I know this is a lot to take in, trust me. I want to make one final clarification however. It is an all too often made mistake when wading through the waters of dietary dogma to get caught up in some notion of "right" and "wrong"; some sort of moral evaluation about the foods we choose to eat. I am not trying to say "grains are EVIL!" Grains are grains, they're just doing their thing. The focus shouldn't be "you shouldn't eat that, because it's BAD!" I try to approach this more from a scientific, objective viewpoint- would this food really have been available to me had it not been for some industrial manufacturing process? Do I really think the biology/physiology of my body has the capacity to process something that until 10,000, 100, or even 30 years ago would have been virtually impossible to do so? And is the short term satisfaction from eating that food worth the potential consequences on my health and wellbeing?
I also want to emphasize the degree to which the Paleo Diet allows for customization to meet our unique, individual needs- and we are definitely all different to some degree. I urge you to experiment; maybe you feel better with a slightly higher carb intake, or perhaps you do better on a little less protein and don't need to eat meat with every meal. And if you are healthy and free of disease, by all means, indulge in non-paleo foods if you must, from time to time. Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple provides arguably the best strategy with his 80/20 principle. His entire site is an excellent resource.
Why I Prefer "Paleo Lifestyle" to "Paleo Diet"
This is not a temporary quick-fix, crash and burn type diet where you bounce back and forth and whip yourself every time you fall off the wagon, and it is NOT a life of asceticism! This is a completely new outlook on life and adaptation of a new mentality; this is acknowledging the foods and daily habits that contribute to optimal health and wellbeing. Paleo eating is your "rock" if you will, your sanctuary, your ultimate fall-back to health and happiness!
Rejoice in the foods that nourish the body and contribute to your optimal health and quality of life! There is certainly nothing nutritive in grains, legumes and dairy products that cannot be attained from meat, seafood, veggies, fruits, nuts, and the occasional starchy root or tuber. (I can't emphasize enough the importance of source and quality of said foods however!!) Furthermore, the Paleo Diet List offers a food list overflowing with culinary possibility that will pique the interest of anyone with a love for food, cooking and gastronomy! So I invite you to join me, the Paleo Epicurean, in a lifetime of delicious, mouth-watering, eye-popping foods, on which we will thrive and be nourished to the core!
If you'd like to learn a bit more about me, click here.
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