Here's MY proof!

I talk a lot about the health benefits of a Paleo style diet. I truly believe that it is the diet best suited for human consumption. And to be honest, I'd better be right. You see, I break nearly every nutrition rule put out there by the so called experts of the Dietitian's Association of Australia and Nutrition Australia. While they encourage people to eat a diet that looks like the old food pyramid or the USDA's new 'My Plate',
I eat a diet that is totally at odds.

I consume grass fed red meat at least twice and often up to 3 times a day. I eat eggs on most days. I eat bacon at least 3 days per week. I abstain totally from all wheat products and most grain products in general ( I am experimenting by reintroducing a small amount of rice, maybe once every couple of weeks.) I also limit fruit consumption to some blueberries morning and night, as I don't want to overdo the fructose consumption, and I tend not to eat any dairy products.  But perhaps my most cardinal sin is the fact that I consume a lot of saturated fat. Some of this comes from the meat that I eat, but mostly it comes from coconut in the form of coconut milk (used in my omelettes), coconut cream (on top of my frozen blueberries - YUM!!), or coconut oil (used for all of my cooking.

Now conventional wisdom would tell you that I am setting myself up for a very short lifespan. My cholesterol is probably through the roof and a heart attack is just around the corner. Well in this case conventional wisdom would be wrong and I have the proof.

A couple of weeks ago, simply out of curiosity, Iwent and had  my blood profiles done. Here are the results;

Cholesterol
Total - 4.5mmol/L  (Healthy Range - 0.0-5.5)
HDL - 1.4mmol/L (Healthy Range - 0.9-2.2)
LDL - 2.9mmol/L (Healthy range <3.4)
Cholesterol/HDL ratio - 3.2 (Healthy range <5.0)

Hmmm, so no problems there apparently. All blood work well within the healthy range (although I'm not sure a cholesterol reading of 0.0 would be healthy considering what cholesterol actually does).

If I was being picky I would say that I would have liked to have seen my HDL numbers a little higher. What these numbers do not tell you is the particle size of my LDL cholesterol. This is a much better marker of heart health. However, one number that you can look at to give you an indication of whether your LDL particles are large and fluffy (good) or small and dense (bad) is to look at your C-reactive protein  numbers. CRP is a marker of systemic inflammation. Inflammation plays a major role in all of today's diseases of society (Cancer, Heart disease, stroke etc) How did my CRP fare?

C-Reactive Protein
CRP - 6.8mg/L  (Healthy range <10mg/L)

Once again well within the healthy range. Now take in to consideration that at the time of the test I was suffering from a severe case of man flu and spent the day off work sick (a rarity since being paleo). Colds and Flu's are viruses attacking the body and raise the level of inflammation in the body. So, even in an unwell, inflamed state my numbers were still well within the healthy range.

What do all of these numbers really mean? Well, essentially not much. It does go to show that, for me at least, eating Paleo has kept my cardiovascular system healthy as opposed to killing me which many seem to think it will do. Perhaps I am a special, freakishly gifted individual, and others will not get the same results. However, I doubt it. The internet is full of examples from the medical community as well as others own personal experiences that match my results.

What does it mean for you? Well, if you are thinking of going paleo, go and get some blood work done first. Then 3 months into your journey, have it checked again. I think you'll find you are pleasantly surprised!

Paleo - Make it YOUR diet!

Probably the most important thing that I have learnt in my time as a Strength and Conditioning Coach, is the importance of diet towards overall health and fitness.In fact, I have come to realise that exercise runs a very distant second to proper nutrition in it's ability to influence all measures of health. The saying, "You can't out run a shitty diet!" really is true and it doesn't matter how much you exercise, it's what you do during all of the other hours of the day that greatly affect your results.

Nutrition is also the area where most people struggle. Generally, once you get people into the gym, you can get them to commit to a well programmed exercise regime. However, whenever nutrition pops up, most people are always of the opinion, "Oh, I eat pretty well." People often find it hard to make changes to the foods they eat.

What is an effective nutrition plan. Well, any plan that improves the way that you look, feel and perform, and sends your health markers in the right direction is a good start. What's the best diet for that? Simple really, The Paleo Diet.

What is the Paleo Diet
The Paleo diet is a modern day attempt attempt to mimic the diet that was consumed by humans for most of our existence. It is the diet that we are best adapted to. It's in our genes.

What does the paleo Diet look like?
Well this is where it gets a little interesting. The basic premise of the Paleo diet is that we avoid all cereal grains, legumes and dairy. For most of human existence these foods were not readily consumed. Our diets should basically consist of; Meat, Poultry and wild caught Fish, lots of Vegetables, plenty of Fruit, and some nuts and seeds (particularly coconut) for your healthy fats.

Why avoid Grains, Legumes and Dairy?
Well for a whole host of reasons but mostly because of;

• Antinutrients
• Insulin and Leptin resistance
• Inflammation
• Gut Irritation

The Problem
Now this may surprise some people, I have a problem with telling people exactly what to eat. I have no hesitation in letting people know that eating a paleo type diet is going to be the best diet for overall health and fitness. However, what that Paleo diet looks like can be different for each individual. For example, Dairy. According to strict Paleo, Dairy is a no-no. However, there are many people who handle dairy quite well. In fact if you are looking to bulk up, a little dairy can be really beneficial. Then there are the really grey areas of Coffee, Tea, and Alcohol.

Solving the Problem
So how do we find out exactly what we can eat to look feel and perform better. Well the easiest way to start is to eliminate all the foods that can be problematic. That means going STRICT paleo for at least 30 days. That's 30 days straight, no cheating. This will allow your body to become more adapted to using fat as fuel, and allow your body and particularly your GI tract to repair any damage that has been done. Following something like the Whole 30 is a great place to start.

After 30 days you will feel pretty good and will have noticed a lot of positive changes to how you look, feel and perform. Now is the time that you can start tinkering a little with your diet. Maybe you can add in some dairy, perhaps some alcohol can creep back in, maybe even a coffee a day. The trick is you can only reintroduce one food at a time!

By reintroducing one food at a time you can see how it effects you. Maybe you add in some dairy and notice that your sinuses play up, or your psoriasis comes back. Now you know that dairy is a problematic food for you so you know to avoid it. If you just throw all your old foods back in at once, you never get to see how they affect you.

By eating a paleo based diet that best fits you, you will be giving yourself the best chance of Enhancing your Capacity!

For more information on the Paleo Diet check out the following sites:
Robb Wolf
Whole 9
Loren Cordain
CrossFit Journal (Subscription only - but full of use full information on training and nutrition)
Mark Sisson
Chris Kresser