4 ms·

Don't diet, but eat a healthy diet. By this point I'll get burned at the stake for this, but there is something to the Paleo diet. Our current diet is a nightma

Don't diet, but eat a healthy diet. By this point I'll get burned at the stake for this, but there is something to the Paleo diet. Our current diet is a nightmare in terms of not just weight, but health in general, more specifically, the rise in auto-immune disease. Research shows that a leaky gut is a _prerequisite_ (but not only factor) for developing auto-immune disease. One thing that causes leaky gut is gluten. Grains and seeds contain stuff that hurts your gut, why? Because grains and seeds have developed a defence for digestion because they need to come out the other side. I'm not a fad-following hipster, I just read literature on this, and I've seen first hand what gluten does to someone who's not even gluten intolerant. My wife has Grave's disease which is auto-immune. Her options were taking meds that devastate the thyroid and liver, or operate her thyroid and in the process likely develop the opposite of Grave's: hypothyroidism. She tried every other option, including different kinds of diets, until we read about the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), which is a strict version of the Paleo diet. Her symptoms (constant 100-120 bbm heartbeat) went away within days. We've pinned it down to gluten as the main factor. Counting calories is an extremely simplistic world view, and while it's very comforting to have a simple rule to follow, I believe it's a very bad idea to not care what you put in your body, as opposed to just how much of it.

rimantas 11y ago
Yup, paleo people are known for their great health. We are really lucky they left all these recipes books so we know exactly what they ate.
acdha 11y ago
The main reason the paleo people get flack comes from trying to claim historical accuracy when science has consistently shown that claims about e.g. how long humans have been eating grain or dairy products are off by thousands of years. See e.g. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-hal... or dozens of subsequent pieces. The better way to phrase this is to avoid trying to claim unique merit: “This diet works for me. Maybe it will work for you.” That keeps the truthful part but drops the magical claims about why everyone else's choices aren't as valid.
maxerickson 11y ago
If you are going to make categorical statements like Research shows that a leaky gut is a _prerequisite_ (but not only factor) for developing auto-immune disease, please provide a reference. For instance, this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ which I found linked from a nutritionist promoting AIP, only goes as far as However, in several autoimmune conditions it appears that increased permeability is a constant and early feature of the disease process. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that in some conditions increased permeability is critical to the development of disease as if it is abrogated the disease does not develop. Note all the equivocation in the science there. Edit: Actually linking one might be difficult, but for such a categorical statement, you should be able to cite a recent textbook, not just a few articles.
CuriouslyC 11y ago
Paleo works well for people who have low grade gluten/casein allergies. For those that don't, it is needlessly restrictive. Additionally, the emphasis on high fat consumption can actually exacerbate leaky gut, as high fat diets promote the growth of bacteria that release lipopolysaccharide. High lipid content also directly modulates intestinal permeability.

rimantas 11y ago

Yup, paleo people are known for their great health. We are really lucky they left all these recipes books so we know exactly what they ate.

acdha 11y ago

The main reason the paleo people get flack comes from trying to claim historical accuracy when science has consistently shown that claims about e.g. how long humans have been eating grain or dairy products are off by thousands of years. See e.g. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-hal... or dozens of subsequent pieces. The better way to phrase this is to avoid trying to claim unique merit: “This diet works for me. Maybe it will work for you.” That keeps the truthful part but drops the magical claims about why everyone else's choices aren't as valid.

maxerickson 11y ago

If you are going to make categorical statements like Research shows that a leaky gut is a _prerequisite_ (but not only factor) for developing auto-immune disease, please provide a reference. For instance, this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1856434/ which I found linked from a nutritionist promoting AIP, only goes as far as However, in several autoimmune conditions it appears that increased permeability is a constant and early feature of the disease process. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that in some conditions increased permeability is critical to the development of disease as if it is abrogated the disease does not develop. Note all the equivocation in the science there. Edit: Actually linking one might be difficult, but for such a categorical statement, you should be able to cite a recent textbook, not just a few articles.

CuriouslyC 11y ago

Paleo works well for people who have low grade gluten/casein allergies. For those that don't, it is needlessly restrictive. Additionally, the emphasis on high fat consumption can actually exacerbate leaky gut, as high fat diets promote the growth of bacteria that release lipopolysaccharide. High lipid content also directly modulates intestinal permeability.