Peter Parker's smart, dead uncle said, "with great power comes great responsibility." At the time, he was talking about being a human-spider hybrid, but had Peter Parker sacked up and stopped a criminal when he had the chance, thus inadvertently saving Uncle Ben's life (and his rice), he'd probably say the same thing about the internet.
Never before has information been so easily accessible to the majority of people on Earth and never before has that caused such mass confusion over what is actually accurate.
Case in point: eating stuff.
50 years ago, if you brought up your diet in a conversation everyone would look at you weird, mainly because nobody cared. It was food. Put it in your mouth, gnash your teeth together, and slide it down your throat hole until sated.
Since then, we've managed to turn a four letter word into a library of misconceptions, quasi-religious theory, and good old-fashioned voodoo. As a side effect, people are unhealthier than ever before. Obesity, heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, rampant arthritis, sexual dysfunction, and chronic stress are just a few health problems that are now pretty common...in young adults. While nutrition isn't the only cause of these ailments, it's certainly a large, contributing factor. So, how can we eat to maximize our health, enjoy our meals, and not drive ourselves crazy with the stress of over-thinking our food choices? Simply combine nutritional science with behavioral study to create what I call "Practical Paleo," the official diet of DOYH.
To properly examine what this kind of eating entails, let's examine the parts of the whole.
First off, we have Paleo. Paleo is a somewhat nebulous term that describes a way of eating focused on mimicking the dietary habits of our Paleolithic ancestors, as they are thought to be stronger, smarter, and healthier than their modern counterparts.
Why so nebulous? Well, there wasn't a singular "Paleo" man who only ate XYZ and lived a certain way. There were, in fact, myriad Paleolithic people who all had varied diets and lived to varying degrees of health, some of them contradicting one another. Similarly, Paleo advocates don't even agree on what a Paleo diet is. Some folks shame you for eating vegetables that aren't green while others drink raw milk and ghee everyday. So, cutting out the extremist outliers, here's the simplest way to understand Paleo: eat a grip load of vegetables and some fruit (all organic and seasonal) while knocking back as much dead animal (grass-fed, free range, and wild caught) as possible. Then grunt every time you see fire.
Why is this a good thing? First of all, everything you are eating is ridiculously good for you and nothing you are eating is bad for you. There is rarely an instance in which someone is eating too many vegetables and try all you want, you can't justify a Ben and Jerry's weekend if you've decided to go Paleo.
I can hear the foam accruing on the sides of the mouths of some vegans out there, so let's clear this up. Meat, even red meat, is not bad for you. Just about every study that concluded that saturated fat and cholesterol are dangerous has been handily debunked and science is actually demonstrating that saturated fats are crucial for cellular health and diets low in saturated fat lead to lower cognitive function. The key phrase here though is "grass fed" beef. The fatty-acid profile of a cow raised in pasture is rich in Omega 3s and CLA, while conventionally raised meat is rich in indigestion. Let's continue.
Secondly, Paleo eating tends to eliminate any food allergies or sensitivities one may have. Paleo eliminates dairy, soy, corn, legumes, and grains from the diet. I am well aware that only a very small percentage of people have Celiac's or are lactose intolerant (haters). I also laugh when Jim Gaffigan says he might be lactose intolerant because he feels awful after drinking four milkshakes. I get it. But understand that if your doctor says you're not allergic to grains but you get nauseous and foggy after eating oatmeal every morning, maybe you should still consider not eating it. We tend to ignore how we feel in favor of clinical diagnoses, which can be favorable in some instances, but if you need to lie down every time you have brown rice, you may have just figured out what's bothering you, no copay needed. So, in the absence of the thousands of dollars worth of the blood work that it takes to find out what foods don't sit well with you, just give Paleo a shot and do away with the most common offenders.
So, Paleo might not be the best way to eat because of sound science or research, but it certainly is a simple and straightforward way to determine what to eat in the absence of science.
"So, should I just eat Paleo or is there anything wrong with it?"
Here's where the practical part fits.
Many people have a difficult time complying to a Paleo-type diet. The number one reason is that people believe it to be outside of their budgets and the number two reason is that people believe it to be restrictive.
It's easy to understand why folks believe the first complaint; they imagine spending their Sunday at Whole Foods buying artichokes that were grown by virgins in white tunics who sing to the soil. That cost is always carried on to the consumer.
On top of this, people always try to find Paleo substitutes for the foods they used to eat. The ingredients to make a loaf of Paleo "bread" are probably about 3-4 times the cost of the ingredients for bread. Paleo ice cream is 3 times the price of Ben and Jerry's and has to be imported from the Yukon.
If the notion of taking out a small loan just to make fritatta sounds ridiculous, it's because it is. It doesn't have to be this way.
The simple solution is to stick to the "meat and veggies" model (with some fruit and starches) but stop buying organic produce. This is going to be a tough one for some folks to swallow (all the puns intended). The simple fact is the research as to whether or not organic produce is better for you (or whether or not conventional produce is worse for you) is inconclusive.*
It may be better for the environment, but that depends on from where you buy the produce. If that's your concern, try a farmer's market, but if you still think you need to shell out $100 a week on organic produce at a Whole Paycheck, that's on you.
If you want to take it further, buy conventionally raised "lean" meats. The difference in nutritional value between conventionally raised and farm raised meats is the fatty-acid profile. If you're going to buy meat that has little to no fat (chicken breast, turkey cutlets, etc.) then that's not really something about which you need to worry. Cut some costs and go conventional, unless you have a moral problem with factory farms, which is again, on you.
"But what about muh donutz?? I can never eat them, again?"
Welcome to one of the hallmarks of Practical Paleo.
Welcome to Vice Saturday.
On Vice Saturday, you can eat and drink whatever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want.
Donuts? Yup. Pancakes? Yup. Gluten pie? Yup. Babies??? Check with the parents.
Before we take this any further, let's address some common concerns you may have about this.
"Won't this undo what I did all week?"
Nope. Research has demonstrated that there is no demonstrable difference between 100% compliance to a diet and 85-90% compliance to a diet. Read that again. So, if you run the math on your own, whatever you eat on Saturday is unlikely to contribute more than 15% of your total weekly consumption.
"Isn't this binge eating?"
Yes and no. In my experience, the first 2 or 3 weeks of Vice Saturday turn into Binge Saturday, but that sentiment quickly disappears after two important realizations. First of all, people get used to not eating garbage all the time and they feel less of an urge to "go nuts" on Saturday. Secondly, eating a short stack of pancakes dipped in Rocky Road is only fun for about 20 minutes. Once the food settles in your bloodstream, you begin to hate your decisions. This gets old really quickly.
As a personal anecdote, I went buck wild my first few weekends of experimentation, but it's hard to have a fun Saturday in the mountains when your stomach punches you in the stomach. Now, typically I eat pancakes for breakfast, a midday snack, and I go out to dinner. This is less food than I'd have on a normal weekday.
So, yes you'll likely binge, but binging one or two times isn't unhealthy. Binging regularly is.
"Why don't I just eat all of these 'junk' foods during the week, but in moderation?"
My answer would be, why don't you? The food isn't necessarily the problem, it's an individual's self control. If you're the kind of person who can eat a square of chocolate everyday and not crave anymore, then screw you, Wolverine. We humans can't do that.
A serving of ice cream is about half of a bowl, but everybody eats a full, damn bowl. In theory, this isn't a problem, but people have bad habits. Moderation quickly becomes every night. So, "moderately" eating ice cream becomes five to six full bowls a week. Try eating that much in a day and see how it works out for you.
The point is, we can either try to fight our rapidly decreasing willpower everyday and go to war with cookies or we can adopt a system that recognizes our shortcomings and tempers them with strategy. Get with it.
"What about Sunday?"
Welcome to the second hallmark of Practical Paleo.
Sunday No Funday.
After a long day of eating heathen abominations, Sunday is for fasting. That's not a joke; water, tea, and black coffee only.
Ritualistic fasting has been used to improve health and focus for centuries. If someone doesn't eat for two hours, we look at them like they have an eating disorder, yet cultures have been reaping the benefits of not eating for as far as history can see.
"Won't I die?"
We're all going to die, but it probably won't be this Sunday. People can go days without food and frankly, that question is part of the problem. Have you ever seen someone scream at their spouse, kick a dog, or almost fight a stranger because they really need to eat something? You think that's how humans are meant to function?
The answer is no. Regularly practicing fasting helps us use fuel (food) more efficiently. It conditions the body to be able to function optimally even when food isn't readily available. After a few weeks of fasting on Sundays, having to skip lunch because you're busy at work or eating dinner late at night won't be a problem because you can handle 24 hours without eating. Fasting also helps normalize and optimize our hormone levels so over time we see improved body composition, cognitive and sexual function, better management of moods, and healthier skin, teeth, and hair. It also gives your overworked digestive system a chance to rest.
"Isn't this starving myself?"
Again, yes and no. You are withholding calories from your body, but unless you were severely deficient in calories before Sunday, it won't make a difference. If you had a great Saturday, you're likely to restore some balance to the caloric equation anyhow. Let's be clear: not eating for 24 hours is one of the healthiest things that you can do for your body. This is well documented in the research.
It will likely suck the first couple of weeks, but it quickly becomes a breeze and I promise that you will be amazed by how much more time you have when you aren't thinking of, cooking, or eating food all day.
Disclaimer: I know that someone will tell me that this is dangerous for people who have eating disorders, so I shouldn't say it. So, first of all, if that's the case then the problem isn't fasting...the problem is the EATING DISORDER. Seek the appropriate help. Secondly, all other things being equal, the psychological deload that one gets from a day without food may actually be beneficial to someone with such a disorder as there is no food, therefore no worry about food (still, not a doctor; seek help). Finally, this is not a "more is better" proposition. 1 day is perfect, 2 days are terrible. Don't be terrible.
"What does this look like in practice?"
Even simpler than it looks in theory. Let's run through what I'd eat from Friday morning to Sunday night.
Friday morning I'll have some Bulletproof Coffee**, five whole cage-free eggs with peppers and onions, some real bacon (no nitrates), and an apple. For lunch I have about ten ounces of grass-fed beef, two to three servings of kale sauteed in garlic and olive oil, a big handful of almonds, and a lot of water. As a snack after I train in the afternoon I'll drink a smoothie with coconut milk, some spinach, frozen fruit, and whey protein powder (Do you even lift?). Then, for dinner I'll have about ten ounces of chicken breast with maybe two sweet potatoes cooked in a way that will make them taste good, plus some vegetables also cooked in one or two of many ways.
On Saturdays it's usually pancakes for breakfast. I might snack on some chips later or have a sandwich with some gourmet root beer. Then, for dinner, I go out somewhere and eat something awesome and I always always always order dessert.
When I wake up on Sunday it's black coffee in the morning, water the rest of the day, and whatever I want for dinner.
I understand some concerns that some people may have, so let me moderate those.
Yes, that is a lot of food. I eat a lot of food because I'm usually very active and have very specific physical goals that require the intake of a lot of food.
No, I'm not going to have a heart attack. My free test levels are outstanding and my blood markers are awesome.
No, that doesn't break the bank. I spend about $60-70 dollars a week on food. If that sounds like a lot, realize that I am eating roughly 1.5 to 2 times what a normal person eats. People regularly spend more money out at dinner than I do in a couple days.
So, what have we learned today? Humans basically suck at food. But, that's okay. Thankfully, we are great at systems and strategies and because of that we leverage our shortcomings for better results.
What are those better results? Increased health, good looks as a side effect, and overall a better, grimy-gripped life. But more importantly, the stress that we bring to the simple act of eating (counting calories, figuring out hunger cues, cheating like it's the SATs) is curbed and replaced by the centuries old tradition of enjoying the stuffing of one's face.
So, what steps can you take this week to transition to a better way of eating? Let us know in the comments below.
Be practical. Eat Paleo. Stay filthy.
*I am well aware that there are studies that demonstrate organic foods MAY be more healthful than conventional foods. But, that's not how science works. One needs to review the entire body of evidence as a whole and draw conclusions from it, rather than touting a single survey done in a vacuum as gospel. As it stand right now, the body of evidence in this matter is split right down the middle. So, on the whole, (please note the specific phrasing of the rest of this sentence) at this time we have no reason to believe that eating organic food is better for one's health or that eating conventional food is worse for one's health.
**After a bit more experimentation, there are some notable caveats to consuming Bulletproof Coffee. For the uninitiated, BC is coffee blended with grass fed butter and coconut oil (often times MCT oil is used). To summarize my experience briefly, I got chubby pretty quickly. To summarize some other folks experience, their blood lipid profiles were wrecked. So, the first caveat is that, depending on serving size, BC will add between 400-800 calories to your diet a day. Despite the hype, there is no form of eating that is not affected by the amount of calories you consume. So, unless you're grossly underweight, BC will cause unnecessary weight gain unless you remove those calories from meals later in the day. I prefer to eat calories instead of drinking them, so I cut it out. Secondly, get some blood work done before you try BC. Then get it done a month later (try not to make any other changes during this month). If things are looking significantly worse, maybe BC is not for you. That's the important part of all of this; experiment and see what works for you.
Assignment of the Week (AOW): Read at least one poem a day. Sit in quiet, preferably alone, and drink in the words on the page. Contemplate what the author is saying, his/her choice of words, and your initial gut reaction to the poem. Then, note your reaction after the contemplation. Let us know what poems you read in the comments below. Have a great week.
