Saturday, December 21, 2013

Meat! It's what's for breakfast!

Call me insane, call me slow, just don't call me late for the dinner bell!

After getting on board with the concept of a Paleo Diet, I have begun to make some form of lean meat a part of every meal! But wait! It's not only meat, but that also includes good healthy servings of veggies and fruit! That combination is similar to what our far distant ancestors ate some million or so year ago. On the flip side, it also means that many of the food items I used to love; taters, toast, hamburgers on buns and such are no longer de rigueur for me personally.

Why would I make such a drastic change? It's all about managing my Omega-6 versus Omega-3 fatty acid intake so as to make it more in line with how my body is genetically programmed. According to Dr. Andrew Weil (creator of Weil Lifestyle, LLC), 'Many nutrition experts believe that before (the agricultural revolution) we relied heavily on processed foods and humans consumed omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in roughly equal amounts. But, to our great detriment, most North Americans and Europeans now get far too much of the omega-6s and not enough of the omega-3s. This dietary imbalance may explain the rise of such diseases as asthma, coronary heart disease, many forms of cancer, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative diseases, all of which are believed to stem from inflammation in the body.' [paraphrased by author]

Pretty heavy stuff, if true! In fact, the eating of breads, canned goods and dairy products can spike the Omega-6 vs 3 ratio to something like 22:1! In addition, the very high salt content of many processed foods has been definitively linked to hypertension and high blood pressure – two conditions that lead to heart attacks which are one of the top killers in America today!

So, the diet requires one to give up many of the comfort foods we all so enjoy. What do you get in return? How about a diet where you don't have to count calories, will lose weight rapidly down to your ideal BMI (see Body Mass Index calculator), have lots more energy and (best of all) that trip to the grocery store will become a breeze!

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