Welcome to the list. For the best reading on Paleolithic eating go to... http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/ The "bible" for this list is a book called Neanderthin. It is currently out of print and about to be printed again with a new addition. My summary... Why Paleo? ========================================== 1.) Diabetes and obesity is caused by over production of insulin when foods that are high in carbohydrates are eaten. For example, sugar. The human body wants to conserve carbohydrates in a natural environment (hunter-gatherers) because they are scarce. It does this by storing carbohydrates as fat as quickly as it can. 2.) Since the advent of agriculture several classes of food have been introduced into the human diet, and there has not been enough time for evolution to adapt the body to the foreign proteins in the food. These "bad" foods are grains, legumes (beans) and dairy (milk) products. The presence of these strange proteins causes autoimmune problems such as arthritis and heart disease. They also seem to cause some mental disorders such as depression, ADD, and such. The new agricultural foods all need to be cooked to be edible in order to destroy toxins or break down the food for digestion. What to eat? ========================================== Thus to eat a Paleolithic diet, simply eat like a cave person. Only eat what can be eaten raw. (Meat can be eaten raw but I recommend you cook it. Others on this list eat raw meat, but not me.) This comes down to eating meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and berries. Eat lots of fat. It will help you loose weight. This is because your body shifts it's metabolism to fat burning. (Look on the paleodiet web page for the Cholesterol Myth article) WARNING - If you start on a Paleo diet where you lower your carbohydrate intake and raise your fat intake, you will go through a period of a week or two of carbohydrate withdrawal. Stick with it and fight the cravings. But don't be a fanatic either. If you are overweight you will loose weight fairly quickly (usually). If I lower my carb intake below 20 grams per day I loose about a half pound a day. 1 apple = about 20 grams of carbs. 1 slice of bread is about 12 grams of carbs. Typical diet (for me) on Paleo... Breakfast: ½ lb bacon and 6 eggs. Cook the eggs in the grease. then you are not hungry till lunch. Lunch: Beef or Pork - Usually I cook lots in advance then freeze it in plastic containers. Microwave and eat. (Did cave men have microwave ovens?) Dinner: A HUGE salad. Were talking a salad big enough for a whole family, and you eat the whole thing. Some meat. Fish once a week. (salmon) Snacks: Apples, nuts, berries (often the frozen-in-a-bag kind, fresh if in season) peaches, dates, whatever else. Sometimes: A huge bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce ..... oops, I digress. Always vary the diet. Never eat the same thing every day for months and months. Try to simulate a hunter-gatherer (HG) where the food varies constantly through out the year. To loose weight: Cut the fruit to 1 a day, but keep the salad. To gain muscle: Eat like above and exercise a little but very intensely. for example, run 2 miles doing all-out sprints, and walk till your heart calms down. Do pushups once every 3 or 4 days, but do them till you can't do any more. Get lots of sleep Get lots of water. Don't be a fanatic. If you are in a family setting with spouse, kids, etc. don't drive them crazy. Lead by example. My wife complained about the bacon grease in the kitchen, until I lost 30 pounds. Now she is trying it. OK, there is the whole paleo thing in one page! Richard Keene, Novell Inc, Provo, Utah, 801-861-4389, [log in to unmask]