"GOING PALEO" - Returning to Our Roots

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8 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM ı FEBRUARY 2011

Mark Sisson is – or lack o a better word – ripped. At

57 years old, this ormer 2:18 marathoner and ourth-

place nisher in the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon

Championships has the toned physique o a man hal

his age, with an enviable 8 percent body at and washboard abs.

A rigorous diet and training regime? No way, says Sisson. In act,

he exercises only about three to our hours a week (instead o the

20 or 30 he put in way back when), most o this done at a moderate

pace, such as one might do while hiking. As or diet, he eats as

much ood as he wants whenever he eels like it – and not always at

regular intervals.

I you’re thinking that this eating plan is way too simple or an

athlete – it is. Sisson, and many other athletes these days, are

returning to a simpler way o eating, similar to that o our primal

ancestors. Called a “Paleo” or “primal” eating plan, Sisson says

that it has been gaining momentum over the past several years.

“Our primal ancestors were lean, strong, smart and productive,“ he

claims.

And you can be, too, Sisson says. All you have to do is to

orget everything you’ve learned about diet, and go back to the

beginning.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors, the Paleolithic people, ate what

was available to them 2.4 million years ago. While this varied rom

region to region, the typical diet was composed largely o animal

oods, such as wild game, sh, shellsh and ostrich eggs. This was

supplemented with gathered plant oods: tree nuts, vegetables,

By Linda Hepler, BSN, RN

FOR MORE

INFORMATIONThere are many good books and

websites available where you can

learn more about the Paleo diet.

Here are some to try:

Imi h bkg bi h Pl i:

The Paleo Diet • by Loren Cordain,

PhDThe Paleo Solution• by Robb Wolf

The New Evolution Diet • by Art De

Vany, PhDImi h mi hPl i li hl:

The Paleo Diet for Athletes• by Loren

Cordain, PhD and Joe Friel

H li Pl lil,ilig imi piml-l xi:

The Primal Blueprint • by Mark Sisson

L-b, gi-, i ip:

The Primal Blueprint Cookbook•

byMark Sisson with Jennifer Meier



49FEBRUARY 2011 ı WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM

tubers and roots, ruit, berries, seeds

and mushrooms.

Although these ancient people may

have had to ear being trampled by a

bualo or hit by an errant arrow during

a hunt, they didn’t worry about high

blood pressure. In act, historical and

archaeological evidence shows ourPaleo ancestors to have enjoyed good

health and reedom rom the chronic

diseases that we experience today. It

was only ater these hunter-gatherer

societies transitioned to an agricultural

grain-based diet, and subsequently

added eedlot-produced meats and

animal products, that our overall

health began to deteriorate. Today, we

are plagued with the results o these

dietary changes: obesity, coronary

heart disease, type 2 diabetes,

hypertension and high cholesterollevels.

Why would the

addition o such

oods have such a

disastrous eect?

Those who embrace

the Paleo diet believe

that it is because our

bodies aren’t meant

to eat sugars, grains

and processed oods.

While we may have

changed our dietary

habits over 2 million

years o evolution, DNA

evidence documents

that there has been

very little change in the

human genome over

the past 10,000 years.

Which means that

altering our diets rom

what we are designed

to eat has resulted in

inadequate nutrient

and ber intake, and

an overload o carbs.

Eventually this adds

up to poor insulin

regulation, overall

body infammation,

obesity and chronic disease.

“And that’s where Paleo nutrition

comes into play,” says Brendon

Mahoney, owner and head coach

o CrossFit San Mateo in Caliornia.

“When you ollow a Paleo diet, you are

eating what your body is designed toeat – eating or how it evolved.”

A Paleo diet ocuses on the oods

that were eaten prior to agriculture and

animal husbandry, says Mahoney. This

includes lean meats (preerably grass

ed or organic), sh (best wild caught),

shellsh, eggs, tree nuts, veggies,

roots and a small amount o ruits

(ideally berries). Acceptable oils arethose that originate rom ruits such

as coconut, olive, avocado, almond,

walnut and pecan.

By eating a diet higher in protein

and healthy ats and lower in grains,

sugars and processed oods, you’ll not

only stay ull longer (due to the higher

satiety value o protein) but also your

blood sugar will stabilize. A urther

bonus: without all the excess carbs

and the extra insulin being produced

to handle them, your body will change

the way that it produces energy. Says

Mahoney, “The body will switch track

and begin to burn at more eciently

as uel rather than to depend so heavily

upon carbs.”

I you just can’t get your head around

a lower-carb, higher at diet (especially

in light o the FDA’s ocus on theimportance o grains and low at),

TIPS FOR GOINGPALEOCertifed personal trainer and sports

nutrition specialist Jessica Herschberg o

Nashville, Tennessee, gives some tips or

beginning a Paleo diet:

Go sLowLy. “Don’t pressure yoursel to

change everything at once. Your body has to

relearn how to unction without a constant

supply o carbohydrates. It gets easier and

easier over time.”

set uP 30 day cHaLLenGes. “I

encourage people to try one thing at a time

or 30 days. You might start by switching

rom cereal to eggs or breakast, or

example.”

Be forGIvInG of yourseLf. “Research

shows that high carb oods work on the

brain’s pleasure center in the same way as

drugs do. You wouldn’t tell a drug addict to

show a little moderation, would you?”

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0 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM ı FEBRUARY 2011

WEIGHING INWITH THE DIETICIANKelly O’Connor, a registered dietician and Certied Diabetes Educator

at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, answers some questions

about the Paleo diet:

Q: The Paleo diet advocates an intake of 20-30 percent of total

calories from protein (as opposed to the American Heart Association

recommendation of 10-12 percent). Can you get too much protein?

A: I have some reservations about a very high protein diet, especially

in anyone having a history o kidney problems. Protein does have a

higher satiety value than carbohydrates, which means it goes through

our system more slowly, keeping us eeling more ull. However, themore one eats, the more the body works to process or digest it. During

protein digestion, uric acid and urea are produced as byproducts. They

are toxic to the body so the body lls the kidneys with water to keep

pumping the toxins out o the system. I the input o protein, and then

uric acid/urea is greater than what the kidney can handle, the eects will

begin to build up, including kidney stones. Thereore, I would caution

anyone trying this diet to begin with some degree o moderation in

terms o protein intake and be monitored by a physician.

Q: Can you get enough calcium without eating dairy products?

A: Avoiding all dairy products is possible or those in relatively good

or normal health on this diet. Green leay vegetables and other oods

can provide excellent sources o calcium. For example, an orangeprovides about 50mg o calcium and a hal cup o broccoli provides

45mg o calcium. Since ruits and vegetables are recommended in

unlimited quantities, it is possible or one to get the recommended

daily allowance o calcium without dairy. However, it would take some

eort and planning to be sure several o these calcium-containing

oods are included each day.

Q: Should I worry about a higher fat diet, such as is recommended for

a Paleo diet?

A: From what I’ve read, the Paleo diet advocates lean proteins,

specically those containing Omega-3s and monounsaturated ats

and oils such as olive and fax. The strength o the diet, then, is the

promotion o lean proteins and healthier ats.

consider this: the

Paleo diet is based

upon science. A two

year study unded

by the National

Institutes o Health (NIH) and

published in the August 3rd, 2010

edition o the medical journal,

Annals o Internal Medicine, ound

that a lower carbohydrate, higher

at diet improves cholesterol and

cardiovascular health risks more

than does a low at, higher carb

diet. And numerous recent studies

have pointed to a lower carb diet

as most eective in regulating

blood sugar and insulin levels.

As or the importance o

carbohydrate reueling or

athletes, “There’s a time andplace or carbs, especially or elite

athletes who need to replace muscle

glycogen,” says Mahoney. “But you

don’t need to be constantly inundated

with carbs. Eating a small amount

o readily absorbed carbohydrate

ater a workout, like sweet potatoes,

mangoes or a banana – that’s

sucient.”

Ready to go Paleo? Even i it just

sounds like something you’d like

to read about, there are a wealth o

resources available to learn more. Butprepare yoursel or some conusion.

Just as there were regional variations

in our ancestor’s diets, there are

21st century variations in people’s

interpretation o the Paleo diet. There

is the very low-carb and moderate

carb Paleo diets, the raw Paleo diet

and the vegan Paleo diet. Some

“Paleos” advocate use o ats such

as butter, lard and bacon; others

don’t. And there are some who say

that raw dairy should be included,

although most agree that this is notstrictly Paleo, since there were no

domesticated livestock during the

Paleolithic Era.

But whatever the variation, the

common denominator is that the

Paleo diet isn’t simply a ad diet but

instead a healthy eating plan or lie

– one that is heavier on lean meats,

healthy ats and veggies; moderate in

ruits, nuts and seeds; and eschews

rened and processed oods. And

this is something we can all aspire to.

MS&F

ON THE WEBwww.marksdailyapple.com

www.livingpaleo.com

www.thepaleodiet.com

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"GOING PALEO" - Returning to Our Roots