How A Paleo/Primal Eating Plan Improves Your Health; And Why None Of It Matters
I’ve been stockpiling tons of articles, studies, etc in my Google Reader and never getting a chance to write about them. So I was glancing through them today and got to thinking about how it all ties together. I mean, it’s great to know that some isolated compound in broccoli fights cancer, but how do we incorporate all of the various findings into a coherent eating plan that doesn’t consist of “eat what you’re eating now and add some broccoli”?
What Is Paleo/Primal?
I think most of us know the answer to that, but for the newcomers, I want to give a brief overview of the Paleo/Primal philosophy, or at least my particular interpretation of it. The basic rule of thumb that I use to guide my eating is, as I wrote about in my Nutrition 101 post, “Eat Real Food”. That means unprocessed fresh foods…meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, tubers, eaten raw, cooked, or fermented.
My own philosophy is basically a melding of Dr. Loren Cordain’s “The Paleo Diet” and Weston A. Price’s research. While “The Paleo Diet” shuns all dairy and grains, Dr. Weston A. Price did tons of research on traditional cultures who were not ridden with the diseases of civilization and found markedly diverse diets. Some included fresh raw milk. Some included grains, though grains were prepared far differently than modern processing techniques. And grains were definitely not the base of most healthy diets, especially prior to about 10,000 years ago.
Basically, we can take a lot of cues from our Paleolithic ancestors and mix in a bit of the food knowledge of pre-Industrial cultures and come up with a diet that protects against all kinds of diseases. Though actually, now that I write that, I have to wonder if “protects against disease” is truly the right way to describe a dietary pattern. Perhaps “doesn’t cause disease” is a more apt description since disease is not a normal human trait. From there, we could say that the Western dietary pattern causes disease, while diets based on real foods don’t.
So now let’s look at some common Paleo/Primal foods and how they can protect against disease.
Eggs Are Good For You
Eggs have been getting some good press in the past few years after spending a few decades being demonized for being high in cholesterol. But there are still far too many people throwing away the best part of the egg, the yolk. Now, look at this: Eggs may reduce blood pressure
Researchers in Canada are reporting evidence that eggs — often frowned upon for their high cholesterol content — may reduce another heart disease risk factor — high blood pressure.
Fish And Grass-Fed Meats
A Primal eating plan includes lots of fatty fish, grass-fed meats, pastured poultry and eggs. These are the foods that sustained humans throughout history. And these foods, especially fish, all contain good ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. This omega-6/omega-3 ratio is one of the most important parts of your diet, yet it’s not really something you need to be worried about if you’re eating real foods. More on that in a second…first, Omega fatty acid balance can alter immunity and gene expression
…found that many key signaling genes that promote inflammation were markedly reduced compared to a normal diet, including a signaling gene for a protein called PI3K, a critical early step in autoimmune and allergic inflammation responses.
So why do you not need to worry about it? Because the key is the ratio, not the absolute intake. It’s been suggested that a 2:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio is optimal. But if you’re not eating too many omega-6 fats, from sources like vegetable oils and grains, you won’t need to take mega-doses of omega-3s to balance it out. If you’re interested, there are literally dozens of modern day disorders that omega-3s (in the form of fish oil supplements in most studies) fight against. Here’s a good start.
Another recent study showed that eating fish may prevent memory loss and stroke in old age:
The study found that people who ate broiled or baked tuna and other fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (called DHA and EPA) three times or more per week had a nearly 26 percent lower risk of having the silent brain lesions that can cause dementia and stroke compared to people who did not eat fish regularly. Eating just one serving of this type of fish per week led to a 13 percent lower risk. The study also found people who regularly ate these types of fish had fewer changes in the white matter in their brains.
Fewer Carbs Means Fewer Health Problems
Diets built around real foods like meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and tubers tend to be significantly lower in carbs than what the average person is eating. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, it’s just how things tend to work out when dealing with carb sources that are quite bulky compared to sugar and grains. Between the protein and fat (and their hormonal effects on appetite) and the bulk of the carbohydrates, low-carb diets are exceptionally satiating.
One thing that’s been proven time and again is that a low-carb diet helps ward off Type II Diabetes, which is good news because diabetes and Alzheimer’s go hand-in-hand:
Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia — and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins. The risk of dementia is especially strong if the onset of diabetes occurs in middle age, according to the study.
Obesity brings with it insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, and often a symptom known as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), which is an excellent marker for all kinds of metabolic issues and diseases. To bring it full circle, obese low-carb dieters burn more liver fat than people simply on a low-calorie diet.
The low-carbohydrate dieters, however, got only 20 percent of their glucose from glycogen. Instead of dipping into their reserve of glycogen, these subjects burned liver fat for energy.
Reducing Sugar Intake
As you know, I’m not a fan of much in the way of sugar intake. Too many sweets, including artificial sweeteners, are definitely not a good idea. That said, I do think some honey is alright here and there.
Here’s the key to a Real Foods way of eating. You are avoiding processed foods, which means, your overall sugar intake, and your fructose intake will be lower. No high-fructose corn syrup sweetened sodas or cakes. No sugary cookies. Fructose in particular may be problematic for losing weight.
Fructose, glucose and sucrose, which is a mixture of fructose and glucose, are all forms of sugar but are metabolized differently. “All three can be made into triglycerides, a form of body fat; however, once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down,” she said.
It Protects Your Brain
Would you believe that sugar and processed carbs can actually destroy your ability to regulate how much you eat? Appetite regulating cells are actually destroyed by too much sugar in the blood.
Dr Andrews found that appetite-suppressing cells are attacked by free radicals after eating and said the degeneration is more significant following meals rich in carbohydrates and sugars. “The more carbs and sugars you eat, the more your appetite-control cells are damaged, and potentially you consume more,” Dr Andrews said. Dr Andrews said the attack on appetite suppressing cells creates a cellular imbalance between our need to eat and the message to the brain to stop eating.
Odds And Ends Vitamins And Minerals
Finally, here are a few other articles I’ve come across that all support giving up the processed foods in favor of a Primal way of life.
Broccoli Compound Targets Key Enzyme In Late-stage Cancer:
An anti-cancer compound found in broccoli and cabbage works by lowering the activity of an enzyme associated with rapidly advancing breast cancer,
Vitamin B12 May Protect The Brain In Old Age:
The study found that people who had higher vitamin B12 levels were six times less likely to experience brain shrinkage compared with those who had lower levels of the vitamin in their blood. None of the people in the study had vitamin B12 deficiency.
And where is B12 found? “Vitamin B12, a nutrient found in meat, fish and milk…” Interesting that the foods the body is meant to consume are also the same ones that keep us healthy. Who would’ve thought that it would work out as such?
The End Result…
So what’s the real takeaway from all of this? Frankly it’s that if you’re eating real foods, the foods that form the basis of the Paleolithic/WAPF/Primal dietary patterns, you don’t have much need to worry yourself over individual vitamins or really even sit down and count out your grams of carbs, fat, and protein. These things just tend to work themselves out.
I find that when I stick to real food, I tend to normalize at 20-25% carbs, about 20% protein, and the rest fat. I know about what I need to fuel my workouts and might steer towards more fruit and sweet potatoes depending on what I’ve been doing. But I don’t count anything. I don’t worry about RDAs of vitamin B, C, D, E, and K (or any of the others that I didn’t name). I eat when I’m hungry and what I’m hungry for, until I’m full. Then I stop.
It always makes me laugh when science discovers the newest “superfood”. I get asked questions like “Do you eat blueberries for their antioxidants?” Well, I do eat blueberries, but not really specifically for the antioxidants. I eat them because they taste quite amazing coated in coconut milk. That they carry with them a load of nutrition is a benefit.
Frankly where modern nutritional “wisdom” went off the rails is when it turned to focusing on nutrients instead of foods. The prehistoric you didn’t know or care about zinc, vitamin A, or iron. All s/he knew was, “When I eat this, I feel good. When I eat that, I feel bad.” While I find it interesting to know that specific foods have specific qualities, I kind of figure that if I’m eating a diet that keeps my blood sugar and insulin levels in check, I’m 98% of the way there. When I walk through the market, I don’t think “Oh, I should get some asparagus for this benefit and some cabbage for that benefit.”
In the end, we all just need to go back to the basics. Eat Real Food! Do that and you can forget worrying about the cardiovascular protection of omega-3s or how many egg yolks you should eat to lower your blood pressure.
There you go…a bit of science and a bit of logic, all in one day. Thoughts?
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Great article, Scott. Here’s another article to check out. It’s in Spanish but it can be reasonably translated by Google or another translation service.
http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0212-16112007000800001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en
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What do I think? As always, you are spot on! Great “summary” post.
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Nice.. finally someone who eats a REAL friggin’ egg. What’s up with these stupid substitutes? I think it was Charles Poliquin who said “Fake eggs are for p*ssies!” – And this man knows his stuff.
Overall this seems like a pretty clean lifestyle should someone follow it. Although I don’t have any problem with grains since I eat them in moderation. I’ve seen the general vibe on here about “whole grains” and maybe it’s just me but it’s been either:
1. a little out of proportion
2. people eat wayy to much of it, so when they do a elimination diet, they notice a difference.
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>>>I have to wonder if “protects against disease” is truly the right way to describe a dietary pattern. Perhaps “doesn’t cause disease” is a more apt description since disease is not a normal human trait. <<<
You touched here on an essential paradigm that’s been shoved down our throat by those hoping to cash in by selling isolated nutritional factors.
Our bodies are naturally self-regulating and self-healing. It’s when we violate laws of nature through imprudent diet or lifestyle that our bodies become ill. And illness is often the “cure.”
Arthritis is the body attempting to “cure” a particular imbalance or toxic excess in the bloodstream. Athlerosclerotic plaque is a “cure” to damaged vessels just as high blood pressure a “cure” to constricted arteries. Tumors are the body’s attempt to isolate and control dangerous cells.
Remove the cause and the body self-adjusts. Presto: health!
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Our diet is more meso- than paleo/primal. We do eat a limited amount of rice and other grains and legumes, but steer toward those that have been fermented or otherwise traditionally processed (the link through goes to our food blog, which will give people an idea). The point is exactly the same for us, though. Without stressing or counting *anything,* just by increasing animal fats, cutting out vegetable oils and, honestly, eating what our bodies feel healthy eating rather than what we’ve been told to eat for decades, my husband and I have dropped weight, kept it off, and feel healthier than we did in college.
We’ve definitely been less affected by allergies and had fewer bouts of illness. Not sure if that follows under “prevents disease” but I’ll take it!
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Great post! I like the way you explained paleo and primal diets so succinctly. The popular press and a lot of health practitioners (like the pharmaceutical companies) focus on the leaves instead of the forest. People get the idea they need x, y, or z nutrient, which fuels the promotion of processed foods fortified foods (orange juice with added calcium, vegetarian foods fortified with B12, chocolate laced with veggie compounds, etc). Then they think they can keep eating the way their eating and just take the right supplements or supplemented foodstuffs to make up for it. Focusing on real, whole foods isn’t as profitable for the food giants. We need more spokespeople for Real Food!
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I really liked the info you posted above about Dr. Andrews and his findings that “The more carbs and sugars you eat, the more your appetite-control cells are damaged, and potentially you consume more.” I’ve experienced that myself.
I’m amazed at how much more satisfied I feel and how I don’t need to eat as often or as much following a fat, protein, and produce rich paleo diet. When I ate more carbs (grains, starchy vegetables, sweeteners) even if they were whole foods carbs I was hungrier sooner and had to eat more often. Now I’m comfortable eating twice a day on most days and doing intermittent fasting feels good, whereas skipped meals and fasting were terribly uncomfortable when I ate a low-fat, highcarb diet.
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Hi Scott,
What a fantastic article! I’ve been researching a primal/paleo way of eating for the last few days and this article is just what I needed!
Everything you say makes complete sense and I’m looking forward to switching my diet to ‘real foods.’
Thanks so much,
Gina
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Our food philosophies are almost identical!
One quick note, though. While I agree that food — not nutrients — is the fundamental unit in nutrition, I also know that Weston A Price did identify some “superfoods.” These were foods that were incredibly nutrient-dense and prized among native people groups. For example, rather than taking a Vitamin D supplement, we can eat a superfood like fermented cod liver oil and get just the right amount of Vitamin D into our diet to counteract the effects of living in the modern, indoor world eating foods devoid of their natural Vitamin D content.
Thanks for the post!
Cheers,
KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
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Thanks a lot , always useful and helpful posts. I always learn something new, or it helps me as a reminder. I am from Spain and low carbing since last october and just recently have converted to paleo, primal way of eating, after doing a huge studies on the matter and have decided not to make this junk food multinational companies any richer on the expense of our health. My husband just loves this way of eating, he could never eat with out bread, now he says with the paleo primal way of eating , the bread has no appeal for him. I am astonished, here in Spain bread is a must in all meals , not for us anymore!!
Thanks again and have a nice weekend.
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Scott, I like your thinking. The only way in which I have diverged from your great summary at the end is vitamin D. I eat a lot of oily fish and eggs, two of the best sources of vitamin D and also try to get sun when I can. Yet when I get tested I was well below the healthy range. So against my better judgement, I now supplement.
Joanne – I agree that “eat like this to avoid poisoning yourself” is a more apt way to describe this than “eating like this protects against disease”!
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A second Methuselah’s comment about vitamin D. There are some nutrients most of us cannot get enough of w/our modern lifestyles (wearing a lot of clothes, being indoors most of the time and during peak sun hours). Relying only on food for this nutrient very few people would have healthy blood levels of Vitamin D (meaning at least 40 to 60
Even taking 4,000 IU of vitamin D for 6 months to a year, many people will have very low levels of this nutrient, in part because it can take a long time to saturate the tissues before a surplus shows up in the blood.
GrassrootsHealth has launched a worldwide public health campaign to solve the vitamin D deficiency epidemic in a year through a focus on testing and education with all individuals spreading the word. You can join the campaign and have your blood levels testes 2x a year during a 5 year program to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. It’s very reasonably priced:
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/
If we ran around nearly naked most of the time and lived and worked outside, we might not have this problem. Don’t think we’ll see that revolution for a while, if ever though!
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Living in Phoenix, AZ I get plenty of sun. I figure vitamin D isn’t too big of an issue for me, though I have not gotten tested. I am outside a lot during peak hours, though going around naked would be embarrassing (and arrestable).
Being broke in the desert doesn’t allow for a robust real food diet. I have about $5 a week to spend on my food budget, and usually I buy some meat and a vegetable. This combined with two fasting days gets me by. I really need to work on getting more veggies and fruit in my diet though.
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I find it very refreshing to hear the back and forth of eat this not that, no not that this, and what not back and forth and just see it put into “natural” terms that not only make sense but are along the lines of what most of us who have been involved in fitness/weightlifting or training in general for a while now. Finally, info coming out that not following yo yo diets and mainstream b.s. is where the truth for our health really is.
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[...] “How a Paleo/Primal Eating Plan Improves Your Health; And Why None Of It Matters” courtesy of Fitness Spotlight Published in: [...]
Another top class post. Reminds me how much better off we would all be if we stuck to real food. Came at a timely point for me as I had two birthday parties over the weekend and indulged in cheesecake, ice cream and banoffee pie. Felt it after both nights the sugar rush made me hyper and then crash, horrible effects of elevated insulin! a shock to my normally paleo system….
I think one of the coolest things about a paleo eating plan is the fact vits and minerals are all covered and put to good use as we avoid the anti nutrients the off limits foods. Only fish oil for me! and SUN
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Scott, fabulous post! My philosophy is pretty much identical to yours…I call it my “Primal-Price” eating lifestyle – taking the best from Primal/Paleo and Weston A Price. I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment: “Though actually, now that I write that, I have to wonder if “protects against disease” is truly the right way to describe a dietary pattern. Perhaps “doesn’t cause disease” is a more apt description since disease is not a normal human trait.” Could not have put it better myself. Great work!
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Good stuff, thanks.
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Just saw Food, Inc. last night.
For those of you that don’t know, it’s a look inside the US food production system. It was a haunting documentary, even for me, who has read Michael Pollan’s & Sandor Katz’s extensive coverage of this topic.
I’m hoping that all Fitness Spotlight readers take the time to go see this film, and to encourage others to do so. The only way we can get back to real food as a society is to make as many people aware of this mess as possible. Scott/Mike, I hope that you go see this movie and share your opinions in a blog post.
Anyone who cares about food and the health of our society can help share the message and the movie with people who don’t put as much thought into what they put in their mouths.
I have no connection or financial interest in this film, I am just trying to spread the word. Thanks!
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Hi, just read this article as I am in desperate need of weight loss. I had pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and blew up like a balloon and have been unable to lose the weight since. I have tried many ‘diets’, but what I have begun to realise is that no person will ever lose weight without a sound understanding of what they are actually doing to their bodies. Educating people around the cause and effect of food types, rather than saying “if you only eat 300 calories for lunch you will lose weight” is something that does not occur regularly enough.
Thank you for the time and effort you have put into this article, and the others I have read, it has given me the impetus I have been looking for to stop trying to lose weight and to start aiding my body to naturally and healthily ’self-heal’. Keep up the good work.
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Fit Jerk, you’re right…a little grains won’t hurt you unless you’re allergic. But lots of grains definitely will.
Gina, you won’t be disappointed.
Food Renegade, Methuselah, and Chef Rachel, you’re right about vitamin D…I shouldn’t have included that one. I do take a vitamin D supplement because I work a desk job that makes getting adequate sunlight very difficult.
Chet, the problem with the back-and-forth is that it always focuses on nutrients.
Chris, hope you enjoyed the indulgence. It’s always a tasty reminder of why I don’t eat like that….5 minutes of delicious, 2 hours of not feeling so hot.
Hortense, I will see if I can find time to check it out.
Baggy, good luck!
Cheers
Scott
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Although I’m not convinced that the paleo diet is necessary, I agree that cutting out processed foods and sticking to real food is the first step on the way to great nutrition and health.
Rafi Bar-Lev
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Nice way of cutting through the info overload Scott … it’s all too easy to become caught up in the details of every ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food … eat grass-fed beef for it’s CLA, for example, or drink organic red wine for the resverytrol. But, like you say, the main message should just be ‘eat real food’.
Perhaps Conventional Wisdom has taught us not only to focus on the wrong foods, but to focus on the wrong reasons for eating.
One point on Omega 3 and fish though – I often caution people away from regular fish consumption due to the poor quality of fish we typically have access to. Not to mention that the majority of salmon and other fatty fish is now genetically modified. What are your thoughts on this?
Would also be interested to know whether you think a short-term period of excessive Omega 3 intake is necessary to correct past food patterns (i.e. a history of excess grain/veg oil consumption, even if the person is now eating well)?
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Nice work, as always.
I forward your site and Marks Daily Apple more then any other blogs I read.
Jay
PS. Bacon is a food group in it’s self.
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I concur 100%. When people ask me what to eat to boost their immune system, I tell them one thing – eat REAL food.
They tend to look puzzled, but it really is that easy. Fresh, whole, living foods are the best things you can eat to keep your immune system strong.
Why people need to be told this is beyond me…..
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Rafi, that’s the basics really. Whether something is Paleo or not is a minor technicality.
Kat, good point on the fish. It should definitely not be farmed since their omega-6/omega-3 ratios are way off. Hmm…I don’t really know anything about “resetting” with an omega-3 load, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to help the body get itself back in line.
Jay, peace, love, and bacon!
Melissa, unfortunately we’re convinced that being sick is normal, which means most people don’t think there are natural ways to boost the immune system like…eating real foods.
Cheers
Scott
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Well, I guess I’ll have to be the first one to disagree with the main theme of the post.
My diet resembles a paleolithic diet in many aspects, but the important difference is that if there is evidence that something which our ancestors ate is actually bad for health, I don’t keep it in my diet simply for the sake of it being paleolithic.
What I care about is what is healthy, regardless of whether it’s natural, unnatural, paleolithic, modern, etc. And of course I care about taste, too.
A primal diet is a very good starting point, but one should be careful not to fall for the naturalistic fallacy that everything that is natural is automatically good. Dying of parasites is natural and something our ancestors did; yet I don’t see many people practicing death from parasites.
A case in point: it’d be very difficult to get significant amounts of vitamin K2 from a paleolithic diet; and yet research is discovering many healfh benefits from vitamin K2.
So for me, tweaking my diet as I learn new things is both important health-wise and fun.
For more information on my approach to diets, supplements and health, see my blog link.
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I am drifting more and more to a no-carb diet. I do believe many health issues can be solved when we start eating natural foods. It is just that I have read so many good things about what ketones do in your body, that my desire is to be in ketosis all the time. I seriously believe ketosis will slow aging, by reducing ROS damage in my mitochondria, starting the CMA process, raising glutathione levels, protecting my liver against alcohol damage (Very usefull
), activating sirt1 genes, etc, etc. It is almost too good to be true!
That is why my biggest puzzle is fruit. I know that leafy vegetables, herbs, coffee and dark chocolate also can give me the antioxidants I need. The big advantage of berries to me is that you have better control over quantity. An entire apple kicks me out of ketosis for some hours. Although that’s not the end of the world, I just love ketosis. A handfull of berries won’t do that, and I can save the rest for tomorrow.
Just my thoughts.
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[...] Kustes at FitnessSpotlight shares How A Paleo/Primal Eating Plan Improves Your Health — and why none of it matters! It’s a great post on the basics of native, traditional [...]
On July 2nd, Andre mentioned drifting more toward a low-carb diet. Yes there is so much research pointing to the benefits of running on ketones, which reduces cellular damage, slows down aging, may prevent a lot of diseases attributed to aging. You might check out this book for more on research supporting benefits of low-carbing:
Primal Body, Primal Mind
http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com
Intermittent fasting may also provide some of the same health protective, disease preventive benefits, particularly when paired with low carbing
Check out Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon
http://www.EatStopEat.com
Another alternative is the Anabolic Diet, which many strength trainers have used to build muscle and get lean. It is ketogenic (high fat, high protein) during the week and allows you to carb up on the weekend while you eat less fat and protein.
This site gives you an overview. You do have to do the 12 day protein and fat initiation to get your body into fat burning mode, then you can start doing the weekend carb ups.
http://stronglifts.com/anabolic-diet-101-the-definite-anabolic-diet-guide/
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The post was awesome Scott and you are right on the money. HAae you read Marc Mark Sisson’s primal blue print?
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Bravo!
I’ve been eating paleo, along with raw dairy for almost 10 years now, and I can say without a doubt, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I look 10 years younger than my peers, eliminated seasonal allergies, gerd, and metabolic syndrome, and lost weight without effort.
Great article!
Thanks
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My company owns and operates fishing vessels and seafood processing factories along the West Coast of the US. Kat Eden’s comment is partially correct. Sadly there is a disconnect between quality, natural, organic food producers like me, and consumers. The problem lies in the excess margins of middlemen, distributors, and retailers, and their cuts need to grow at 10% per year. So every year they sacrifice more quality, and raise prices, hence the disconnect. A quick example this let’s say an American caught sole that an American fishermen would receive 35 cents per pound, would retail for $12+, too much for the average consumer. That would be for a high quality (if handled correctly, another problem), locally produced product. Retailers instead are offering more and more imported, very low quality, high margin seafoods, and this trend will continue. Its so bad, that 99% of my seafood (80 million pounds per year) is exported OUT of the USA to countries where they appreciate quality food. America’s waistline line is directly linked to American food company’s bottomline. I have started a new company: PALEO BRANDS INC, my goal is to reconnect food consumers to food producers. Stay tuned, we are still in the product development stage but will be launching soon.
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That’s a great sentiment, Joe, but no doubt as you begin marketing directly to consumers, you’ll be charging the prevailing retail price plus a markup for “quality,” That’s what’s happening now in the so-called organic and back-to-the-farm movements. It seems everybody is greedy for cash.
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Joe that sounds awesome! I checked the Paleo Brands website and I am attending the Paleo Brands Seminar in San Diego in Sept. I have always been a fan of Loren Cordain and have met Robb Wolf and John Welbourn. i think this is a fantastic endeavor and I am excited for it. As a Paleo eater I have been waiting for someone to take the fight and create high end meals coupled with education; makes complete sense. As for Joanne, have some faith in people. If Joe wants to do something good wait till he gets going and judge him after he has made some traction. It is negative views like yours that cause people like Joe, people that can make a change, to avoid making a difference. I believe that Joe has a social responsibility to help those that he can and he should be supported not doubted. Good luck!
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You’re right. I judged prematurely and unfairly. Time will tell. I guess I’m just fed up with the greed.
But I seriously doubt my comment will deter Joe from starting his business. Hopefully it will stick, and Joe will think of me when he begins pricing and marketing his product.
Here’s an example of what I see happening in the direct-to-consumer market: if I’m reading the charge correctly, the wholesale price for 100 pounds of fluid grade milk as of August 2009 is $11.80. Alternatively, I can drive 45 minutes to New York and buy raw milk for over $6 per gallon. Hmmmm.
And then there’s the organic farmer in Oregon who wanted $8 per pound for his French filet string beans, or the cattle farmer who charged more to buy directly from her than from the retail butcher to whom she wholesaled her cattle. And then there’s the organic bell peppers that sell for $35 per 25-pound box as compared to the conventional that sell for $8 per box.
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[...] How A Paleo/Primal Eating Plan Improves Your Health: Fitness Spotlight “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” – Michael Jordan [...]
[...] How A Paleo/Primal Eating Plan Improves Your Health [...]
Going back to a Paleolithic diet is fine but we need to go back to their lifestyles as well! In those days, people had to gather their own food! It is also likely that people develop more disease nowadays simply because of genetic factors. I am grateful that science and research have developed and we now know that certain nutrients are beneficial to support certain health conditions. I agree that we’ve definitely developed poor dietary habits over the years—processed foods and sedentary lifestyles have played havoc with our health. It’s a good idea to go back to eating real food. And since lifestyles are so hectic I often take a real food supplement just to make sure I’m getting all the nutrition I need. Ruby Reds contains over 50 natural ingredients— red superfoods, vegetables, fiber, enzymes, probiotics and protein. I don’t need to take any other supplement and since it is real food – I know I’m getting real food nutrition!
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[...] Pollan’s books, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes as well as various bloggers on the paleo diet (like this guy and this guy) . When it all boils down, we’re trying to cut out all [...]