Let's face it, going paleo is a huge leap of faith. It is very contradictory to conventional wisdom. In that light, it even appears down right dangerous. To make the leap, it takes a high level of confidence. Some people can be confident because paleo was recommended to them by a loved one or a health care professional. That isn't the typical case. Paleo is usually a careful choice made after weeks or months of research and self education. It sometimes is associated with a period of observing successful results of others.
In the end, when it comes to nutrition, paleo practitioners are smarter than the average bear. If you want to match wits......you better know your stuff. Please let me know your journey to going paleo or primal. Was it a leap of faith or a careful and calculated transition?
CP
1 comment:
Well, for me it was part both but overall the diet most certainly has been an evolution. While we have always been "real food" eaters who only rarely ate out and never bought food in a box, the shift really started off as support for my wife who resumed a "low-carb" diet. Frankly, she is the researcher and I trust her reasoning - I would be negligent if I didn't credit her for much of it. However, as I started seeing stunning results for us both and we started feeling better, I got more interested in the science behind it. And of course, became increasingly interested in the politics of the game. But we didn't start as paleo. Tom Naughton was a good "gateway" drug, Taubes was instrumental in explaining why the conventional wisdom science is faulty. We adapted some practices from Weston A Price. It seems that the longer I go (just over a year now), the less I miss the glucose spikes and even natural sweeteners. We stopped supporting CAFO meats and source it ourselves from people we know. We buy local produce and this summer have stored and canned a ton of vegetables for to long Ohio winter.
More recently, we cut out wheat and gluten altogether. My wife has completely given up dairy and my consumption has been limited.
The grocery store is bound to close soon based on the lose of revenue from us. About the only food we get there now is dog food (the dog is NOT getting grass fed ground beef and pastured eggs).
Neither of us are big on labels, but a "paleo" diet in itself is much more about a philosophy of health based on traditions as opposed to a rigorous diet. I'm not sure I could even speculate on how it evolves next, but I suspect we will continue to refine it.
While it may seem at times that this new lifestyle (not really a diet) has become a religion, it is a conscious decision - rather a set of decisions. We are deliberate in our choices. We spend a LOT of time discussing food choices and preparing our food. Actually, we enjoy it. What consumers need to understand is that the Standard American Diet is all about convenience. People spend less money and time on food than EVER before, but the trade off is in the quality of food being eaten (I know, a completely different post).
Good post - thanks Chuck! We must get together sometime!
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