Paleo Diet: Eat like a predator, not like prey.

[Mulli]

Weird happening: I ate a bit of pasta for the first time in about a week. Made me feel weird, and I didn't even eat half of it.

 

[Mulli]

So I was pretty shocked when I plugged in my normal daily diet to Weight Watchers, I was below the daily allotted points.

Turns out cutting out grains, legumes and dairy balances out eating the meat/veggies, some fruits and some nuts.

Yippee.

 

[Mulli]

Don't get me wrong. There are some dangers with eating so much meat. Last night I was broiling a grass-fed porterhouse. With 4 minutes left to cook, I noticed the oven was ON FIRE!

I had no idea what to do, and I forgot where the extinguisher was. I thought the better of throwing water on the burning fat or throwing the pan in the sink.

Genius me blew on the flames. Guess what? The breathes and the flames were out.

Weird. Who knew that would work?

The steak was awesome, but I could only eat part of it.

EDIT: I only ate part of it because it was huge. I saved the rest for leftovers.

 

[Pariah]

PaleoMan wouldn't have freaked about a little fire. ...unless it was these guys.

You must be registered for see images

 

[Mulli]

PaleoMan wouldn't have freaked about a little fire. ...unless it was these guys.

You must be registered for see images

Paleo is not a reenactment.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Question: Where did all this wanting "grass fed beef" come from. I'm from generations of farmers and ranchers. All of them wanted corn fed beef. It tastes better. Less stringy, not as tough.

Something in the corn itself?

 

[Mulli]

Question: Where did all this wanting "grass fed beef" come from. I'm from generations of farmers and ranchers. All of them wanted corn fed beef. It tastes better. Less stringy, not as tough.

Something in the corn itself?

http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2009/5/18/6s-and-3s-and-the-logic-of-grain-avoidance.html

This kinda sorta addresses it. I think it also increases the likelihood of the cow being allowed to live like a cow, and not raised crammed into some mass production yuckiness.

EDIT: the main reason I have read about is that corn-fed beef has higher levels of Omega 6 fatty acids. When the Omega 6's gets too high in proportion to Omega 3, one risks heart disease.

 

[Mulli]

http://freetheanimal.com/2010/08/so-you-think-you-cant-cook.html

But this guy says too much might be made of the grassfed stuff.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Thanks, Mulli. Second guy needs to knock off the "pre-cooked" food. Not only do I want to know where my meat comes from I want to know how it's been prepared.

Personally I eat like the Amish. (Where pre-cooked means leftovers.)

 

[HeavyB3]

Question: Where did all this wanting "grass fed beef" come from. I'm from generations of farmers and ranchers. All of them wanted corn fed beef. It tastes better. Less stringy, not as tough.

Something in the corn itself?

You should watch the documentary King Corn. Corn is evil.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

You should watch the documentary King Corn. Corn is evil.

Yeah. To them blankety blank revenuers.

I'll give you time to think about it.

 

[Mulli]

Yeah. To them blankety blank revenuers.

I'll give you time to think about it.

Mon$anto?

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Mon$anto?

Bootleg whiskey, City Boy.

 

[Mulli]

Bootleg whiskey, City Boy.

Haha. That is funny.

 

[AZZenny]

I am about as much of a pure carnivore as any female I know -- I would rather smack a huge, thick, medium-rare porterhouse on my empty plate than any other food on earth; just for a change, I like a side of fresh wild salmon or some thick lamb chops -- and more often than I usually admit, that's exactly what I do for dinner: Meat on a plate. Maybe I mop up the juice with a chunk of ciabatta; then top off the evening with a little piece of dark chocolate with chili, a dozen or so raw almonds or an apple, and a big glass of wine... happiness is.

If the garden is yielding greenery, as it is now, I may throw some fresh lettuce alongside, but I'm more likely to eat the carrots and sugar snap peas and other stuff raw while I'm IN the garden puttering, like a good forager.

So I guess that's pretty paleo, other than the chocolate. If I'd exercise a bit more, like chasing down and butchering the cow, I have no doubt I'd be in very good physical condition.

My downfall is when I get on to a kick like making slow-cook polenta, or marzipan, or pie -- Gawd I love pie -- or some other rich, sweet or starchy thing. Not often, maybe once or twice a month, but it's enough to keep an extra 10-15 lbs on me. And that is all from the starch, and I know it.

But primary carnivore is how I've eaten for many, many years, and knock on wood, my labwork always comes back looking really good. When I tell my doctor how much red meat I consume he turns white as a sheet, but no longer lectures because my labwork is better than his... so far so good. Oh, and I use real butter -- the super-high fat stuff fancy bakers use -- and no oil other than good olive oil.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I am about as much of a pure carnivore as any female I know -- I would rather smack a huge, thick, medium-rare porterhouse on my empty plate than any other food on earth; just for a change, I like a side of fresh wild salmon or some thick lamb chops -- and more often than I usually admit, that's exactly what I do for dinner: Meat on a plate. Maybe I mop up the juice with a chunk of ciabatta; then top off the evening with a little piece of dark chocolate with chili, a dozen or so raw almonds or an apple, and a big glass of wine... happiness is.

If the garden is yielding greenery, as it is now, I may throw some fresh lettuce alongside, but I'm more likely to eat the carrots and sugar snap peas and other stuff raw while I'm IN the garden puttering, like a good forager.

So I guess that's pretty paleo, other than the chocolate. If I'd exercise a bit more, like chasing down and butchering the cow, I have no doubt I'd be in very good physical condition.

My downfall is when I get on to a kick like making slow-cook polenta, or marzipan, or pie -- Gawd I love pie -- or some other rich, sweet or starchy thing. Not often, maybe once or twice a month, but it's enough to keep an extra 10-15 lbs on me. And that is all from the starch, and I know it.

But primary carnivore is how I've eaten for many, many years, and knock on wood, my labwork always comes back looking really good. When I tell my doctor how much red meat I consume he turns white as a sheet, but no longer lectures because my labwork is better than his... so far so good. Oh, and I use real butter -- the super-high fat stuff fancy bakers use -- and no oil other than good olive oil.

Zenny, I've said it before, and I'll say it again...you're a cool gal.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Congratulations, Zenny! You eat like the Amish.

Can I offer you a slice of black-bottom pie?

 

[AZZenny]

My mother's family were Copes from the Harrisburg-Carlisle area on one side!! I grew up with Lebanon bologna, shoofly pie (aka black-bottom pie), sticky buns, dried-corn 'pudding,' schnitz und knepp, scrapple, and big, hard Penna dutch pretzels whenever we visited my Granny Grace and aunts and cousins. Roast pork with fresh sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

That is all so NOT Paleo--- I just can't picture the Amish as paleo-style eaters. Plus, most of it's way too salty for me now -- another thing that a true paleo diet would do: dramatically reduce your salt intake, which is one of the few things I've had to consciously start watching as I get more ... seasoned. Heh.

 

[Pariah]

Lebanon bologna

YUM!!

My supermarket just stopped carrying it...I think I was the only one who bought it.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

My mother's family were Copes from the Harrisburg-Carlisle area on one side!! I grew up with Lebanon bologna, shoofly pie (aka black-bottom pie), sticky buns, dried-corn 'pudding,' schnitz und knepp, scrapple, and big, hard Penna dutch pretzels whenever we visited my Granny Grace and aunts and cousins. Roast pork with fresh sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

We're Ohio. Actual Amish in the family. All my life I'd heard about scrappel and bread pudding and turned my nose up at the very idea. Until I went back with my dad 25 years ago and learned to cook from the Yoder cousins. That part of the family lives to be 90. I'm a firm believer in a little of this a little of that and lots of fresh everything. If it can sit on the shelf for any length of time it's not good for you. Cheerios and oat products excepted. (Which I eat a lot of.) Then work off the excess calories.

I also have great bloodwork. Except for my cholesterol. It always causes problems because it's so low everytime I get it checked it gets sent back with a, "that can't be right." Yes. It is.

I did manage to pretty much eliminate salt in anything I cook myself. Enough that I really notice it when I eat out.

Roast pork sounds great right now.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Oh, and I use real butter -- the super-high fat stuff fancy bakers use -- and no oil other than good olive oil.

Ditto that.

 

[Mulli]

My mother's family were Copes from the Harrisburg-Carlisle area on one side!! I grew up with Lebanon bologna, shoofly pie (aka black-bottom pie), sticky buns, dried-corn 'pudding,' schnitz und knepp, scrapple, and big, hard Penna dutch pretzels whenever we visited my Granny Grace and aunts and cousins. Roast pork with fresh sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

That is all so NOT Paleo--- I just can't picture the Amish as paleo-style eaters. Plus, most of it's way too salty for me now -- another thing that a true paleo diet would do: dramatically reduce your salt intake, which is one of the few things I've had to consciously start watching as I get more ... seasoned. Heh.

I submit that the Amish are able to eat the way they eat happily because they eat enough healthy animal fat and food the way it has been made for ages, instead of highly processed gross food that people on TV want us to think is healthly. I bet their obesity rates are pretty low. They also probably don't count calories.

 

[AZZenny]

I submit that the Amish are able to eat the way they eat happily because they eat enough healthy animal fat and food the way it has been made for ages, instead of highly processed gross food that people on TV want us to think is healthly. I bet their obesity rates are pretty low. They also probably don't count calories.

Mulli, you're stretching the idea of the paleo diet pretty broadly! I don't disagree about the processed food piece at all-- I've been on a rabid anti-trans-fats crusade for 30 years, when NO one 'official' gave them a second thought. Everyone back then pointed to egg yolks, which are pretty harmless, and ignored the Crisco, which is not.

I submit that another key factor for Amish-type groups other than no pre-fab food, etc., is that all their meats are pasture-fed, which dramatically increases the Omega-3 fatty acids in animal flesh/fat compared to feed-lot meats. The free-range nature of the huge amounts of eggs, chicken fat, lard, butter, etc. they eat should make a big difference - esp since they don't get much fish.

Also, recalling my relatives' groaning tables, contrary to the Paleo model, there'd be a meat dish, but it might be a stew, or a pot pie, or sausage dish, not just a roast -- and they don't grill. In addition there would be a huge assortment of what we think of as side dishes -- two or three cooked vegetables, potatoes, salady things, bread of some sort, maybe a casserole type dish. Ultimately the meat portion per person was probably less than you think.

But that type of assortment was all 3 meals a day. Breakfasts were gigantic, lunch was like dinner, and evening was actually often a little bit lighter fare. There's new research suggesting that a daily food 'distribution' like that makes a very real difference in reducing obesity.

I just ran quickly through the medical literature -- Amish have half the diabetes of 'normal whites,' which is a decent marker for dietary health in a large group, although one problem is the genetic narrowness of the fairly inbred Amish groups being studied. They have a 20-30% overweight rate on average (low vs. 'normals') - women higher than men -- but very, very low obesity and almost zero morbid obesity. They also -- from childhood on -- get a much, much higher level of hard physical exercise -- not just pedometer stuff, but hours every day of sweat-inducing labor. Frankly, that's probably just as much a reason for any positive health impact.

 

[Mulli]

Mulli, you're stretching the idea of the paleo diet pretty broadly! I don't disagree about the processed food piece at all-- I've been on a rabid anti-trans-fats crusade for 30 years, when NO one 'official' gave them a second thought. Everyone back then pointed to egg yolks, which are pretty harmless, and ignored the Crisco, which is not.

I submit that another key factor for Amish-type groups other than no pre-fab food, etc., is that all their meats are pasture-fed, which dramatically increases the Omega-3 fatty acids in animal flesh/fat compared to feed-lot meats. The free-range nature of the huge amounts of eggs, chicken fat, lard, butter, etc. they eat should make a big difference - esp since they don't get much fish.

Also, recalling my relatives' groaning tables, contrary to the Paleo model, there'd be a meat dish, but it might be a stew, or a pot pie, or sausage dish, not just a roast -- and they don't grill. In addition there would be a huge assortment of what we think of as side dishes -- two or three cooked vegetables, potatoes, salady things, bread of some sort, maybe a casserole type dish. Ultimately the meat portion per person was probably less than you think.

But that type of assortment was all 3 meals a day. Breakfasts were gigantic, lunch was like dinner, and evening was actually often a little bit lighter fare. There's new research suggesting that a daily food 'distribution' like that makes a very real difference in reducing obesity.

I just ran quickly through the medical literature -- Amish have half the diabetes of 'normal whites,' which is a decent marker for dietary health in a large group, although one problem is the genetic narrowness of the fairly inbred Amish groups being studied. They have a 20-30% overweight rate on average (low vs. 'normals') - women higher than men -- but very, very low obesity and almost zero morbid obesity. They also -- from childhood on -- get a much, much higher level of hard physical exercise -- not just pedometer stuff, but hours every day of sweat-inducing labor. Frankly, that's probably just as much a reason for any positive health impact.

Excellent stuff.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Further, I would surmise that the Amish are probably quite a bit more active in their everyday activities, which probably has a huge impact on overall health.