The Paleo Diet Interests Me

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For the last 3-4 years I've fasted once a week as part of my philosophical practice. Fasting is not pleasant (which is partly the point) but I never really had a problem doing it until I started eating all those carbs in the Mediterranean diet. I'd get really powerful cravings that made fasting nearly impossible.

Since I've started eating low-carb, fasting is much easier again...
The drug-like effects of carbs on some people are amazing. If I hadn't experienced them first hand, I'm not sure I'd believe it.

Been on paleo for 4 months. It's good for the blood sugar, it used to fluctuate on carbs but now it's always the same (normal). I have also lost weight despite being already skinny. Cholesterol shouldn't be a problem (which it many time is for low-carbers) either as long as I keep the meat low-fat. Cabbage also forms most of the vegetables that I eat, apparently it lowers cholesterol as well.

^^^^^ Ditto ditto ditto. I agree; it is shocking, and almost unbelievable. There are several possible "cascades" of complex inter-related biochemical effects ( impacting on central neurological pathways, serotonin, dopamine, etc eg. of long-term-planning, delayed reward, and effort ) which lead to cravings/dependency. And which can make kicking carbos, both simple sugars and more complex starchy ones, as hard as giving up drugs.
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I feel healthier eating a higher percentage of protein. It sounds like different diets work well for different people.

I am assuming Paleo is that of what ancient humans ate as a part of their daily diet.


I think much of this would depend on what culture/family tree you came out of.
Our genetics support a diet from the region our ancestors came out of, so whats right for one person would not necessarily be right for someone else.

For example, a large part of our DNA is composed of a verity of viruses our bodies became immune to but still exists as a part of our DNA, and if you doubt that then look at what happened to the American Indian when the first Europeans landed in the Americas. many died of sicknesses they were never before exposed to.

An European diet would be different then an African or Egyptian diet, based on what foods in the region was available in that given persons families ancient past. their bodies would have adapted to what was available. this is one of the reasons there are so many races and types of people in the world.

As such our bodies adjust according to its needs, or that of what it can make best from the environment it adapted to. so in this sense the Paleo diet would work for most anyone, as long as its based on their own ancestry's diets. but the same Paleo diet that would work for one person would not for someone else.

Also, the Paleo diet would NOT compensate for the bodies modern days needs to keep at bay many of our modern day viruses and illnesses, nor that of its own needs to adjust to the environment it now resides in. say for instance your ancestors came from Egypt, while you now live on a tropical island, your body would be fussy about its needs in order to keep adjusted. while if your from say, America and your native Indian, and your wanting to go Paleo, then the nateral foods in that region should work just fine for you other then you would still have to compensate for the other bacteria and viruses and pesticides and things thats been introduced into your natural environment.

The evolution of our bodies and its adjustments and needs takes time.

Now I can not say I read any studies on the paleo diet as a modern day diet, but to me this would only be common sense, I love reading on archeology and history and what they used to eat and do in their every day lives. draw your own conclusions.

It's true that what our ancestors ate varied dramatically by geography. A genetic difference among people that was passed down as a result of this is the ability to make the lactase enzyme after infancy or not. The people who herded and milked herbivores are the ones who kept that ability and passed it on. People from a Native American background seem to be damaged at a far higher rate by wheat products than people from a European or Middle Eastern background.

However, many people are a mix of backgrounds from various places in the world, making a "stick to your geographical background" diet not particularly important. And there don't seem to be a huge number of genetic adaptions. Maybe really only the two I described above. Maybe only a few more. Human evolution is pretty slow. You don't need a tropical genetic background to benerfit from coconuts or an arctic genetic background to benefit from salmon.

A small update on this diet, I lost 5kg (11lbs) the first week, and I made it a point to not exercise, I went from 104kg (229lbs) to 99kg (218lbs). My ideal weight would be around 90-95kg (198-209lbs), so I don't have THAT much to lose(relevant since someone at 300lbs would loose more, according to my experience..which is watching "the biggest loser" on tv ).

I must confess I changed all occurences of meat(2-3 types replaced) in that diet into chicken, just because I didn't feel like buying lots of food that I would most likely not eat.