Many people have heard of the paleo diet without really knowing what it is. Also called the paleolithic, caveman or Stone Age diet, it is, as the names suggest, a way of eating based on the lifestyle of our long-ago ancestors. More specifically, the paleo diet seeks to recreate the eating habits of before the Agricultural Revolution, which was roughly 10,000 years ago.
Of course, such a diet is inevitably doing to be inexact. If you think about it, you may wonder if even the smartest scientists actually know with certainty what people ate that long ago. There is some evidence, but also much speculation. For example, we know that humans were mainly hunter-gatherers, but we don’t always know precisely what they hunted and gathered. Another problem is that humans have evolved in different ways depending on their native climates and other factors. Paleolithic humans living near the Arctic Circle would have eaten very different kinds of foods than those living in Hawaii.
Despite these apparent difficulties, the paleo diet is still a surprisingly coherent and sensible one. This is largely due to the fact that our modern, institutionalized food production system has become so dependent on processed and artificial foods that simply to return to a simpler time is automatically going to be a big improvement! In other words, to return to the previous example, you’d do a lot better eating like a typical Eskimo or Hawaiian native (or South American native, African, early European, etc.) than following the typical modern junk food diet. So while experts may quibble about just what is and isn’t allowed in the paleo diet, if you would just try following the basic guidelines, you would be eating much more nutritiously.
What are the basics of the paleo diet? Essentially, eat natural meat, fish and eggs;dairy is more controversial, but a little organic dairy is fine. When it comes to animal products, they should be organic or grass (not corn) fed. These animal products cover the “hunter” part of the equation. For the “gatherer” half, we have nuts, fruits and vegetables. Vegetables, however, do not include many relatively recent additions to the human diet, such as potatoes. Refined sugar is also not allowed. Perhaps the most radical aspect of this system is that it excludes all grains. This means no bread, pasta or rice, which are the staples of so many modern diets.
You may have noticed that the paleo diet does not conform to many modern ideas about eating a low fat, even vegetarian diet. In this way it is more in line with the findings of Weston Price, another controversial researcher who also studied many traditional people and found that some of them are perfectly healthy while still eating high fat foods (though natural, not the factory farmed kind we have in developed societies). In fact, many of these “primitive” people have virtually none of the degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes that plague so many societies today. While Weston Price’s findings are not exactly the same as the paleo diet, the two overlap in many areas.
Many people like the idea of trying the paleo diet, but wonder what they are going to eat if they can’t have bread, sugar or pasta. It does require an open mind and a willingness to try a new lifestyle. There are a couple of ways to approach this. You could try it for a month and see how you feel. If you feel more energetic and maybe lose some weight, as many people do, you might want to continue with it.
There is something else to keep in mind with this or any diet: if you can stick to a good diet 75% or so of the time, you will gain most of the benefits that it has to offer. In other words, if you adopt the paleo diet, you don’t have to swear to never again eat a portion of french toast, a slice of pizza or a bowl of your favorite pasta. The point is that you can use something like the paleo diet as a guiding principle. Then again, if you are more of an “all or nothing” type person, and find you really like it, then you can follow it 100% and gain all of the benefits!
The paleo diet is something that, once you seriously study it, makes intuitive sense.The fact is, despite the “advances” of modern life, many things such as food production are designed to cheaply produce high volumes of products. In other words, the focus is on quantity, not quality. Put still another way, if you eat like a normal modern person, you are essentially eating an institutionalized diet. The paleo diet is one authentic way to choose something better for you and your family.
Learn how many delicious meals you can make with the paleo diet. Watch this short caveman diet video. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/paleo-diet-a-caveman-diet-for-modern-times-1768581.html
Most of us know the many benefits of including oranges in our diets. Oranges are loaded with Vitamin C, which is an important treatment for cancers and is required for many important bodily functions. Oranges provide fiber and are helpful in controlling blood sugar and insulin. Oranges should be included as a part of every diet. But, did you know that the orange peel that most of us toss in the trash also contains health benefits.
Orange peel, or more specifically, orange zest (the shavings of the orange portion of the peel), contain a unique flavonoid called hesperidin. Hesperidin helps to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff), lower triglycerides (fats found in the blood) and reduces the risk of heart disease. An added benefit is in normalizing blood pressure. Studies also show that hesperidin is helpful in reducing bone loss, acts as an anti-inflammatory and is good for fighting some types of cancer, especially breast cancer.
Hesperidin is found bountifully in the orange zest. Although small amounts are found in the orange flesh itself, it does not provide the same benefits as orange zest. The zest is so easy to use. Before you peel the orange use a grater or rasp to shave off the orange portion of the peel, leaving behind the pith (white skin between the orange of the skin and the orange flesh). I make a habit of shaving the orange zest into the blender as I make my daily smoothie, saving the balance to use in baked goods, such as muffins and cookies, and in other recipes.
Orange peels also contain natural oil which is utilized by the body to help keep the elasticity of veins and arteries. The oil will help keep your skin strong, elastic and beautiful. Add some orange peel to a bath and let your skin absorb these beneficial oils. The sweet citrus scent will help give you a boost.
Orange zest is a good source of pectin. Pectin is a natural fiber which the body utilizes to control blood sugar, reducing the immediate effect of blood sugar rising rapidly. This makes it ideal for diabetics. Pectin also works to lower bad cholesterol levels, helping to scrub cholesterol plaque from artery walls. Need more benefits? Pectin acts as a natural appetite suppressant, reducing the desire to overeat. Additionally, pectin helps promote the production of healthy bacteria in the intestines.
Want to know how you can easily include this highly beneficial food in your diet? Add orange zest to rice, couscous, grains or oatmeal to give it an added citrus flavor. Use orange zest as part of a salad dressing or marinade. Add it to jams or jellies. Sprinkle it on salads or to add flavor to soups. Use it as a spice to add flavor to fish and meats and vegetables. Orange zest is a well-known addition to baked goods. People love my orange, raisin, cranberry, oatmeal cookies. The orange zest gives them that extra added flavor. The list of foods that are accented by orange zest are nearly endless.
Next time you reach for a piece of fruit consider an orange and grate off the orange peel. You will get the great benefits of the orange flesh and the added benefit found in the orange zest. You will help maintain healthy cholesterol, control blood sugar levels, suppress overactive appetite, keep your skin smooth and provide other benefits to your body.
Jeff Keto, with a degree in Sports Medicine, writes various articles about things he has learned over the years including knowledge gained from personal experiences. He contributes to information found at ThingsYouWantToKnow.com and HealthEssentialProducts.com Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/health-benefits-of-orange-zest-1768608.html
The theory of metabolic typing is that no two people have exactly the same metabolism, just as no two people have the same fingerprints or DNA (identical twins have DNA changes between them after conception). The application of this theory can be applied to almost any disease that a person is afflicted with, since most chronic disease states involve metabolic imbalances. This more complete theory of metabolic typing has been developed by Wolcott and Kristal from the more divergent findings of previous researchers in the 20th century. These previous biochemical researchers include: Weston Price, D.D.S., George Watson Ph.D., Francis Pottenger, M.D., William Kelley, D.D.S., Roger Williams, Ph.D., and Royal Lee, D.D.S.
The Metabolic Typing Diet book starts out with a very interesting first sentence in the Foreword section “I first began to investigate metabolic typing almost fifteen years ago, after hearing reports of the exceptional clinical results that people were achieving with it”. Unfortunately, there are no clinical results that have been published on metabolic typing in America. There have been articles published by most of the now deceased authors listed above, but no mainstream contemporary articles on metabolic typing have been published by anyone, whether they “believe” in metabolic typing or not. This is a shame, since metabolic typing has much scientific grounding and deserves to be taken seriously by the bio-medical community. When the author of the Foreword section (Etienne Callebout, M.D.) wrote of the “exceptional clinical results” of metabolic typing, this assumedly was on a case-by-case basis, which is, for better or worse, what occurs in the holistic health field in general. Dr. Callebout resides in Great Britain, which has a somewhat different definition of what is clinical practice. However, bio-medical articles are accepted for publishing by journals from all over the world, and metabolic typing, wherever it is practiced has still not broken this published article barrier.
As with The Nutrition Solution book, Wolcott’s Metabolic Typing Book explains the four different metabolic types: sympathetic, parasympathetic, fast oxidizer, and slow oxidizer. The first two metabolic types are influenced primarily from a part of the central nervous system called the autonomic nervous system. The other two metabolic types are more influenced by the oxidative biochemical system, which is much more well-defined in its actions on digestion and assimilation of foods and other nutrients. Sympathetics and slow oxidizers have relatively lower metabolisms. Heavy foods such as beef and pork tend to slow them down even further, and they often cannot properly digest large amounts of these foods. These two metabolic types tend to do better on carbohydrates, which are burned much faster than the protein and fat in heavier foods. Sympathetics and slow oxidizers are termed “carb types”. In contrast, parasympathetics and fast oxidizers have relatively higher metabolisms. They can handle a heavy meal much better than other people. However, carbohydrates are too “fast” for them—too many carbohydrates, especially if they are not balanced with protein and fat, will be burned too quickly, resulting in various problems, including blood sugar swings and/or mental disturbances. Parasympathetics and fast oxidizers are termed “protein types” although fat is also found in abundance with most foods high in protein. In Wolcott’s book, there is also a third “mixed” metabolic type, which is neither a carbohydrate or protein type. Wolcott originally followed the teachings of Dr. Kelley, who emphasized the autonomic system, while Kristal built upon the research of Dr. Watson, who emphasized the oxidative system. At first, it appeared that the results of the two different systems were completely contradictory, but later it was found that they complement each other, as will be described below. However, there is still much to be learned about the mechanisms of metabolic typing.
Interestingly, and up to this point unresolved, is the observation that intake of different foods causes a person’s blood pH to go up or down depending on their metabolic type. Carbohydrates raise blood pH for the autonomic types, and lowers blood pH for the oxidative types. Conversely, protein lowers blood pH for the autonomic types, and raises blood pH for the oxidative types. Blood pH, or the number of H+ ions in blood, falls within a very narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45, with the average being 7.40. Any blood pH change outside the above limits will immediately cause drastic breakdowns in metabolism and/or nerve function, such as seizures (high blood pH), or acidosis leading to coma or death (low blood pH). Any blood pH within the range of 7.35 to 7.45 is considered clinically normal, but that does not mean the person feels well or even is well. Some people are sensitive to very minor blood pH changes, and anything outside of the optimal blood pH of 7.40 may be felt as a number of different symptoms. This is why people with a slightly high blood pH of 7.41 to 7.45 (the parasympathetics and slow oxidizers) should eat protein or carbohydrates, respectively, to lower their blood pH toward the optimal 7.40. People with slightly low blood pH (the sympathetic and fast oxidizers) should eat carbohydrates or protein, respectively, to raise their blood pH toward 7.40.
Although the above theory does not have a concrete reason for why a certain food raises or lowers blood pH in different people, it does go a long way in clearing up many confusing results that the bio-medical community published in the past. For example, it was long thought that eating too much fat led to heart disease. Along came Dr. Atkins, and all of a sudden eating fat for many people actually lowered their cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease. Some people do great on the Atkins diet, some do not. Similarly, some people do very well on the carbohydrate-rich Ornish diet, and some do not. Obviously, not everyone has the same genetics, which largely determines their metabolism, otherwise everyone would have done well on either a high-fat/protein diet or the high-carbohydrate diet. Results like these are confusing to clinicians, because they don’t take into account biochemical individuality and differing rates of metabolism. Many clinicians follow a “one size fits all” dogma of diagnosing and treating diet-related illnesses. With all of the conflicting information generated from different diet plans during the last fifty years, it should be clear that there is simply not one type of diet for everyone. This is exemplified by Wolcott stating that eighty percent of Americans cannot find lasting solutions to their chronic illnesses after trying conventional doctors (and dieticians).
Some dietary differences do have a kind of common-sense element to them, however. For example, Eskimos have been eating Caribou meat and Whale blubber for thousands of years, and yet their rates of heart disease are no greater than anyone else. This makes sense, since the Eskimos live in a very cold environment, where humans and animals need to constantly generate body heat, thus their metabolisms are high. They can burn fat quickly, before it becomes a problem. Conversely, tropical cultures have been thriving on complex carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and rice for thousands of years, and their rates of diabetes (a disease associated with excess carbohydrates) are not high. Unlike the Eskimos, there is no need for people who live in the tropics to generate excess body heat to survive, since there is plenty of heat from the blazing sun in their environment. In fact, slowing their metabolism would be a benefit to people in the oppressive heat of the tropics. If the two traditional diets were switched, however, what would happen? Could the Eskimos thrive on carbohydrates? Conversely, could the tropical cultures thrive on a high protein and high fat diet? Probably not, since both of their metabolisms have adapted to the food in their environment that is available to them, and to the external conditions such as temperature. Of course, there have been a great deal of human migrations and genetic blending between distant cultures in the past, which can make typing of metabolisms challenging.
There are also other factors that influence metabolism, and Wolcott does mention these in the second half of the Metabolic Typing Diet book. The other factors influencing metabolism that Wolcott mentions are: anabolism/catabolism (the building and taking apart of molecules), endrocrine (hormone) type, acid/alkaline balance, prostaglandin (a type of hormone) balance, constitutional type, electrolyte (salt) balance, and blood type. The first three factors listed above are actually essential to metabolic typing itself, while the last four are merely related to metabolic typing and not necessarily integral to it. Wolcott and others believe that disease arises from biochemical imbalances in one or more of the above metabolism-influencing factors. In addition, different nutrients affect the four metabolic types in different ways (as mentioned earlier with the example of carbohydrates vs. protein). By definition, an imbalance means that one side of the system is dominant over the other.
Certain nutrients can restore metabolic balance, depending on the metabolic type in question, while other nutrients may strengthen the dominant imbalance further, thus creating even more imbalance. This is what happens if protein types eat too many carbohydrates or carbohydrate types eat too much protein and fat. Wolcott provides charts for these imbalances, along with different nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and dozens of different foods. Wolcott provides both a self-test to determine which metabolic type someone is, along with dozens of pages of nutrient recommendations for the protein, carbohydrate, and mixed types. He recommends that protein types have about 40% protein, 30% fat, and 30% carbohydrate in their diet. Any diet with a protein amount above 25% of total calories should first be cleared with a physician, since protein can be hard on the kidneys and pancreas. Carbohydrate types should eat about 25% protein, 15% fat, and 60% carbohydrate. Even this percentage of carbohydrate is relatively low compared to a vegetarian, whether they include fish or eggs in their diet or not. As you may have imagined, Wolcott recommends 50% fat and protein and 50% carbohydrate for mixed metabolic types (30% protein and 20% fat). This is somewhat close to Dr. Sears’ Zone diet of 60% fat and protein, and 40% carbohydrate. If the Zone diet were matched up against Wolcott’s recommendations, it would fall between the protein type and the mixed type in nutrient content.
Wolcott’s book is very good; it contains more useful details than Kristal’s, although Kristal’s seems to provide a somewhat clearer picture of the overall metabolic typing theory and how it relates to disease. Both books are indispensible to anyone attempting to understand metabolic typing. A practical person without a degree in Biology or Biochemistry may want to choose Wolcott’s book, if they had to buy one of the two. A physician, clinician, or bio-medical researcher may prefer Kristal’s book instead.
Dr. Jensen is both a consultant and author in the BioMedical and Nutrition fields. He has previously written a book on both topics, The Failures of American Medicine, published in 2002. Dr. Jensen has also written a doctoral dissertation on how Vitamin C can reduce stress and allergies via its antihistamine effect. He has worked in a broad range of BioMedical fields, such as gene regulation, cancer research, and HIV vaccine development. However, Dr. Jensen eventually decided that helping people more directly would be more rewarding for everyone involved. He has since helped clients with dozens of different ailments. Dr. Jensen is a practitioner in the field of Metabolic Typing, which characterizes different biochemistries among people based on certain physical and behavioral traits they have. You can contact Dr. Jensen at 1-800-390-5365, or mail him at drjensen@individualizednutrition.com. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/review-of-the-book-the-metabolic-typing-diet-1763811.html
How many times have you told yourself you are going to lose weight? How many diet plans have you tried? Does it feel like you are on an endless cycle of weight loss failure without a real chance for success?
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