THE PALEO DIET INSIDERGEOLOGIC TIME, MAGNITUDES, &THE PALEO DIET

THE

LOREN CORDAIN, PH.D.

Vol. 4, Issue 5

REACTIONS TO PALEO

HOSTING NON-PALEO FRIENDS?

TIPS FOR THE PALEO ATHLETE

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different. It is much more than mere doubling or exponential change (it must be a change in exponents of ten versus any smaller base number), and it is not uncommon in the natural world or science. The graph below illustrates the magnitudes of the time our ancestors ate a Hunters and Gatherers’ (H-G)Diet versus when our ancestors consumed a Mass-Agriculture Diet.

The agricultural revolution, which occurred between 10,000 - 12,000 years ago, brought an entirely new way of eating to humanity. First came cereal grains, then diary, vegetable oils, and refined sugar, and eventually modified fats, artificial flavors and colors, and feedlot-raised meat. In fact, over 70% of the calories the average Westerner consumes are from foods that did not even exist 500 generations ago. While our diet has changed dramatically in the past 10 centuries, our genes are much more slow to adapt. This week we have a geologist guest author, J.R. Lagoni, who helps us take a look at what we’re really talking about in terms of time.

GEOLOGIC TIME, MAGNITUDES, AND THE PALEO DIET J.R. Lagoni, M.S. Geology/Geoarchaeology

The reason the Paleo Diet leads to optimum health is because it is the diet we evolved to eat. Humans have only been eating grains for about 10,000 years, and eating dairy for even less time. To understand and appreciate the basic premise of the Paleo Diet - that our genetic composition has not substantially changed since the geologically recent times of mass-agriculture and industrial age food - it is very helpful to have a clear perception of the magnitudes of time (both very large and very small) that we are talking about. A change in magnitude (in math or science) is a number written in scientific notation that is at least one power of ten more or less. So, 20 and 40 (written scientifically as: 2 x 101 and 4 x 101) are actually of the same magnitude, or often stated as being the same “order of magnitude”. However, 20 and 400 (written scientifically as: 2 x 101 and 4 x 102) are one power of ten different and therefore one order of magnitude

The specific times used in this graph are 2,000,000 for the H-G Diet and 10,000 years for the geologically recent Mass-Agriculture Diet. Although exact dates and amounts can be argued, and would change some among different ethnic groups and regional histories, the graph would always look very much the same - because regardless of the specific dates you utilize, it always would very definitively involve magnitudes of change difference . These times are good representations of the magnitude of time of the Paleolithic Era foodstuffs of our ancestors as compared to the time our ancestral lineages have been on a Mass-Agriculture Diet. It is startling to see the

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

0HUNTER-GATHERER DIETMASS AGRICULTURE DIET

Figure 1: Bar graph illustrating a ratio of geologic time: 2,000,000 years vs. 10,000 years.

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Mass-Agriculture Diet as a nearly flat, non-existent bar. In a mathematical sense one could almost say it is approaching the inverse of infinity ... or that it is “infinitesimally small” in comparison to our earlier foodstuffs. It is more than a full 2 magnitudes smaller. As a decimal ratio of 2,000,000: it is .005 While we can continue to debate (and we should) the exact amounts and rates of change in human physiology and the dietary amount of animal products vs. fruits/vegetables, etc. - an obvious fact is that the amount of time we and our ancestors have had mass agriculture and industrial era food is incredibly small indeed, and not debatable. When we talk about “evolutionary discordance” in regard to our modern diet vs. the Paleo Diet, this is what it means in one very real sense. A diet based on the way humans ate for a couple million years will lead to optimimum health and reduce the risk of degenerative disease.

GETTING BORED OF BROCCOLI? Nell Stephenson, BS USC EXSC

How is this possible? I’m kidding, of course... but the point is a valid one. What do you do when you’ve steamed countless broccoli florets, sautéed bushels of spinach and chopped up a kilo of carrots? Think outside the box! Or crate, as it may be! As simple as it sounds, try a new fruit or vegetable each week. You’ll likely find that the produce manager in your local grocery shop is quite savvy with regard to what each veg is, what it pairs well with and how you might want to prepare it.

* Go for color! Of course, eat tons of leafy green veggies, but also be open to that curious looking item (the broccoli/cauliflower hybrid) or that beautiful piece of fruit (the ubiquitous star fruit) or an old staple in a new shade- a golden beet!

* If you wash, cut and steam enough veg to last you through a few days and leave them ready to eat in the fridge, you’re setting yourself up for endless options!

* Grab that steamed broccoli and toss with olive oil, pepper, flax seed and some cherry tomatoes!

* Pick on a steamed artichoke after you’ve drizzled it with lime and basil!

* Toss the steamed cauliflower with some baby carrots, flax oil, a dash of sesame oil and a sprinkling of ginger.

* Mix some sun-dried tomato in olive oil into some steamed kale or chard.

You get the idea- be creative and play around. While you may come up with things you love and things you love and things you don’t, at the very least, you’re unlikely to be bored!

INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS TO THE PALEO DIETLoren Cordain, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus

Until the invention of agriculture a mere 500 generations ago, humans rarely had access to high amounts of carbohydrate containing foods. When

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farming replaced the hunter-gather lifestyle, the macronutrient content of the human diet changed dramatically. Today most people consume bread, rice, pasta, sugar, and other high carbohydrate foods with virtually every meal. Others have heard the message about the benefits of reducing carbohydrates, but may go too far too quickly.

People who go on a low-carb diet will sometimes report feeling weak or light headed during the first few days on their new eating pattern. Whether this happens depends on two main factors: 1) the total carbohydrate restriction and, 2) the total caloric restriction. Popular low carb diets typically restrict carb calories to 50 grams (~200 kcal) or 100 grams (~400 kcal). If the diet is low in calories and carbs are restricted to less than 100 grams, many people will feel weakness because their muscle and liver glycogen stores will become depleted and they must rely upon beta oxidation (the metabolism of triglyceride) as their primary substrate source. Additionally, the brain can only use glucose as an energy source, hence hepatic gluconeogenesis (the synthesis of glucose from either protein or fat in the liver) represents the primary glucose source. However, gluconeogenesis is inefficient and can only supply small quantities of glucose.

All of these metabolic adaptations - beta oxidation, hepatic gluconeogenesis and ketosis (a by product of carbohydrate restriction and beta oxidation) - upset homeostatic mechanisms shaped by a lifetime of high carb intakes for the average Westerner.

With the Paleo Diet, we advise people to get all of their carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables and to restrict grains, sugars, legumes and processed foods. Carbohydrates are not restricted on the Paleo Diet, but because fruits and vegetables contain so much fiber and water, it is difficult to consume more than about 30 percent of the daily energy from these foods. Most people don’t experience weakness or lethargy upon adoption of the Paleo Diet, but rather the opposite. Their energy levels remain stable over the course of the day.

DINNER PARTY WITH NON-PALEO GUESTS?Nell Stephenson, BS USC EXSC

So, you’re having a dinner party and you don’t want to fall back into old patterns and start the evening with boring old (and processed!) crackers with cheese, chip & dip and soda! However, your guests aren’t necessarily the healthiest eaters. Must you give in? NO! I’ve found that having a dinner party, both for friends and clients, is actually the perfect venue to introduce foods that would typically have been avoided or seen as a garnish!

If you emphasize the presentation- keep it fresh,

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colorful and interesting, guests will dive right in! In addition, every time I’ve had a dinner party and kept it healthy but satisfying, I’ve had at least one guest pull me aside to thank me for not causing her or him to stray from his ‘diet’! Some of my all time favorites that are always a hit include:

*Crudités with salsa - simply cut up your choice of fresh veg, arrange on a platter and serve with homemade salsa, or guacamole.

*Sliced apple with grapes and pecans - again, arrange on a platter. Spa Water- fill glass pitchers with water and add a slice of kiwi, lemon, lime- your choice for an ever so slight flavoring

*Salad- my husband and I put everything in our salads!- baby greens, raw cashews, strawberries, olives, avocado, the combinations are endless!

*Healthy Protein- whether you go with grilled fish, seared filet mignon or an organic turkey breast; keep it fresh and well presented.

*Finally, for dessert... yes, fruit it is! Berries, melon, citrus, and so on... whatever fits best with your dinner theme will do the trick.

Guests will leave satisfied, rather than stuffed, and chances are you’re going to have to be ready to give out the recipes!

READER FEEDBACKThe Paleo Diet, published in 2002, introduced thousands of readers to the concept that there is a diet to which we are evolutionary adapted, that will lead to optimum

health and body composition. As more and more serious athletes began to follow the diet, questions arose as to how to adapt the diet to the needs of someone training very hard. This led to The Paleo Diet

for Athletes, authored by Loren Cordain and Joe Friel.

PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PALEO DIET ATHLETE

Pedro Bastos, MA MS Ph.D.

Hi, I’m a pretty serious endurance distance runner who is trying to fine tune my own Paleo Diet. I’m confused regarding the total number of grams of protein I need per day. I own both The Paleo Diet for Athletes and The Paleo Diet. I started with the athletes book and have recently purchased and read the original. I’m confused about the total daily protein grams because in The Paleo Diet for Athletes book, page 67 table 4.8 suggests that with my training volume of 10-15 hrs/week, I should be consuming 0.8 - 0.9 grams/lb/day. Yet when I read The Paleo Diet I see on page 26-27 for a 25 y/o woman with a 2,200 calorie/day intake, her protein is listed at 190 grams. Thank you in advance,

--Jeff Blanchard

Jeff, Thanks for the great question. Remember that our hunter-gatherer ancestors, although fit and active, did not typically do endurance running. They did often walk long distances, and when needed would perform a sprint Therefore, they didn’t need the same amount of carbohydrates that a competitive athlete does. The Paleo Diet is the diet that best fits our genome, because it is based on how we evolved to eat. It recommends macronutrient intake based on ranges estimated for most hunter-gatherer populations still in existence in the 20th century (which is 19 to 35% protein).

A high protein, lower carbohydrate diet is very beneficial in terms of promoting optimum health and weight loss, and in preventing Metabolic Syndrome, a big health concern for a large percentage of the population. The main purpose of The Paleo Diet for

Athletes is to adapt The Paleo Diet to the nutritional needs of high-training 21st century endurance athletes. Since athletes need a higher amount of carbohydrates than sedentary people, The Paleo Diet for athletes reduces protein and fat to accommodate

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more carbohydrates. However, it still provides higher levels of protein and less carbohydrate than is consumed by the typical athlete.

Best regards,

Pedro Bastos

THE PALEO ATHLETE Nell Stephenson , BS USC EXSC

Are you wondering how to stick to your Paleo Food choices while you’re preparing for an Ironman, a marathon or another type of fitness endeavor? After reading The Paleo Diet for Athletes, we see that there is value to utilizing some sports nutritional products that are manmade, yet we can still incorporate real food into our pre, during and post-workout diet.

I’ve successfully followed a Paleo regime through the last three seasons of training for Ironman Hawaii, so I’m confident that the following recommendations can support even a very rigorous training schedule: .

*STARCH UP ON YAMS! Bake them in water, broil them in foil, reheat them in a pan with some olive oil. By far, these are my #1 choice of fuel to stock up both the night before and the

morning of a tough workout as well as a race. .

*INCLUDE EGG WHITES! So easily digestible, portable and a no-brainer to prepare (hard-boil ‘em a dozen at a time); you can’t go wrong! .

*ADD SOME BANANA! I must say, a banana never tastes as good as it does when you’ve just completed a long, hard run! .

*MAKE YOUR OWN FUEL: While it might not be as ‘neat’ as unwrapping a store-bought energy bar, I find that bringing a baked yam with some raw almond butter along on a training ride proves to be most satisfying and a nice break from the sweet, sweet, sweet that you get when ingesting carbohydrate gels.

*LOVE THE HOMEBREW! I’ve told so many clients about the home made recovery drink found in Paleo for Athletes; not only can you vary the taste by changing the type of fruit, you’ll also save a bundle compared to commercial recovery powders.

*MAINTAIN POTASSIUM/SODIUM BALANCE! For all of you athletes out there training, you’ve lost electrolytes through sweat which need to be replaced to help take in, absorb and retain more fluids as per the recommendations in The Paleo Diet for Athletes.

Happy training!

*Editors note - we recommend people with autoimmune disease avoid egg whites due to a lectin called egg white lysozyme.

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PRIMAL IN THE KITCHEN

BROILED LOBSTER TAIL

4 small fresh lobster tails 1 lemon, 1/2 juiced, 1/2 cut into 4 wedges 2 Tb. minced fresh parsley Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to broil. with a sharp knife, slice vertically down the backs of the lobster tails and pull them slightly apart. Sprinkle with lemon juice, parsely, and pepper.

Broil for 8-10 minutes until the meat is opaque. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Copyright © 2011. The Paleo Diet Cookbook. All Rights Reserved.

ROASTY TOASTY BEETS WITH HAZELNUTS

1 bunch beets, leaves removed and beets quartered 2 Tb. extra virgin olive oil 1 Tb. dried basil 1 garlic clove, pressed 2 Tb. chopped roasted hazelnuts (filberts) Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to broil. Toss beets with olive oil, basil, and garlic in a glass or ceramic baking dish.

Broil for thirty minutes, stirring once at the halfway point. Top with roasted hazelnuts and pepper.

Copyright © 2011. The Paleo Diet Cookbook. All Rights Reserved.