Paleo Diet? Has anyone tried it?

[xchocoholic]

I'm a supporter of the paleo / wahls diet for their nutritional and non inflammatory properties. For the most part tho, I think the reason that it helps so many people is that it eliminates common food intolerances.

I was on this diet for about 5 years but gave it up in Jan this year. My digestion stopped working as well last year and I'm having to experiment with easier to digest foods, digestive enzymes, etc.

Finding the foods that one is intolerant of is tricky and can take awhile to really identify. I know biopsy proven celiacs who can't when tell they've eaten gluten. My normal symptom from eating gluten is myoclonus not digestive issues and I'm a celiac. I'll get the runs if I've eaten too much gluten via cross contamination tho. That rarely happens.

I get shiners from dairy and phlegm in my throat from soy. I react very quickly to soy. But my reaction to dairy is more subtle and can take up to 10 days to go away.

Our reactions can change over time too. I can eat tomatoes now without getting fibro pain but couldn't for several years. It could be that taking Mast cell meds is helping me in this area.

Anyone with chronic pelvic or urinary pain may want to avoid high oxalate foods. These are out of the question for me due to kidney stones and vulvodynia. Info is on the web.

fwiw, while learning what foods do what to us is a real pain in the ass, I never want to go back to feeling like I did before eliminating the foods and chemicals that were causing me so many problems.

tc ... x

 

[Lotus97]

How many people who benefited from the Paleo diet were already eating a lot of protein before they started? I'm wondering how much of it is just eating more protein rather than eliminating foods. I'm already eating a relatively high amount of protein.

 

[xchocoholic]

I was eating plenty of protein. It was the food intolerances that were nailing me.

Paleo isn't considered high protein. It's a balance of meats, fruits and veggies. Atkins is high protein. Or at least the paleo version I learned years ago. I followed Dr Cordain's info. If I'm not mistaken he was the one who started this.

 

[Lotus97]

I was eating plenty of protein. It was the food intolerances that were nailing me.

Paleo isn't considered high protein. It's a balance of meats, fruits and veggies. Atkins is high protein. Or at least the paleo version I learned years ago. I followed Dr Cordain's info. If I'm not mistaken he was the one who started this.

So are you saying grains were the problem or was there other stuff?

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi lotus,

I pretty much gave you the rundown of what certain foods do to me in a post I made about 2 posts ago.

That's the way it is for everyone. We each have to watch for our own reactions to certain foods and realize this can
change over time too.

There are similiar foods tho. The foods that we've all been eating too much of, called common food intilerances,
are the best place to start. The paleo diet eliminates these. So do some other diets.

Whether someone has a problem with grains, or just certain grains imho, is totally dependant on their body. I feel better eating white rice now but I was ok with brown rice 7 years ago.

The idea that grains and legumes are bad for us as promoted by paleo gurus isn't something I can answer since
I'm not trained in biochemistry and nutrition. I imagine those who are trained in this will argue about this
for the rest of their careers. Eggs are good. Eggs are bad. Fat is good. Fat is bad. Same goes for all those Chemicals
found in our food and environment. Some of the info is obvious, like teflon or mercury. Other info is debatable.

Imho, much of what's written in medical literature could be thrown out. Medical experts, drug companies
and supplement companies have tainted the "science" with falsified data to support their own agendas for
profit. Books on diets are written to make a profit. Just look at how many there are.

sorry if this sounds like a rant. Honestly it's just how I see it now. Tc ... X

 

[Lotus97]

xchocoholic
Sorry, I guess my brain isn't working too well. I'll read your other post

 

[BadBadBear]

I am more or less eating paleo now. I have been low carb for 3 years. Cutting out wheat, refined foods, sugars, soda, etc. has made a big difference for me. I feel better and I lost a bunch of weight (15#, and I was not really overweight to start with, just at the higher end of normal).

However, I'm also having digestive issues - low gut motility and hypochloria - and have somewhat relaxed my eating rules... The main change now is eating bananas for potassium (2 bananas per day). Otherwise, my diet is still mainly paleo. For ex. eggs w/ a banana for b-fast, lunch is usually some rice crackers and a soup made in the blender with broth, veg, coconut milk, and extra salt. Afternoon snack is a kefir smoothie w/ berries and a banana, and dinner is a bit of meat w/ a cooked veg side (lately I am eating yam).

I can't eat wheat at all anymore, and too much refined sugar makes me sicker than a dog. Sodas taste like chemicals now. So while it has helped, it is definitely restrictive and once your digestion changes, it may not be easy to go back to eating 'normal' stuff.

Also I track my daily food intake in Fitday, which I think is super helpful. Since it will do a nutritional profile for the day, I notice that I am chronically deficient in certain nutrients. I think if you decide to change your diet, it might be worth using an app like Fitday to keep tabs on your nutrients, and supplement as needed.

 

[Lotus97]

Lotus97

Another reason to consider limiting fruit is that a good percentage of ME patients are fructose intolerant.

Sushi

How can you tell if you're fructose intolerant? Are there symptoms?

 

[Sushi]

Lotus97

Fructose intolerance is usually diagnosed by a 3 hour breath test after fasting then ingesting fructose. Some who have tested intolerant reported that they lost a lot of weight after eliminating fructose, but I don't know if there are immediate symptoms.

Best,
Sushi

 

[Daphne Parker]

Hi there! I've tried Paleo diet and it's a matter of discipline and sacrifice. I'm used eating foods with preservatives but I really cut it out when I'm having Paleo. It feels good not eating processed foods or those with bunch of preservatives. I did this diet just in a right timing to adjust well. Have a try and let's see if it works with you. I hope this would help.

 

[Lotus97]

Since I've been trying the caveman Paleo diet I realized I'm not getting as much fiber since cutting back on grains. Fruits and vegetables have some fiber, but not as much as grains and I was already eating fruits and vegetables before I started the diet. Any suggestions? I was thinking of having psyllium with a meal. FYI, it's important to drink enough water with psyllium because it expands a lot and could be a choking hazard.

 

[BadBadBear]

Ground flax is good, if it works with your system and if you are OK with it in your paleo eating plan. I don't do well with psyllium, I don't think my body holds enough water for it, no matter how much my water intake is. I did better with organic acacia senegal for fiber...

 

[maddietod]

You could also look into chia seeds.

 

[tinek]

I started paleo two months ago and found it heped me a lot. It took away the headaches and dizzines that started earlier this year, my moods are better. It did not help yet with the muscle aches though...
I found the "Practical Paleo" book very helpfull, it has both the why and how in quite compact form.
I think a lot of my promblems started in the gut so paleo is a good direction to go. I don't think it is too restrictive, once you go off grains and sugar compleatly it is much easier than if you would apply the diet just partially.

 

[Lazy Caveman]

Hi, I know this is an old thread. Any recent thoughts on Paleo or other diet?
I've been trying variations on paleo, plus vegetable juices and natural supplements, which has as been very effective for me. I'd love to hear more from others who have had positive experience with diet.
Thoughts and suggestions would be great.

 

[Lazy Caveman]

I started paleo two months ago and found it heped me a lot. It took away the headaches and dizzines that started earlier this year, my moods are better. It did not help yet with the muscle aches though...
I found the "Practical Paleo" book very helpfull, it has both the why and how in quite compact form.
I think a lot of my promblems started in the gut so paleo is a good direction to go. I don't think it is too restrictive, once you go off grains and sugar compleatly it is much easier than if you would apply the diet just partially.

Hi Tinek, I know this is an old post. I notice you say that Paleo helped, but didn't help body aches. I found the combination of paleo, plus 2 cups a day of echinacea tea (4 g dried root and herb) eliminates my body aches almost completely. Hope this helps.