So today we’re starting on the Paleo Diet for May. The sort of antithesis of Vegetarian, where you load up on meats, fish, vegetables, fats, nuts, and not a heck of a lot more.
The rules of eating Paleo are roughly simple: you try to live and eat like a caveman. The theory being that our genetic makeup – being conditioned over some 100,000 years or so – is optimally tuned for being treated a certain way. And that technological developments – such as agriculture 10,00 years ago, the industrialization of food 100 years ago, and the mass production of things like corn syrup only 30 years ago – allow our “bad” genes to express themselves in the form of diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease, to name only a few. The theory also says that if you “switch back”, you’ll be rewarded with weight loss, more energy, and less illness.
It’s a compelling theory, but if you consider how deeply those non-Paleo habits are intertwined into our lives, its not easy to just switch. I found that pretty quickly today when I started my day, thinking this would be sort of like going on Atkins or South Beach. When dieting, most Americans instinctively jump to salads, but with Paleo it cant just be any salad. The one I ate today had both Parmesan Cheese and Orzo, both no-no’s. You need to stay away from dairy and any type of grains. Good note for tomorrow.
When I got home from work, I looked through my refrigerator and, Ill-equipped, I reached for hummus and some dried salami. This is another gotcha. Garbanzo beans (or any legume) are not considered Paleo, party because this was a Neolithic food, but primarily because they contain Lectin. I wont go into why Lectin is considered bad (and its admittedly a source of debate among Paleo dieters) but that was a mistake. Hard Salami contains corn syrup, and occasionally a whole list of unpronounceable ingredients depending on where its bought.
Later this month Ill go into some alternatives I’ve found for avoiding pitfalls. Similar previous months, a lot of the tricks are just keeping your fridge stocked with the right stuff. Until then!