You may feel like suddenly everyone you know is talking about the Paleo diet. So what are my thoughts?
Things I LIKE about the Paleo Diet:
1. Only eat whole foods: Automatically people are likely to feel better and lose weight
2. Focus on fresh vegetables and fruits: Focusing on eating so many vegetables and (low-glycemic) fruits is going to give you fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients
3. Nuts and seeds: Great source of protein and fats as well as many nutrients
4. No dairy, wheat, corn or soy: These are common allergens for many people, so avoiding these will definitely help some people. Plus, much of the corn and soy out there is genetically modified.
5. No processed foods like refined sugar, refined fats, trans fat, or processed meats: Most people in the nutrition field agree that these cause inflammation and weight gain. Everyone benefits from eliminating these.
6. Some people really benefit from a low/no grain, no legume, high animal-protein eating plan. These kinds of special eating plans are for very specific health reasons and should be done under the care of a professional.
Things I QUESTION about the Paleo Diet:
1. The supporters need to emphasize eating grass fed, organic meats or wild game, otherwise it is not “paleolithic” in any way since our commercial meat does not even resemble meat from even 100 years ago, let alone 20,000 years ago. I recommend that anyone eating meat or eggs try to buy mostly grass fed, organic products. They are more expensive but you really do get what you pay for.
I also have a lot of concerns about eating so much meat, beyond nutrition. There are also MAJOR environmental and ethical issues to consider as well. Eating so much meat requires using scarce resources like water and land to feed and support the animals; run-off from animal waste is a leading source of water pollution and causes “die-offs” in our oceans; animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of rainforest destruction; most people are eating meat from CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, otherwise known as factory farms, which are very dangerous and unhealthy places not only for the animals, but also for the people who work there; animal agriculture in the United States is directly linked to GMO crops like corn and soy grown as feed for the animals; over 15-17 million pounds of antibiotics are given to livestock every year to promote faster growth and address infections from their unsanitary living conditions. I could go on, but you get the picture. I do believe that some people need to eat animal meat for their health; however, we do need to remember it comes with a cost.
2. The ban on legumes and whole non-gluten grains across the board is troubling because some people do very well on these foods and they provide a great source of fiber, proteins, and nutrients. For many people, sprouting or soaking these foods can help aid digestion and absorption.
3. Is it a sustainable diet? To me this is the biggest issue. It is quite strict and restricting and most people will not maintain this way of eating for life. The creator of the diet, Loren Cordain, says you only need to eat Paleo 80% of the time. From my education and expertise, I also recommend the 80/20 goal where 80% of your foods are nourishing and that means your body can handle the 20% that is depleting. However, what is considered “nourishing” is much greater and wider. I question anything that is a “diet” and anything that cannot be maintained, otherwise it leads to more yo-yo dieting and weight gain for many people.
4. Not everyone is the same and I question whether paleo addresses biochemical individuality. Chris Kresser, a proponent of the paleo eating plan, has new book called Your Personal Paleo Code that seems to allow for flexibility as well as personalization. He also addresses non-food aspects of health, which acknowledges the holistic approach to health. I think Chris Kresser’s approach may address some of my main questions with many of the other paleo diets out there.
Ultimately, I think eating a whole foods eating plan—full of organic, fresh, seasonal produce, quality proteins and healthy fats—is the way to go. The details within that guideline (gluten, dairy, legumes, meat, soy, citrus, etc.) are going to vary person to person and will likely even change for us over the course of our lifetimes. The key is being open to experimentation and recognizing what works best for you right now.
½ cup raw nuts, chopped (like pecans, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, etc.)
½ cup raw seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, chia, etc.)
½ cup dried coconut flakes
1-2 tablespoons grade-B maple syrup or raw honey or a combo of both (optional)
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg (optional)
1 large pinch sea salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300º F.
Add coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and optional maple syrup and/or honey to large bowl and mix together until ingredients are mixed together and oil is liquid. You can also warm the coconut oil and optional honey first so that they are both liquid before adding.
Add oats, nuts, seeds and coconut to bowl.
Use your clean hands to mix well and toss to coat; it will be sticky and messy but that’s the fun part.
Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet(s) and bake for 9-10 minutes, until very lightly toasted. Do not over-bake. I line the cookie sheets with parchment paper for easier clean up.
Cool before serving or storing.
This granola can be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.
Note: This is the lower sugar version; if you choose to make it without any maple syrup or honey, there will be a discernible difference. You can add fresh fruit to your morning cereal and “sweeten” it naturally instead!
Tips: Add 1/2 granola to unsweetened yogurt and 1/2 cup berries for a great breakfast or snack. Also delicious with unsweetened almond milk!
Want some easy ways to put this into practice? Here are 12 tips for eating more plants and less refined foods:
Try replacing coffee with green or herbal tea. Green tea is full of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients and herbal tea counts towards your water intake for the day! If you are going to drink coffee, be sure it is organic, limit it to one cup a day (or even just to the weekends) and do not add any sugar.
Reduce chips or crackers and replace them with almonds or walnuts for an afternoon snack (about ¼ cup) or veggie sticks with hummus.
Add spinach to your meal—it is easy to get organic prewashed baby spinach in most grocery stores. Chop it up, sauté it and add it to almost any meal!
If you are going to add a salad to your meal, be sure to choose the darker leafy greens and be mindful with the amount of salad dressing and what’s in it—better yet, make your own! Also, add beans or nuts/seeds to a salad for added fiber and protein.
Avoid products with added sugar or hydrogenated oils—read the ingredients label! You would be surprised where added sugar shows up.
Choose healthy fats—coconut oil is very good for sautéing, olive oil is good for salads, dressings and lower heats, and flaxseed is great to add to smoothies or take straight (but should always be refrigerated and never heated). Nuts, seeds, olives and avocados are also good sources of healthy fats.
Buy organic when possible and see the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen to make the best choices if buying conventional (you can also read more HERE from my previous blog post on why it makes sense to buy organic).
Smoothies are a great meal or snack: choose a quality protein powder and add berries, greens, and chia or flax seeds. See my blog post HERE on quality protein powders and a smoothie recipe!
Think portions: Remember that a serving of whole grains or pasta is ½ cup, a serving of nuts is ¼ cup, and serving of vegetables is usually 1 cup. It is best to make half your plate vegetables!
Try cooking a bigger healthy meal on Sunday so that you have leftovers for the week for either lunch or dinner. Soups and stews are great options (like this recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup with Kale)
If you are going to eat soy, only sparingly eat the processed soy products like soy sausages and burgers as well as soy milk. Instead, opt for tempeh or miso. Tofu can also be eaten in moderation for some people. Always select organic soy products since most conventional soy is genetically-modified and high in pesticides. My absolute favorite tempeh can be found HERE. New to tempeh? Check out the Post-Punk Kitchen’s great recipes HERE.
Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day! Variety is really good for our bodies and the rainbow of colors in foods contain powerful phytonutrients to give us optimum health. For example, in a stir fry add red bell pepper, carrots, yellow squash, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, purple cabbage, garlic and onions.
You may have heard about the benefits of an alkalizing diet, but maybe you didn’t exactly know what that meant, why it was important, or how to achieve it. Or maybe you just thought acid and alkaline were words from your tenth grade chemistry class. Hopefully this post will take a bit of the mystery out of the effects of acid or alkaline foods on our bodies.
We all know that eating foods rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber is good for our bodies. We also know to look for whole food sources of grains and complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and quality proteins. And since we are all biochemically different and have different needs at different stages of our life, what kinds or foods and how much will differ from person to person. All of this is really about balance—eating a variety of foods, in a rainbow of colors, to achieve balance in our bodies. Examining the acid-alkaline balance of our foods in just another tool to help us achieve this goal.
Our body tissues and blood are slightly alkaline. Stressors—in the form of infections, pollution, improper digestion, and a diet high in acidic foods—can all lead to more acid in the body (Haas, 2006). According to The Joy of Food: The Alkaline Way (2008-2009), too much acid in the body is harmful because “the body links these excess acids with alkaline minerals . . . and excretes them. Over time, this can deplete the body of needed minerals and lead to a build-up of excess acids in your cells. This reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of your cells and tissues” (p. 5). In order to counteract and prevent this build-up of acid from occurring in our cells, it is beneficial to include more alkaline foods in our diet.
The body needs the acid-buffering minerals of potassium, calcium and magnesium in order to keep our bodies at a balanced pH (Jaffe and Donovan in The Joy of Food: The Alkaline Way, 2008-2009, p. 15). Our bodies function best in an alkaline environment, and we need these mineral-buffering reserves from an alkaline diet to help us counteract the effects of acid in our bodies: “A diet that is predominantly alkaline forming is essential to the maintenance of sustained health” (p. 15). So what does this mean? What foods are alkaline or acid?
When looking at whether a food is considered alkaline or acidic, we are looking at how the food metabolizes in the body. For example, although lemon juice itself is acidic, it becomes alkalizing once it is metabolized by the body. Cow’s milk, on the other hand, is alkaline itself but becomes acidic in the body. Sound a little confusing? It can be at first but one thing that helps a lot is a chart that lists alkaline and acidic foods. There are many available on the Internet but I like this one created by Dr. Russell Jaffe, one of the leaders in looking at the role of acid in our bodies, on Dr. Liz Lipski’s website.
In general, fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be alkaline. There are a few exceptions like tomatoes, plums, cranberries, figs and carrots. Acidic foods are meats, eggs, beans, and dairy. It is especially important to pay attention to the fact that processed foods full of refined flour and sugar, hydrogenated oils, and salt are all acidic.
Does this mean we need to completely avoid all acidic foods? No, not all of them—eggs, beans, carrots, and tomatoes are all part of a healthy diet, but they need to be in balance with more alkaline foods. The most important step we can take to reduce the acid in our bodies is to avoid processed and refined foods. Elson Haas (2006), a leader in integrated healthcare and nutrition, suggests that a diet that is about 70% alkaline foods will “keep the system functioning optimally, provided we get the balance of vitamins and minerals we need, as well as the essential fatty and amino acids to perform the required fat and protein functions” (p. 394-95). The Joy of Food: The Alkaline Way (2008-2009) recommends that 80% of foods be alkaline for health restoration and 60% alkaline for maintaining health (p. 7).
Here are some easy ways to alkalinize your system:
Add the juice of lemon, lime or raw apple cider vinegar to 4-6 ounces of water and drink before or with meals
Add lentils, ginger, yams or sweet potatoes to your diet
Aim to eat at least two cups of greens a day, like kale, collards, turnip greens, or endive
Add seaweeds and kelp to your diet. You can eat these as roasted seaweed snacks or add kombu to soups (also helps with digesting beans)
Drink Kona coffee instead of regular coffee. Kona coffee is still acidic but less so than other coffee beans
Use ghee instead of butter
What you do NOT need to do is invest any money in alkaline water. For a clear explanation of why you do not need alkaline water, read Dr. Weil’s response here.
What questions do you have about acid/alkaline balance?
References
Haas, E. M. (2006). Staying Healthy with Nutrition. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.
The Joy of Food: The Alkaline Way [Pamphlet]. (2008-2009). RMJ Holdings.
I love the term plant-based because it seems a lot more inclusive. Plant-based can run the gamut from vegan to vegetarian to pescatarian to flexitarian to someone who eats animal products occasionally. The focus is on an eating plan based on eating mostly plants. I know many people who are very committed to their vegetarian or vegan eating plans and that works great for them. I also know other people who eat a mostly vegetarian diet but may occasionally eat some animal meat. Are they vegetarian? No, technically not. Are they plant-based? I would say so. Plant-based also implies a diet of mostly whole foods that come from plants like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Lastly, plant-based acknowledges the nutritional and health benefits of eating mostly plants. Michael Pollan’s suggestion comes to mind here: “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.”
What are some of the benefits of a plant-based diet?
A well-planned, nourishing plant-based diet can have many benefits, including:
1. Less impact on the planet. When we eat mostly plants, especially organic, locally grown, seasonal ones, we are making a powerful positive impact on our planet.
2. Fiber! Eating a healthy plant-based diet often means getting much more fiber in your diet which is better for your overall colon health. Not only does fiber help with regularity, but beneficial bacteria in our digestive system need the fiber as well, so a healthy gut comes from getting at least 30 grams of fiber a day. I actually like it if people can get even more.
3. A plant-based diet has been linked to many health benefits, including decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer.
4. Let’s talk about dairy. Many people are either lactose intolerant or have a dairy sensitivity to the proteins found in cow’s milk. For many people, dairy can be very inflammatory or can cause digestive upset like gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation. Going off dairy can be a great step towards relieving a lot of these problems for many people.
5. More vegetables! If a person is eating a whole foods diet full of vegetables, then they are going to get all the wonderful benefits including increased fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I suggest people make at least half their plate vegetables, no matter if they are vegan, paleo, or anything else!
I will say that eating plant-based requires careful thought and planning. Someone could be vegan and eat all junk food, so it is important to look at what you eating. My suggestions include eating mostly whole foods–foods found in the natural state. In particular, I also suggest avoiding eating processed soy, especially soy protein isolate, which also can be very inflammatory. Instead, if you body is okay on soy, stick to mostly fermented soy products like tempeh and miso. Lastly, since we all have individual needs, it is important to see what works best for your body. For example, someone may have difficulty digesting certain carbohydrates or may require more protein. The key is adjusting your eating plan to your current dietary needs. (Having trouble figuring out what that is? Schedule a session with me and we can figure that out together!)
Lastly, want to incorporate a few more plant-based recipes into your week? Check out a few of my favorite plant-based websites!
like soy sausages and burgers as well as soy milk. Instead, opt for tempeh or miso. Tofu can also be eaten in moderation for some people. Always select organic soy products since most conventional soy is genetically-modified and high in pesticides. My absolute favorite tempeh can be found 
When looking at whether a food is considered alkaline or acidic, we are looking at how the food metabolizes in the body. For example, although lemon juice itself is acidic, it becomes alkalizing once it is metabolized by the body. Cow’s milk, on the other hand, is alkaline itself but becomes acidic in the body. Sound a little confusing? It can be at first but one thing that helps a lot is a chart that lists alkaline and acidic foods. There are many available on the Internet but I like this 