Good morning blog friends! I am back from my short birthday trip to LA to see my family, and even though my husband and dog and I had a fantastic trip, it is always good to be home. Jared and I talk a lot about food, and how we eat, and what we should eat... food has been on the forefront of our minds since we realized that gluten has been wreaking havoc on me for years. We ate some great food this past week (lots of birthday celebrating with food), but we are both feeling a bit sluggish after all the indulging (think lots of fantastic cheese). We have been talking about eliminating some foods from our diet for a while now, but we decided to wait until after our trip to make travel a little easier on us. So today begins our first day of Paleo eating. The Paleo "diet" (I HATE THE WORD DIET) is very popular right now, with people who follow it claiming weight loss, clear skin and increased energy. Now, I have a very strong opinion about "DIETS". I basically think diets are crap. I think you should eat foods that don't have ingredient labels (think: kale. salmon. kidney beans. sesame seeds. peaches.) I think you should cook at home as much as possible. I think you should do your best to eat the best available foods, but I also strongly believe you have to live your life and not punish yourself when you indulge in things that are not as good for you. The stress of following a strict diet will do more damage to your body then the occasional brownie or burger! That is why I have never really followed a "diet" (except now being g-free). Now that I know so much more about digestion and our bodies ability to heal, I am a firm believer that most of us probably have some foods that are just not good for us individually. And I don't mean not good in a "oooh onion rings" way, I mean in a "I have an intolerance to _____ and it makes me feel like crap but I keep eating it because it is too yummy to cut out so I'll just deal with the consequences" way. You may only be noticing gas and mental fog after eating dairy, and think "no big deal", but it IS a big deal. Depending on how severe your intolerance/allergy/discomfort is, your poor little intestinal lining could be under attack and you might not notice until things get really bad (I am a prime example of this- I had years of varying symptoms, but it took it getting really sick before we figured it out- no more gluten, EVER.) My husbands D.O, my Acupuncturist, and my M.D have encouraged us in the past to do an elimination diet, and it has helped both of us so much to learn what we can tolerate and what we can't (my hubs has some issues with dairy- he is not lactose intolerant, but he has some side effects after he eats it). I don't have any diagnosed issues with dairy, but when I eat it I break out, and my sinuses get yucky and clogged- so clearly something is not happy when I put dairy into my body...
Now, back to the Paleo thing. I can't tell you how much I hate the smug label "Paleo". Ugh. I am educated in biology, and I smirk every time I hear someone talk about how they eat Paleo, and how it is how our bodies are supposed eat, and how it is how our ancestors ate and so that's how we should eat. I want to yell "did you miss the section on Evolution in science class??!!" We haven't been cavemen for quite some time. Grains and legumes are traditional parts of most diets across the world, and have evolved with us (and by us) as ancient hunter gatherer cultures became agricultural cultures. (Also, if you were truly paleo, you would be eating already starting to decompose meat that you found more then you were actually hunting and killing that free range buffalo. And cavemen didn't sit around churning grass fed butter. Just saying.) Many traditional cultures that still eat their traditional foods (including grains and beans) are some of the healthiest populations in the world. That said, we in the western world are seriously screwing up our systems with our crappy diet. Clearly, our current system of food is making us sick. And in order to heal ourselves, we have to stop eating that way. I have been doing a lot of reading on healing the gut, which is a must after being diagnosed intolerant/allergic to a food- some damage, mild to severe, has been done to your intestines if you have an intolerance or allergy. Damage may even be happening if you have no diagnosed issues, but you are still feeling bad and can't figure out why. This is when you should consider removing inflammatory foods from your diet- whatever you think might be making you feel crappy, remove it for a few weeks to a few months, and see how you feel. Jared and I are "going Paleo" for a few months because I know now that (besides being Celiac), we both have some issues with grains and legumes and dairy, but we both actually function better eating meat and good fats. So Paleo it is for a few months. Jared told me last night "I am worried because I think I am going to feel better." I told him to look at it differently- be happy because you might be feeling so much better!
So we will see how this adventure into the "Paleo lifestyle" goes. I am predicting increased energy and happier bowels. I am excited to try out some new recipes, and will share the ones that turn out particularly yummy with you guys. Let me know if you have done an elimination diet, or you eat Paleo, or if you have cut out anything and feel better- I love hearing peoples stories about taking back their health. Cheers!
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