD life and my former negativity behind me for good-- almost seven months after February 1, I knew this wasn't just a temporary thing. I was ready to start my third semester healthy, happy, and feeling a hell of a lot better. Would social events still be an issue? Would people still think I'm insane? Absolutely. But after spending months adjusting to this lifestyle, I knew I was really healthy... so to hell with people's opinions! People thought Socrates and Columbus were insane too-- it's only a matter of time before CW, SAD-followers come around to Paleo and realize that we're right.

My passion for nutrition, which had slowly started over the summer, became full-blown in the fall. Not only was I feeling great and being more social, but I was becoming more informed about nutrition-- I spent my free time reading up on health/nutrition online, subscribing to newsletters, and spending my Fall Break reading Michael Pollan. I was getting a lot of sleep, staying active by taking the stairs up to my 13th-floor dorm room multiple times a day, and keeping the anxiety-causing people away. I just felt like a better person. It's amazing how much things change when negative energy is removed! (I met up with a friend over Christmas break that I hadn't seen in a long time, and she said something along the lines of "You're not as negative and cynical anymore! You seem so happy!") So I spent the semester kicking ass grade-wise, feeling happier and healthier than ever before, and falling more and more in love with health, wellness, and nutrition. (I even went Primal vegetarian for awhile after reading a ton of "vegetarianism is so healthy!" books/articles... except it just made me feel sick. Bleh.)

I also rediscovered a lot of my former passions and developed new ones. A question on PaleoHacks yesterday made me think about this, because once I really transitioned to the Paleo/healthy lifestyle, my "spare-time was totally reinvented." I've been playing a ton of piano and writing a lot of poetry these last two semesters-- I hadn't done much of either my first year of college. I developed a love of cooking, and I am so excited to cook a lot at home this summer. I also enjoy the outdoors more-- for example, I spent all of today outside in the sun, playing kickball and frisbee with my friends (something I'm pretty sure I never would've done last year). I now love taking walks, going for runs, reading in the sun, being outside. I truly believe that Paleo is the "spice of life" and is just another reason to adopt this lifestyle.

January, 2011. Semester 4 of college and still eating as far away from the SAD as possible! For almost a year, I hadn't counted carbs or calories and I was eating so much without ever putting on weight. This lifestyle was awesome! But I was still Primal vegetarian (as in... take the Primal rules and just substitute meat for tofu) and suffering from IBS-like symptoms. My dad sent me Cordain's The Paleo Diet via Nook and, well, the rest is history. I discovered the Paleo/Primal/Caveman community and realized that there are other people out there who are just as passionate about this lifestyle as I am. A ton of networking, books, and blogs later, I've never been happier. This has been such a phenomenal, Paleo/health-filled semester, and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

So why am I talking about this now, over a year after my Healthy Living journey began? Because I want to thank all of my readers and the Paleo/Primal community for making this semester my best one so far. I also want everyone-- especially those new to or thinking about making the change to Paleo/Primal-- to know you are not alone. There are people out there-- on the internet, in your own community, staring at you from bookshelves, going on TV and radio shows-- that are just as health-conscious as you are. Nothing has made me happier than finding the Paleo community this semester, and I wish I had become a part of it when I first embarked on my Paleo journey.

Can the transition to Paleo be difficult? Will your friends, family, and peers think you've gone crazy? Of course. Making a major life change is never easy! But this is a life change that is for the better. Once you get through the transition period, I guarantee that you will look and feel-- both physically and mentally-- better, and this will be a permanent thing. Don't give up, and don't feel like you're going through this alone, because you're not. Sign up for blog updates, join a Paleo meet-up group in your area, try to get someone to transition with you, read Everyday Paleo, check out PaleoHacks, subscribe to the new Paleo Magazine, hold a Paleo potluck meal with your friends and family, get rid of anyone or anything that causes negative energy or weighs you down more than the SAD. Don't listen to Conventional Wisdom and don't let your SAD friends bully you back into eating whole grains and processed crap. Stay strong, and don't give up-- you can do this! Thousands of people all over the world have transitioned to Paleo and changed their lives for the better, so reach out and don't go through this alone! The Paleo community is always looking for new enthusiasts, so come join us!

Quote of the Day:

"Happiness lies, first of all, in health." -George William Curtis

Kind of sums it up:

(This post is participating in the Primal Den Blog Carnival.)

Etymology of "Diet"

When we hear the word diet, we probably think of it to mean a way of eating that restricts certain food groups ("a low-carb diet"), or a term used by food businesses to make you think their products are healthy when, in reality, they're pumped with chemicals ("Diet Coke"). When we hear this word, we almost always associate it with food (or lack thereof).

However, diet comes from a Greek word meaning "lifestyle," which is a definition that doesn't mention food at all! While the Oxford English Dictionary considers this meaning for diet obsolete, it is still the first entry that appears!

The word diet bothers a lot of people in regards to Paleo/Primal eating. I read a blog a few days ago by someone who absolutely refuses to read Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet and Loren Cordain's The Paleo Diet because of this little four-letter word on the front cover, using the reasoning that diet means it's not a permanent thing. I can understand the objection to the word (but not the refusal to read those two amazing books), because every time I've gone on a diet, it was only temporary and I went right back to my old eating habits after I lost some weight.

When I first started thinking about my low-carb/real food diet as a lifestyle (before I knew that it was called Paleo/Primal), I became extremely objected to the word too-- about seven months into eating this way (at some point last September), I had my first real issue with diet. I had dinner with a friend who I hadn't seen since the spring, and he commented on my salad, even though the dining hall was having a pasta night. I responded with "I don't eat grains," and he asked, "What? Are you on the Atkins diet?" It was the first time I thought of my way of eating as a lifestyle, rather than a diet, and I told him so: "No. I just don't eat processed foods." I remember actually being offended that my friend referred to my eating habits as a diet!

Being a linguistics major (and just a bit of a nerd in general), I went back to my dorm and looked up the word diet in the OED (which provides the etymology of essentially every word in the English language) and was amazed at the definition in the first entry: "diet, n. 1. Course of life: way of living or thinking." What?! Diet hasn't always meant "food restriction"?!?! I learned that diet was borrowed into English via Old French (diete) via Latin (diæta) via the Greek word δίαιτα (diaita), meaning "mode of life" or "lifestyle."

Although the use of diet to mean "lifestyle" is obsolete today, this etymological information no longer makes me objected to the use of the word to describe eating Paleo/Primal. I'm still not crazy about the word diet because of its negative connotations, however-- I much prefer calling it a "lifestyle," or even the (slightly redundant) "Paleo/Primal Diet Lifestyle."

Whether it's a "diet" or a "lifestyle," eating Paleo/Primal/Caveman/Real Food is the way to go!

Quote of the Day:

"Every human being is the author of his own health or disease." -Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)

(Doing an I.F., so no fun pictures today!)