Editor’s note: Contributing writer Angela Parker joins us to share her thoughts on the paleo diet. Angela Parker lives in Richmond, VA, with her husband and two daughters. She loves cooking and coming up with healthy recipes to share. She is active in her church and helps her husband lead their small group. She is head writer at www.GrassfedMama.com which focuses on having a healthy lifestyle and honoring God.
By Angela Parker, contributing writer
Why I’m Not Paleo: A Balanced Approach
Paleo Diets are all the rage right now. The term Paleo comes from Paleolithic. The basis of these diets is to eat as a caveman would.
There are some things I love about Paleo
1) No processed foods:
People are giving up their SAD (Standard American Diet) to go Paleolithic. These Paleo eaters are swapping fast food to eating clean foods and cooking at home. This is wonderful for health benefits!
2) The Workout plan:
Crossfit is a workout program coming out of this Paleo movement encouraging women to be Strong and not Skinny. People are encouraged to lift weights, build core strength and take recovery days off. Paleo followers are not encouraged to run for long periods of time, taxing their adrenals, but to sprint and get their heart pumping.
3) Nourishing recipes:
Because of the basis for eating clean foods, there are lots of good Paleo cookbooks and recipes that are healthy and so tasty! Paleo recipes focus on quality meats, eating vegetables, grain-free baking and using high-quality coconut oil. This diet is by far better for us than the low-fat diet and low-calorie diets from the past.
There are some things I Don’t love about Paleo
1) High Emphasis that humans evolved from Cavemen:
I believe in the Bible. I believe that God created Adam and Eve as the first humans. No evolution from monkeys needed! Once Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden, they continued to farm the land and kill livestock for foods. This is our earliest model of what God wanted us to eat. On a side note, I do believe in micro-evolution where there is evolution within a species to continue to survive but not across different species.
2) High Emphasis on Bacon
I’m not going to disagree that bacon is yummy. We eat bacon. We just make sure that we get nitrate free Turkey Bacon. We don’t eat pork on a consistent basis because there are some reasons God didn’t want the Israelites to eat pork (unclean!). Pork carries dangerous viruses that can be transferred to humans. Pigs also carry parasites in their meat.
Pigs by design are a garbage disposal. They don’t have sweat glands or other means of getting rid of toxins in their body – because they weren’t designed to be eaten.
Ummm this does not sounds like “eating clean” to me!
(Editor’s Note: While we are aware that many do not eat pork due to biblical beliefs, we believe that it is possible to eat clean pork. Pigs that are confined are fed toxic waste and those toxins are passed on to the consumer. However, pigs that are raised in a clean environment, unconfined, and pasture centered are clean and can be a great addition to a healthy, real food diet. As with all things, moderation is key!)
3) Weak Science
If you are a hunting/gathering culture, you are just going to eat whatever is in your region. You will eat starches like potatoes if they are growing near you, even though this is not on the Paleo diet. There are plenty of documented traditional cultures who were healthy and thriving who were not eating Paleo diets as seen by the research of Westin A. Price foundation.
4) No Dairy Allowed
Commercial dairy is an inflammatory food. Many people do carry some form of intolerance because they stopped producing the enzymes to fully break down the proteins in dairy.
However, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! Eating grassfed butter, natural cheese and yogurt full of probiotics can be a wonderful part of a healthy diet. Raw milk and cheese are considered a super food and most people even with dairy intolerance are able to eat these without issues. Goat’s milk is another type of milk that is easier to digest than cows milk. Cultured dairy, like yogurt and kefir, is a great source of probiotics which is helpful for your digestive health and immune system.
5) No Grains or Legumes
A diet mostly made of grains is not healthy, cue the Food Pyramid. Grains and beans are high in phytates which can deplete the body of valuable minerals like magnesium. However, we don’t have to give grains up because of this. These phytates can be reduced through a process of soaking to break down the phytates before cooking. Our family enjoys oatmeal, sourdough bread, and beans after we have soaked or fermented the grains to reduce these phytates.
So what am I eating?
I am eating a very balanced approach right now by Trim Healthy Mama. I don’t think this is the ONLY way to eat, but it is working for me and my family.
It is balanced because it does accept all food groups (even bread!). I like to follow a diet where you can eat carbs for energy and also fats for satisfying meals (Trim Healthy Mama encourages them to be separate for weight loss). If you don’t need to lose weight, then you can mix the two sources of fuel (fats and carbs).
I eat a protein source at every meal and snack to keep my blood sugar stable. For example, I’ll make a chocolate muffin in a mug and top it with Stevia sweetened Greek yogurt as my protein source. It gives me good energy and satisfies my desire for sweets without messing up my blood sugar.
There are still a lot of recipes that would be considered “Paleo” that I use. I will use grain-free flours such as almond and coconut flour for making satisfying desserts and bread. I will use low carb vegetables, like zucchini and Brussels sprouts with lots of coconut oil for dinners.
But I can also enjoy a nice warm bowl of energizing oatmeal in the mornings, which is not considered Paleo.
To Sum it Up
My recommendations would be to find a lifestyle where you incorporate more whole foods and vegetables into your diet over processed foods even if that is Paleo. Stop eating the Standard American Diet. Allow for balance in your food choices and choose healthy foods that will keep your blood sugar stable.
Have you heard of the paleo diet? What are your thoughts on this diet?
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I love this post. I try to feed my family a real food organic diet. I looked into the Paleo diet awhile back but also decided it wasn’t for me due to the huge emphasis on evolution. I just couldn’t get behind a diet that is solely based on something I don’t believe.
Thanks Angela! I still use a lot of Paleo inspired recipes for grain free breads and meals. It is refreshing to find a plan that I can eat wholesome foods and have everything in moderation.
Just a couple of thoughts… I dont’ think Paleo necessarily “emphasizes” bacon. I think many people eat it because they love it and because they now ‘can’ on Paleo. I don’t think it’s a requirement or anything… Same for dairy. Many Paleo/Primal folks do eat dairy (raw milk, aged cheeses, kefir, etc.). It’s a choice… I think as with any diets Paleo has many, many versions. I no longer try to “categorize” how I eat. I went from SAD to low fat to WAPF to GAPS to Paleo to.. what I am now. I’m grain free (I’m gluten intolerant and don’t digest grains well right now) and mostly starch free (same reason). I do eat dairy and love my bacon!! As many people do, I try to eat organic and local as much as I can…
Thanks Magda! My “emphasis on bacon” comment stems from Paleo bloggers mostly. It was endless pictures of bacon and bacon and more bacon. I realize that you could be Paleo and not eat bacon. It just seemed it was a glorified food for most that were following a Paleo diet. Secondly, the Paleo diet doesn’t include dairy in its original form. Most Paleo authors talk about how diary is a recent addition into human consumption past infancy. Some people may choose to include dairy in their diet, but that isn’t Paleo. I used to tell people I was Paleo, but I ate dairy and butter. However, that isn’t Paleo, that is my made up version of it. I had to re-evaluate what I personally believed in was good and healthy. I cook mostly grain-free and still cook plenty of Paleo inspired recipes. I am not going to identify myself with the Paleo diet though. I think that you are right on track for understanding what your body needs and what works for you and your family! Thanks again for the comment!
To be fair, the bacon thing is mostly a running joke. Most Paleo folk don’t actually eat *that* much bacon (and some don’t eat any at all, for a myriad of reasons). It’s a running joke largely because Paleo is the polar opposite of conventional wisdom and the USDA’s idea of “healthy” food. Bacon has often been the poster child of “bad” foods in the fat-phobic camps (including the USDA and the AHA) for being a high (saturated) fat meat and is one of the first things to get cut out of a low-fat/”heart healthy” diet. Paleo, being the polar opposite of CW/USDA, doesn’t “ban” cuts of meat like bacon (pork belly), and provided you source it from pigs that are fed a biologically appropriate diet (and live an appropriate life) and that the meat isn’t cured in a ton of sugar and garbage, is a perfectly acceptable protein source and is on par with anything else (barring religious or personal health reasons for not eating it, of course). So, naturally, you get the reaction of “wait….this diet allows me to eat bacon?!” by a lot of newcomers who were previously led to believe that a bacon burger was heart attack on a plate.
And, for what it’s worth, there’s a local Paleo meetup group in my area that does a potluck for Thanksgiving each year. I went to it a couple of years ago, and there was not an ounce of bacon in sight. 😛 So yeah, not as much emphasis on bacon, overall, as some (possibly introductory?) blogs posts may lead some to believe.
You are right. I think a lot of the bacon emphasis is stemming from a “shock and awe” factor. Pinterest is full of bacon loving paleo eaters. My husband would call it a “meme.” Thank you so much for reading my post! I eat a lot of paleo recipes as I am gluten and grain free for the most part. I do enjoy butter and cheese which are not considered strict paleo. I’m thankful for all the paleo bloggers out that do put a lot of effort into promoting a healthy diet.
This is super! My main issue with the Paleo diet is the whole evolutionary premise of the diet. I say I follow the WAPF, or Paleo+raw dairy and grains. It works for my body, and that’s the most important thing!
Love your site. I have a Celiac hubby, so GF dinners here. The girls and I do splurge on gluten occasionally, but pretty much just what I can make at home. I would like to point out that all were vegetarian, including the animals, until AFTER the global flood. See Gen. 9:3. And in the New Testament, God removed the ban on previously forbidden food. I DO agree that local, naturally raised meat is best. We buy very little pork (bacon is a weakness lol) and local grass fed beef. Keep up the good work. Maybe someday I can make a website!
Thank you so much! My family does best too when we are gluten free. Thankfully, I have found it is so much easier to find recipes and products that work. Thanks for reading and Happy New Years!
I totally agree about the Paleo diet. I must comment on one of the comments given here. I do not believe that God removed the ban on pork in the New Testament. Jesus was paving the way for Gentiles to be accepted by God, and in the Old Testament Gentiles were unclean. The incident with Peter and the vision of the sheet means the same thing – Gentiles now can be saved.
Our DNA did not change after Jesus rose from the dead. What was bad for health in the Old testament is still bad for health now.
No, pork won’t keep you out of heaven, but it will get you there sooner!
Thank you for reading! I certainly agree and don’t think that eating pork is a sin. I did some research on my own a few years ago about pork and it just made sense that pigs are a natural disposal. Their digestive system is not the same as many other animals that are “clean” and they don’t get rid of toxins the same. The editor made a great point about finding a better source for pork and that helps with most of the health issues. We just don’t eat pork or shellfish in our family. Thanks for your comment! – Angela
I’m asking only for the sake of curiosity but do either of you happen to eat shellfish?
Thanks for reading my post. No, we stopped eating all shellfish after reading the Maker’s Diet in 2007. We only eat fish that has fins and scales.
For me Paleo does’nt have anything to do with evolution or cave men 🙂 but means I eat most meats, veggies, and fruit. I rarely eat bacon, and it is only turkey bacon, as I agree that God never OKed pork. I also don’t do crossfit. Funny how we tend to put people in boxes.
Do I think eating this way is for everyone, no, but I do think it is a healthy way to lose weight and get back on track to healthier eating. I may one day add more grains back in, but for now this is the only way that I have been able to lose weight, and I feel good.
I did look into THM, but after reading some reviews I quickly learned that it was’nt for me. If I have to count calories, measure, or even fret about food I won’t stick to it. I have enough stress and I end up not eating at all if it is’nt something that I can easily stick to.
Thank you so much for your comment! There is beauty is finding what works for you. – Angela
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I think the tendency we have as Christians/Paleo eaters is to make everything into a strict set of rules to follow. I know many of the “leaders” in the Paleo community are trying to get people to leave the rigidity of the perceived paleo “religion” and just follow what their body is telling them. If higher quality dairy is working for you – go ahead. If you react to things that are generally considered as safe on the paleo diet then avoid those things. Paleo is really a set of guidelines to help you on your way, not a set of rules for devoted followers to abide by. Same with Christianity. We’re so used to “don’t do that, do this” that we’re afraid to listen to the still small voice on the inside leading us with the peace of God. Loosen up a little, throw the man-made rules out the window, enjoy your relationship with Jesus and follow his voice on what to do in your everyday life. He’s your Daddy in heaven and he’ll lead you where you need to go.
I don’t believe God intended us to eat meat. In Eden both people and animals were only given plants for food. It doesn’t appear that God compromised on this until after the flood. So I feel if we are to look to Adam and Eve as a model we should be abandoning meat altogether.