I just read this blog entry from Dr. Keith Harris of PaNu fame. His blog is filled with great nutrition advice and he doesn't mince words. When asked questions about the Paleo diet, people are always amazed when I tell them I've cut out grains. I usually get the response, "I can see why you'd cut out refined flour and sugar...but why WHOLE GRAINS?" Dr. Harris has great insight into that answer and if you have time, check out his blog here: Where are all the Healthy Whole Grains?
He says: "Increase Fats to 65-70%, and cut out all residual grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn and rice so that only the green salads and non starchy veggies are left. This will get carbs down to 10% (roughly 50g per day) and absolutely minimize glucose, fructose and insulin effects. If you agree that in a food- abundant environment we can keep our insulin levels low with this regime, then it will be very hard to achieve this without eliminating grains. Second, there is no downside to eliminating the few remaining "healthy whole grains" after the white sugar and flour are gone because there never were any "healthy whole grains" in the first place."
He went on to make the point, "I am still waiting for someone to show me a shred of evidence that there is anything essential we can only get from grains, gluten or not .
Grains are all high-carbohydrate foods that are deficient in healthy fats, lacking in vitamins compared to other sources, and have proteins that are poison to a large segment of the population. (Gluten)
The only way to get a "wholesome healthy whole grain" is to put the words "wholesome" and "healthy" in front of the words "whole grain". The rest is just a fantasy made necessary by our culture's long history of dependence on cereal grains, juiced by politically correct forces that were created in the 1970's by George McGovern's meddling, the demonization of fat and meat as decadent, and the confluence of these forces with Aquarian Rousseauist fantasies of a lost utopia where no animals need to die." He's a pretty entertaining writer with lots of science to back him up. Give his blog a read...
And if this doesn't change your mind about keeping grains out of the mix, then type in the word "Lectins" into your google browser and read the stuff that comes up. You'll never want to eat grains again!
~Frowney Face Bread image was copied from: Love to Be Fit for Life Blog!
As always, great picture Laurie!! Love the frowny face bread. Bread and grains are now classified as a "junk" in our house. Have to reshape the thinkiong patterns around here.
Posted by: Leeny | February 09, 2010 at 06:31 PM
I wanted to throw this question out there. Going back to the endocrinology 101 talk we had. Leeny - you had talked about how we are transforming the way our body depends on food for energy, and by cutting down on refined and processed foods, we're starting to get glucose/ketones from a breakdown fats rather than carbs. Now that we've been clean for 30 days, and will be for another, our body has *hopefully* adapted to this new source of energy. Now - my main concern is this. We travel, we visit family - esp. for someone like me, who has family back in India, where breads, lentils and rice are staple food. We're going to eat that because frankly, a majority of my family is vegetarian, so im not going to make them change their life around me - YET :)
So - do you know what happens to our body when we do ingest these carbs and whole grains? Does the body revert back to its old habits and raise blood sugar levels? or not? Reading the Pa-Nu link that was posted, it seemed that people who did Paleo 80% of the time, lost a lot of the gains they saw when they did 100% paleo.
I'm curious to know how we can live this style of eating in the long term.
Posted by: Parth | February 10, 2010 at 11:12 AM
Parth, THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION and i'm looking forward to the answer!! Looking forward to talking about all of this at Leeny's!! I was wondering if some people who do Paleo full time ever have a cheat day? How does that affect them?
Posted by: Judy Harrison | February 10, 2010 at 05:55 PM
Parth,
Wow, what a great question. So many different things to think about...
First of all, since you will have taken grains out of the mix for about 2 months, I'd venture to say that when/if you add whole grains back into your diet, even if it's just a week or so here and there when you are traveling, you may notice some discomfort. Bloating, pain, gas, and cramping might happen...it just depends on how sensitive to the gluten you are. (remind me not to sit by you on the airplane...) Same for legumes like lentils. They may just cause you a little discomfort because your body has not been bombarded by lectins and gluten and has up-regulated it's sensitivity toward these things. Hopefully, you won't have too many side effects after eating these foods again and your indulgence in these neolithic foods will be reserved for when you are traveling. When you get home, you get back on the wagon and eat the food that you know makes you look, feel and perform well. Your body will let you know what it does and doesn't like. Your stomach and intestines will be like the nightclub bouncer who says, "OK, everyone out! We gotta clean this place up."
As far as insulin sensitivity goes, you may notice that after eating a high carbohydrate meal, especially one that includes grains, legumes and rice you might feel just plain crappy. Do you ever remember eating Pixie Styx as a kid and then having the heart palpitations and overall jitteryness? That feeling can come about after an insulin rush. Your insulin sensitivity will also have been upregulated after eating a lower CHO diet and it won't take as much insulin to clear your blood sugar. But you won't like the way you feel. If you continue to eat like this for some time, you will lose some of your sensitivity. How much, I don't know for sure. Just try and always have a good source of protein to eat with your carbs. When you go to India, will you have access to animal protein if everyone is vegetarian? I respect the fact that this way of eating is very common in other cultures. Their protein comes mostly from the gluten in the breads and the legumes. However, there is no match for good ol' animal, poultry or fish protein. If I were you, I would stock up on some beef jerkey or at the very least, some protein powder to balance out the carbs. You get that good glucagon response with the animal protein and balanced hormones are happy hormones.
My feeling is that 80% Paleo is 80% better than no Paleo. The goal is to maintain insulin sensitivity and you do that by keeping the carbs on the low side and eating lots of green veggies. Keeping grains out is one of the best ways of insuring that insulin levels don't get too high. Your body just functions better as a whole when insulin sensitivity is just right. Too much insulin and your lipid panel takes a nosedive and your pants start to get tight around the waist. I'm glad that you will have established a "baseline" of gut health and you will have something to compare to if you add the grains back in. I think we just try like heck to eat clean and when life gets in the way, we do what we gotta do. Then we get back on the pony...
leeny
Posted by: Leeny | February 10, 2010 at 08:40 PM
Judy,
The nefarious "cheat day" has been debated by lots of different people. Some say it is a good release and gives you something to look forward to. When you've had your fill of dirty eating, the idea is that you'll feel so crappy that you will actually look forward to eating healthy again. Others say that having a cheat day makes it very hard to get back on the wagon. One cheat day turns to two and so on. Still others suggest that a planned cheat day takes your focus off of all the good, positive things you are doing for your body and puts it on the "forbidden" foods and psychologically it is counter productive. I think a moderate approach to "cheating" is best. Eat clean as much as you can. Feel good, look good, be in control. If you find yourself out with friends at dinner, have a glass or two of wine and enjoy dinner. Maybe it wasn't a "planned" cheat but a little flexibility allows you the freedom to enjoy things as they come. I may go to dinner and have wine, but skip the bread. I'll order a steak instead of the pasta. Those are things I can live with.
If you have a huge craving for something sweet and you're due for a cheat, then go get some icecream or cake and get your craving taken care of. But eat it out instead of bringing it home. Then you won't have it lying around waiting to tempt you more.
The downside to giving into a cheat, especially high carb, refined, sugary cheats is that like crack, it will only make you want it more. You have to be very careful of that. If it's something sweet or chocolatey that you crave, buy a really nice piece of dark chocolate. It is loaded with antioxidants and is lower in sugar than regular chocolate. We are all human and food is such an enjoyable part of life. Through this challenge, we have learned that we can eat delicious, high quality food that is still healthy. After the 30 days, you better believe I'm going to enjoy a beautiful bowl of blueberries and strawberries atop a mound of homemade whipped cream with vanilla and a little piece of dark chocolate on the side. Now that sounds delicious to me.
leeny
PS Homemade whipped cream is easy. All you need is heavy cream and a whisk and a little vanilla to flavor. It's not artifically sweet like the spray kind, and its buttery, soft flavor gives anything its paired with a lovely, decadent taste.
Posted by: Leeny | February 10, 2010 at 09:00 PM
Amen!
Posted by: Judy Harrison | February 10, 2010 at 09:02 PM
Leeny, thanks a million for your answer! Really gave me some things to think about and great ideas! Your support has been extremely helpful for me! Thanks again!!
Posted by: Judy Harrison | February 10, 2010 at 09:09 PM
Thanks for the info Leeny. I think the real test will be once this challenge is over, and we go into this sort of semi-regulated lifestyle. I definitely think some choices will be easy to make - like the pastas, white breads etc. but I think the ill-effects of certain foods will be great reminders why we're eating the way we are. Pain/discomfort is a good reminder of why not to do things, and sometimes we humans need that reminding more than once. I'll set a benchmark now and see what 90% paleo does, and then what 80% paleo does to my body... Perhaps this longitudinal approach will be the best answer to my question as to how my body will adapt to this hybrid diet.
Posted by: Parth | February 11, 2010 at 10:54 AM
Oooooo my mouth is watering just thinking of homemade whipped cream with fresh berries and a side of dark chocholate Leeny! I bought an 80% cocoa bar today at Whole Foods because it was on sale, I'm afraid to touch it though because I might wake the monster!
Posted by: michelle | February 12, 2010 at 02:18 PM
I'm thinking a swimming suit would look better with a sixpack, maybe this will be a good visual to inspire me through this Paleo adventure(Lookin good, feelin good, better workouts, sounds better than chocholate and lasts much longer). Loving all the great info Leeny! thanks!
Posted by: michelle | February 12, 2010 at 02:33 PM
Michelle, your so right!! Just visualizing ourselves feeling comfortable in our bathing suites this summer is a good incentive to stay good to ourselves by eating healthy!! Also, we are stronger now and can handle the chocolate much better.
Posted by: Judy Harrison | February 12, 2010 at 02:56 PM