Thursday, March 3, 2011

Primal Diet....What's that??

As a person who has spent my entire life dieting, I am familiar with most of the fad diets that have come along.  Yes, I have tried many of them.  The grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, the starvation diet, The Zone Diet, The Atkins Diet, food combining, liquid diets.....you name it, I have tried it.  In fact, I have a library of books dating back to the 1970's that can readily identify which decade it was written.  It seems that every decade has a new spin on diet and nutrition.


The current trend is the Primal Diet or Paleo Diet.  For the first time, I am researching a "diet" that makes sense.


Archeology and Anthropology have always been an interest to me since I was a child.  When Michael and I moved to Portland, I enrolled in Archeology and Anthropology classes at Portland State University.   I studied evolution as well as the life and habits of early man.  Approximately 200,000 years ago, the first modern Homo Sapiens evolved in Africa.  These early humans were "hunter/gatherers".  Farming did not occur for another 190,000 years.  


The premise for the Primal Diet is based on scientific fact.  Our human bodies adapted to a diet rich in fat, moderate protein, and minimal carbohydrates from 190,000 years of hunt and gather.   When farming was introduced 10,000 years ago, our diets began to change to the modern grain and carbohydrate heavy, low fat diets we see today.


But I am not an expert, so I would like to introduce you to one of our members at SKOGG Kettlebell Gym, Nora Gedgaudas,  who is an expert.  She has written a book on the subject, and I highly recommend her book as a resource to understanding why a Primal Diet makes sense.


This diet is a great compliment to kettlebell training.  Take a look at Nora, she is living proof!!


Order the SKOGG System Kettlebell Workout DVDs

 



Primal Body, Primal Mind
Combining your body’s Paleolithic needs with modern nutritional and medical research for complete mind-body wellness

• Provides sustainable diet strategies to curb sugar cravings, promote fat burning and weight loss, reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep and moods, increase energy and immunity, and enhance memory and brain function

 • Shows how our modern diet leads to weight gain and “diseases of civilization”--such as cancer, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and ADD
• Explains how diet affects the brain, hormone balance, and the aging process and the crucial role of vitamin D in cancer and disease prevention

Examining the healthy lives of our pre-agricultural Paleolithic ancestors and the marked decline in stature, bone density, and dental health and the increase in birth defects, malnutrition, and disease following the implementation of the agricultural lifestyle, Nora Gedgaudas shows how our modern grain- and carbohydrate-heavy low-fat diets are a far cry from the high-fat, moderate-protein hunter-gatherer diets we are genetically programmed for, leading not only to lifelong weight gain but also to cravings, mood disorders, cognitive problems, and “diseases of civilization”--such as cancer, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance), heart disease, and mental illness.

Applying modern discoveries to the basic hunter-gatherer diet, she culls from vast research in evolutionary physiology, biochemistry, metabolism, nutrition, and chronic and degenerative disease to unveil a holistic lifestyle for true mind-body health and longevity. Revealing the primal origins and physiological basis for a high-fat, moderate-protein, starch-free diet and the importance of adequate omega-3 intake--critical to our brain and nervous system but sorely lacking in most people’s diets--she explains the nutritional problems of grains, gluten, soy, dairy, and starchy vegetables; which natural fats promote health and which (such as canola oil) harm it; the crucial role of vitamin D in cancer and disease prevention; the importance of saturated fat and cholesterol; and how diet affects mental health, memory, cognitive function, hormonal balance, and cellular aging. With step-by-step guidelines, recipes, and meal recommendations, this book offers sustainable strategies for a primally based, yet modern approach to diet and exercise to reduce stress and anxiety, lose weight, improve sleep and mood, increase energy and immunity, enhance brain function, save money on groceries, and live longer and happier.

About the Author of Primal Body, Primal Mind            
Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT, is a certified nutritional therapist and neurofeedback specialist with a private practice. A member of the Nutritional Therapy Association, the National Association of Nutritional Professionals, the Nutrition and Metabolism Society, and the Weston A. Price Foundation, she lives in Portland, Oregon.






1 comment:

  1. Thanks for that info about the primal diet. This diet can definitely support your health to have a longer life.

    ReplyDelete