Nutrition is a sore spot for me (as it is for most people). Try to speak with someone about their diet, and you will soon find what I am alluding to; Most people cannot have a rational conversation about nutrition. For some reason, nutrition falls into one the deadly categories for casual conversation, much like politics and money. Why? My theory -- it's one of three reasons (or all 3): 1. people are frustrated with our ever changing dietary "rules" imposed by our nonsensical FDA; 2. frustrated with their own diet; or 3. know their diet sucks and aren't willing to change it, so they defend it!
Enter: caveman! This is the whole reason for my blog. The cavemen did not eat processed garbage. The cavemen did not eat chemicals, nor dyes. For some reason, the cavemen were able to wake with the sun, work all day long, hunt and gather, and survive! (Yes, their lives were not as long and fulfilled as ours are today, but can we be positive it was because their diet was lacking? No! We can be positive they did not have the proper means to treat such simple illnesses as the common cold or pneumonia. Modern medicine kept the cavemen from living long lives, not their diet!)
Enter the paleolithic diet -- this modern twist on something that is hundreds of thousands of years old has been turning heads and causing debates. Why? Because it's "new" and scary! Tell me, what is so scary about eating lean meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch, and NO sugar? I know, I know! It's different and hard, and we can't continue to eat the same crap that is convenient and bad for us! Boo hoo. If that is your excuse, then please, continue on your merry way, but stop driving my health care costs up, because of your unhealthy choices!
Did you know almost EVERYONE has a gluten intolerance? Did you know most people are IN FACT intolerant to diary, as well? I bet you didn't! Step right up, folks! You are about to be amazed and astounded when I drop this curtain and reveal the scariest article most of you will never read! Do yourself a favor, read this. It summarizes what I have been trying to tell you (for a while now, I might add) into some great words. Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen? You will realize the shadows on the wall were just puppets! Who is holding those puppets? The food industry, the lobbyists employed by said industry, the doctors unwilling to do some research. The data is becoming more available with every passing year. There are (now wildly popular) movies about the food industry and it's giant blindfold. Do it for your health.
Dairy Isn't The Only Answer (from LivingPaleo.com)
Pasteurised milk is something we need to look out for, the same goes for any pasteurised dairy products. Chances are that if you’re buying milk from a supermarket in a carton, it’s been pasteurised, some milk companies will even say that the milk has been pasteurised and homogenized on the carton, like it’s a good thing(?)
Pasteurised milk destroys and denatures the milks structure, it’s denatures the proteins and destroys active enzymes, kills beneficial bacteria and dramatically reduces the vitamin content. The milk now is far from its original form, it has been processed to the stage where its structure looks nothing like what it would if it came straight from the cow. Most yogurts will go through this same manufacturing process and to make it worse will have substantial amounts of sugar added into it as well. The high amounts of sugar added to yogurt will generally out weigh any beneficial bacteria (like lactobacillus acidophilus) and any good qualities that it may still contain.
If you are drinking fresh milk from a grass-fed cow, without it going through processing factors, milk could be a beneficial addition to your diet as it will still be nutrient rich. But if you’re not, then you need to eliminate or reduce your milk consumption in order to improve your health.
Too many people tout milk as a healthy food, and it’s easy to see why with all the marketing going on saying how milk is such a fantastic calcium source. In fact the marketing for milk and dairy products is so high that many people don’t even know what other food sources contain calcium. Here is a small list;
- Sesame seeds, Flax seeds
- Almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans and most other nuts
- Green leafy vegetables i.e. spinach and broccoli
- Salmon, sardines
The food sources mentioned above are a far superior source of calcium for our bodies than milk and other dairy products. Yes, dairy contains a high amount of calcium, but that doesn’t mean it’s bio-available in the body, in-fact research shows calcium from plant sources are absorbed much better than that of calcium in milk. The reason why is that calcium is a mineral that needs an alkaline environment in the body to be absorbed effectively, un-fortunately dairy as a food is acidic. The result is our bodies search for ways to balance up the acidity of the dairy with something alkaline, and if you haven’t eaten anything with an alkaline Ph level at the same time (fruits and vegetables) your body will go to the best source, which is the calcium in your bones. This same problem occurs with any other foods we consume that are of a high acidic level, the body will find balance by leaching calcium from our bones in order for it to correctly digest the meal you have consumed. Osteoporosis, anyone?
This is extremely important to know, as the best way you can assure that your body is going to keep as alkaline as possible is to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, pretty much the only real source of alkalinity for the body. Also keep in mind that other factors contribute to an acidic environment in our bodies, stress and breathing in chemical fumes are only a couple of things the majority of us are faced with on a daily basis.
There are lot of people who are finding out they are lactose intolerant, and this is actually a normal intolerance for all humans (with exception to some groups of Central European people), it just depends on whether your body shows signs such as feeling lethargic, coughing, acne, or getting a skin rash. This is similar to gluten allergies, research shows that amongst all species of animal life, everyone has a gluten intolerance, whether you notice that now and decide to discontinue eating those food sources, or do that in 20years when you get diagnosed with something serious (caused by a gluten allergy), it doesn’t change the fact that your body has an intolerance.
People don’t need huge amounts of calcium everyday, even if you consume relatively small amounts of green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish, you will be consuming enough calcium for the body to run effectively.
There is also evidence showing that certain cells in our body play the roll of bringing calcium into our bones, and other cells which play the roll of taking calcium out of our bones. There is a limit for how many cells responsible for bringing calcium into our bones stay around for. If during our lives we begin to consume too much calcium, these cells will be used up a lot faster due to the fact more are needed to transport the calcium into our bones. If say after 10years you have no more calcium transporting cells, your body is no longer going to be able to replenish our bones with calcium to stay strong. This may help explain why Eskimos who consume a high amount of calcium, up to 2000mg a day through sea animals, have a high rate of osteoporosis.
For a more detailed explanation of this, I recommend reading the well researched article ‘Excessive Calcium Causes Osteoporosis’.
What to use instead of milk in cooking:
- Coconut Milk
- Nut milk (almond milk)
- No milk!
Note: Soy milk is not good! It is also heavily processed, denatured and full of sugars.
