By definition, a diet is the usual selection of foods eaten by a person. I and many of my clients follow the Paleolithic or hunter-gatherer Diet.
THE PALEOLITHIC DIET There are races of people who are all slim, who are stronger and faster than us. They all have straight teeth and perfect eyesight. Arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, schizophrenia and cancer are absolute rarities for them. These people are the last 84 tribes of hunter-gatherers in the world. They share a secret that is over 2 million years old. Their secret is their diet- a diet that has changed little from that of the first humans 2 million years ago, and their predecessors up to 7 million years ago. Theirs is the diet that man evolved on, the diet that is coded for in our genes.
All major dietary components are covered- (i.e. vitamins, fats, protein, fats, carbohydrates, antioxidants and phytosterols etc). This is for the simple reason that it is the only diet that is coded for in our genes- it contains only those foods that were "on the table" during our long evolution, and discards those which were not.
Written by Dr. Ben Balzer, family physician
Grains, Beans and Potatoes share the following important characteristics: They are all toxic when raw- there is no doubt about this- it is a fact that no competent source would dispute- they can be extremely dangerous and it is important never to eat them raw or undercooked. These toxins include enzyme blockers, lectins and other types.
Cooking destroys most but not all of the toxins. Insufficient cooking can lead to sickness such as acute gastroenteritis.
They are all rich sources of carbohydrate, and once cooked this is often rapidly digestible-giving a high glycemic index (sugar spike).
They are extremely poor sources of vitamins (particularly vitamins A, B-group, folic acid and C), minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols.
As grains, beans and potatoes form such a large proportion of the modern diet, you can now understand why it is so common for people to feel they need supplements or that they need to detoxify (because they have toxins in their system) indeed both feelings are absolutely correct. Unfortunately, we don’t necessarily realize which supplements we need, and ironically when people go on detoxification diets they unfortunately often consume even more Neolithic foods (eg soy beans) and therefore more toxins than usual.
The essentials of the Paleolithic Diet are:
Eat none of the following: Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles. Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas. Potatoes. Dairy products. Sugar. Salt.
Eat the following: Meat, chicken and fish. Eggs. Fruit. Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes). Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own). Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.
Try to increase your intake of: Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes. Organ meats- liver and kidneys.
It will take some time for your body to adjust to the changes after all these years. There is a huge surge in your vitamin intake. There is a huge decrease in your toxin intake.
