A paleo diet strives to approximate the authentic diet of humanity prior to the advent of the Neolithic era, also known as the agricultural revolution, roughly ten-thousand years ago. Those who adopt a paleo lifestyle, eliminate most, if not all, grains, dairy, beans, legumes, processed vegetable oils and sugars, and nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.), from their diet. This brief article primarily addresses issues related to grains and meat.
An orange is a spectacular biological specimen. Not only does it taste good, it’s packed with micronutrients that the human body craves and requires. Oranges are extremely digestible and fun to eat. The nutritional properties of an orange are readily and safely absorbed by the digestive organs of the human body. There’s little doubt that oranges ought to be included in a balanced diet. Nevertheless, not all foods are as digestible and beneficial to human health as an orange. A paleo diet is founded upon the premise that not every food that can be eaten, should be eaten.
Grains are seeds…grass seeds to be exact. Wheat, oats, barley, corn, etc…They’re all grasses. All grain products are made from the seeds of the grass of the field. It wasn’t until the advent of the agricultural revolution, approximately 10,000 years ago, that grains were pounded into flour for food. Prior to that, it appears that grains were only consumed during periods of extreme famine. Without pounding the seeds to smithereens, or lots of chewing, grain is largely indigestible. Even after pulverizing grass seeds into the finest of flours, many of the nutritional properties contained in grass seeds are indigestible.
Many foods, including fruits, vegetables, and seafood, contain lectins and saponins, which serve as protection against predators, but grains, legumes, beans, and nightshade plants, contain much higher levels of these indigestible antinutrients. As it turns out, lectins and saponins are unable to be decomposed by digestive acids or enzymes.
Research has implicated indigestible plant lectins, saponins, glutens, and other antinutrients in the development of “Leaky Gut Syndrome, a dangerous intestinal condition.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is caused, in part, by the binding of anti nutrients with cell membranes, causing the intestinal membrane to buckle and break free from the intestinal wall. The resulting opening in the intestinal membrane allows large and disruptive molecules to invade the bloodstream, as well as every organ system in the body. Leaky Gut Syndrome, and the food particles that escape the intestinal barrier, increase immune reactions to foreign particles, as well as what is known as cross-reaction or mimicry, whereby the immune system attacks the body’s own cells, since they are chemically similar to the foreign particles. Leaky Gut Syndrome has been linked to a variety of distinct diseases, including auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, as well as arthritis, inflammation, heart disease, asthma, allergies, acne, and a variety of intestinal ailments. Grains also have a high glycemic load value, in addition to being very acidic, both of which promote diet related disease.
In recent decades, government agencies and leading nutritionists have trumpeted the dangers of meat consumption, and promoted the benefits of cereal grains. The paleo diet, which attempts to replicate the diet of humanity prior to the advent of modern agriculture and food processing, stresses the importance of lean meat in the human diet, since animal products are the only complete source of protein and Essential amino acids. Generally, a paleo diet relies upon lean meat for at least twenty to thirty percent of total calories, though processed meat products are completely avoided.
Due to the harmful effects of an acidic diet on health, in both humans and animals, it is recommended that meat from grass fed cattle be preferred. Much like wild game and fish, grass fed animals are lower in total and saturated fat, higher in omega 3 fatty acids, and less acidic than commercially produced livestock.
A paleo diet endeavors to replicate the natural diet of humanity. As with many things in life, looking back to the earliest practices and traditions of human civilization can teach us many important lessons. Bon appétit!