Hi Don,
Here is the comment I posted:
I commend you for taking the time to ponder the Paleo diet. It is a way
of looking at eating practices in light of our understanding of
evolutionary pressures and genetic adaptations. One large problem with
it is that proponents and detractors alike must make assumptions about
what our hunter-gatherer forebears ate. While many of these leaps of
faith are questionable, the basic proposition is, I think, quite sound.
Refined sugars, grains, and dairy products are relatively recent
innovations so they would not form a significant part of a Paleolithic
diet, in part because our digestive tracts are not well suited to
reliance on these foods. The intricate, interactive evolutionary process
by which the food humans ate shaped our forebears by developing our
digestive systems, dentition, musculature, skeletal structure, and a
variety of tendencies including our inclinations to become overweight,
diabetic, etc. So this */_is _/*an idea that is based on learning about
our digestive systems!
I am a fan of Atkins too. He got a lot closer to the principles of the
Paleo diet than most trained dietitians. For instance, for cancer to
thrive we must eat a highly glycemic diet. Similarly, obesity, type 2
diabetes, and cardiovascular disease all require highly glycemic diets
and do not arise as frequently or progress as rapidly on a diet that
includes little or no simple carbohydrates and completely excludes dairy
products. All of the above ailments are deadly - perhaps not as
suddenly lethal as a car accident, but deadly nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the odds of such ailments killing one prematurely are far
from small. (A quick perusal of the Obituaries will disabuse you of that
particular perspective. )
The greatest weakness in the Paleolithic diet is the assumption that all
of our genes are substantially the same when it comes to nutrition. That
seems highly questionable. For instance, a person with First Nations
genes would be far less likely to thrive on a diet dominated by dairy
than a person of northern European extraction. Neither would an American
Native typically fare as well eating a grain-dominated diet as a person
with genes that have been exposed to grains for many millennia.
By spending time on filling your kids' stomachs appropriately you can
have a profoundly positive impact on their brains. I have spent almost
two decades conducting and studying research into the interplay between
diet and cognitive function. If your children eat a mostly Paleolithic
diet (including ample saturated fats) I can assure you that the health
and intellectual benefits your children will enjoy, assuming other
factors, will be immense. Since their heritage suggests an inclination
to gain excessive weight, they will also get some protection against
that health hazard as well.
I do hope that you will consider these factors as you ponder Paleolithic
and other nutritional perspectives.
Best Wishes,
Ron Hoggan, Ed. D.
co-author: Dangerous Grains ISBN: 978158333-129-3
www.dangerousgrains.com <http://www.dangerousgrains.com/> author: The
Iron Edge: a complete guide for meeting your iron needs ISBN:
978-0-9736284-4-9
http://tiny.cc/ironedge
author: Smarten Up! ISBN: 978-0-9736284-3-2 www.smartenup.info
<http://www.smartenup.info/> editor: Journal of
Gluten Sensitivity www.celiac.com
<http://www.celiac.com/>
editor/co-author: Cereal Killers in
press
Don Wiss wrote:
> This blogger needs some help being convinced that paleo is the way to go:
>
> http://pandashrugged.livejournal.com/138791.html
>
--
PK
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