Confession: I’m not on board with the Paleo diet.
Yes, I’m following it (mostly). But I don’t buy the premise.
The foundational premise of the Paleo diet is that we need to live like our evolutionary ancestors did. We aren’t biologically ready to eat the things that we’ve been shoving down our gullets for the last few centuries, and now we’re paying the price in obesity, heart disease, etc. We should eat whatever we would have been able to hunt and gather thousands of years ago: no milk, no honey, no bread, no wine.
But those are specifically the things that the Bible promises us as blessings (Exodus 3:8, Luke 22:19ff). And if bread was bad for us, then God would not give it to us in Communion as nourishment for our souls and bodies (Matt. 7:11).
On top of that, the Paleo diet assumes that Darwinian evolution is true. It denies the existence of Adam. And Marilynne Robinson has convincingly argued that denying Adam undermines civilization as we know it.
On the other hand, here I am: fighting genetics and my own corrupted body. Matter is good (no neo-Platonism for me!), but creation still groans (Romans 8:22). And so, while I have serious reservations about the premises of the thing it seems like - given my background - it’s a good set of recommendations for my health.
Friday, May 31, 2013
The Rules
When my chiropractor told me to start the Paleo diet, I did some research. As I’ve said before, I had some misgivings about the premises of the paleo diet. On top of that, I’m a schoolteacher who is NOT a morning person. That means that breakfast has to be quick and easy, and dinner needs to be about the same.
The basic premise of a paleo diet, as I’ve discovered it, is this: eat only meat, fowl, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. After talking with my sister, who lives with me and will have to eat this too, I decided to make the following exceptions (in moderation):
*There are a host of opinions out there about how much dairy and fruit you should consume on a paleo diet, but I just wanted to blanket-allow anything from those categories. Anything is better than how I’m eating right now.
The basic premise of a paleo diet, as I’ve discovered it, is this: eat only meat, fowl, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. After talking with my sister, who lives with me and will have to eat this too, I decided to make the following exceptions (in moderation):
- Allow condiments like soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, etc.
- Eat quinoa (it is a more complete protein and is a higher-fat grain than most, and it has mild anti-inflammatory properties).
- Allow sugar substitutes like splenda or aspartame.^
- Allow dairy and fruits of all kinds.*
- Allow legumes on occasion, at least for me. I’ll be getting natural peanut butter that doesn’t have all the added sugar, but peanut butter and beans can both round out a packed lunch nicely.
- Allow alcohol.
- All bets are off on Sunday.
*There are a host of opinions out there about how much dairy and fruit you should consume on a paleo diet, but I just wanted to blanket-allow anything from those categories. Anything is better than how I’m eating right now.
Why I'm Doing This
This summer, I finally decided to give in and see a chiropractor about a few niggling joint issues that have been bothering me for a while (just basic back/hips stuff, the kind you’d expect for someone who stands all day in high heels, plus some elbow pain from bad ergonomics when I was a secretary).
He said that the first thing to do is to start limiting my sugars and to research this thing called the “Paleo” diet. He said that it’s going to be hard, but it’ll be worth it. So here I am, almost 27 years old, 5’3” and 200 pounds, at high risk for diabetes, and I’m starting this diet.
In the words of Dave Ramsey, you have to live like no-one else so that later you can live like no-one else.
As I expected, and yet to my chagrin, he wasn’t content to just fix my joints and send me on my way. He wanted to look at me as a whole person, evaluate my overall health, and nip any problems in the bud.
Well, anybody who looks at me could tell that I have a weight problem, and a look at a family photo would tell you that I’m not a genetic anomaly. My entire family - extended family included - is on the heavier-than-ideal side by at least 15 pounds, and most of us could stand to lose closer to 40. My mother is pre-diabetic, her dad is diabetic with serious nerve damage, and his mom was diabetic too. Clearly, I’m playing with the deck stacked against me.
After some weird tests, he decided that my pancreas was probably giving me trouble. That’s not good news, since the pancreas regulates blood sugar. I’ve watched my mom and grandpa both struggle with lots of health issues over the years, and I don’t ever want to be in that situation. The doctor told me, though, that if I followed his instructions we could prevent me from ever getting diabetes altogether, and I could live to a healthy old age.
He said that the first thing to do is to start limiting my sugars and to research this thing called the “Paleo” diet. He said that it’s going to be hard, but it’ll be worth it. So here I am, almost 27 years old, 5’3” and 200 pounds, at high risk for diabetes, and I’m starting this diet.
In the words of Dave Ramsey, you have to live like no-one else so that later you can live like no-one else.
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