DIET
Atlantic salmon coupled with organic produce from different parts of the world, with raw paleo brownies for dessert sounds anything but paleolithic to me.
and while there’s the argument of ‘2 million years of evolutionary evidence’ always waiting in the shadows, the items I see paleo-ists eating usually do not resemble anything that I imagine a paleolithic person in any region of the world would have eaten. Atlantic salmon coupled with organic produce from different parts of the world, with raw paleo brownies for dessert sounds anything but paleolithic to me. There are very few studies done on the benefits of a 100% raw food diet, and none done on its long-term sustainability. The funny thing about scientific
evidence is that, if you look hard enough, you can find evidence for whichever argument you decide to take, whether it’s paleo or the exact opposite – a high carbohydrate, low to no animal protein, plant-based vegan approach. The work of Colin Campbell and
Cardwell Esselstyn exemplifies the many benefits of such a diet. Their studies are probably the most comprehensive and scientifically valid of the lot. It still doesn’t make them perfect and fail- proof, however. I’ve seen people on a vegan diet suffer, the same way I’ve seen paleo people and raw foodists suffer. Not everyone does well on a 100% vegan diet, the same way not everyone suits a high animal protein diet.
3
“IT’S HOW WE WERE MEANT TO EAT”
The flyer at a paleo cafe I enjoy attending says the paleo diet “avoids dairy, grains, legumes, added sugars and preservatives, which our bodies were not designed to digest” Really? What about the traditional cultures who adapted to digesting
12 MARCH 2017
lactose and have lived for centuries eating cultured raw milk products, like the Abkhasians of Russia? Or the myriad traditional cultures that eat legumes and grains on a daily basis – Indians with rice and dahl, or native Central Americans with maize and beans? You could hardly argue that these guys – when left in their traditional settings – are unhealthy. The same applies with hard core raw
foodists and vegans. ‘We weren’t meant to eat cooked food.’ We don’t have the correct length digestive tract or teeth to digest meat.’ While it’s easy to find some form of evidence for some of these statements, they are still sweeping statements – they simply don’t work for EVERYone. The paleo, i.e., ‘what cavemen actually
ate’ aspect is arguably just its hook and underpinning principle; a clever marketing tool. It’s not a paleo label that will make you healthy. Rather, any success that comes does so because ultimately it promotes eating lots of fresh vegetables, and avoiding processed food where possible.
5 WAYS TO DODGE MAGIC BULLETS AND SAVE YOURSELF (A LOT OF) PAIN If you’ve found yourself feeling disappointed or like a failure after being paleo/raw/vegan for a while and having it go pear-shaped, don’t worry. Here are five ways you can find a way of eating that works for you.
1
CLARIFY YOUR MOTIVES Why do you want to go vegan / raw
/ paleo? Is it to lose weight / fit into your old jeans / get clearer skin? If so, look a little deeper. Why do you want to lose weight or have better skin? The deeper reason for embarking upon any health endeavour is often to feel more confident, to feel more satisfied, to have a richer and more meaningful life. But feeling good is not dependent only on diet. You need to look at all aspects of your
life in order to feel good – that includes your emotional landscape, exercise and other habits, attitudes, values, beliefs. It involves assessing your job satisfaction, family dynamics, relationships, and lifestyle. Look at the whole picture. Diet is
important, but it’s only one piece of a much larger whole.
2
PRACTISE INTUITIVE EATING It’s okay if you eat a salad, ditch
refined sugars, or eat a vegan meal – as long as it’s truly what you feel like. The only reliable authority, in the
end, is your own body. Learn to trust your body again, and how to listen to the messages it is sending you about diet. The simple tools of tuning into your body and fully experiencing each bite of food have the power to resolve most questions about food choices and diet. Rather than adopt a diet, you could
try a more intuitive way of eating that is highly personalised to your needs, food preferences, lifestyle, and experiences. A truly instinctive approach to
nutrition aligns joyful, nurturing eating with the authentic needs of body and soul. It doesn’t include eating raw salads in winter when you are dying for a hot pumpkin soup.
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