968 replies to this topic

[bitchplease]

marti783 (and everyone else), here's what I typically eat during a day:

Breakfast/Lunch: I'm not big on eating early. I tend to have a mixed breakfast/lunch around 11. Typically it will consist of 3 organic eggs (fried in coconut fat) and some veggies, like a tomato, a carrot and maybe some cucumber. I recently noticed how having a nice amount of veggies with the protein actually helps quite a lot with the satiety (is that the right word?).

Dinner: 200-300 grams of fish (oven) with lingonberries/cowberries/whatever you wanna call them on the side. Possibly some veggies here as well.

Evening meal/Dessert: 2 or 3 bananas fried in coconut fat with berries like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or similar. I will also typically add coconut flakes to the bananas on both sides because I love it so much. Having some cashewnuts with this makes it even more wonderful. This is my favorite thing in the world and sometimes I have it twice a day. It's great for breakfast too if you're into eating early.

Stuff I eat during the day: Fruits (and dried stuff like raisins), nuts (cashew or brazil nuts), even more berries.

I never add salt to my food and I have water with every meal. I know my cooking style isn't all that fun or inspiring but it's just the way I like to eat. Pure and simple with little but good ingredients.

[dancedd]

This is another bit of information about saturated fats. In this case is a recent meta-analysis conducted by one of the top heart disease researchers (no link with primal or any other group):

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2009.27725v1

A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. ...

I recommend you read at least what they give out for free.

Thank you so much for posting this!!

[venam]

No probs dancedd.

...
Evening meal/Dessert: 2 or 3 bananas fried in coconut fat with berries like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or similar. I will also typically add coconut flakes to the bananas on both sides because I love it so much. Having some cashewnuts with this makes it even more wonderful. This is my favorite thing in the world and sometimes I have it twice a day. It's great for breakfast too if you're into eating early.

Stuff I eat during the day: Fruits (and dried stuff like raisins), nuts (cashew or brazil nuts), even more berries.

That's quite a bit of fruit. If you ever get "stuck" and stop getting better I would recommend you try manipulating the fruit intake. But if it is working for you wth.

[If you are athletic disregard my comment.]

[marti783]

regarding fruit consumption: i haven't really read anything that says don't eat too much fruit. obviously, you don't wanna eat nothing but fruit, but the paleo diet is based largely on fruit. it's pretty much three categories (i know most of you guys know all this by the way), lean meat, vegetables and fruit. as long as you're balancing all three, you should be fine. also, even though there is sugar in fruit, it's in the form of fructose, which your body breaks down much easier than something like sugar cookies. obviously though, personal experience trumps all. i'd just thought i'd let you guys know what i've read.

[marti783]

oh and also, i'm thinking about buying different cooking oil. right now i'm using olive oil which i know isn't too bad. i'm leaning towards conola oil. from what i've read, it's a perfect 2:1 ratio of Omega 6-Omega 3. anyone have any experience with this? let me know!! thanks!

[venam]

The thing about fructose is that it gets metabolized by the liver and thus it does not raise insulin levels. Although this may seem as a good thing, it actually is not. High fructose consumption has been linked to insulin resistance as well as leptin resistance, which precedes insulin resistance and other syndrome X diseases. These are some good reads (not entirely related to paleo but fructose specifically):

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008...-and-sugar.html
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008...c-syndrome.html

This doesn't mean you should fear fructose, the problem happens only with excess consumption, which is really unlikely in a paleo diet.

[marti783]

yea venam, the more i researched it specifically, the more i think you're right. it's important not to over do it when it comes to fruits. like you said, don't fear them by any means but just make sure your entire diet is balanced.

going back to the omega ratio though. what happens if your omega ratio is too much in favor of omega's 3 instead of omega 6. like two omega 3 for every 1 omega 6.

[venam]

2:1 (3:6) is ok. Kitavans, a population studied by various "paleo researchers", have an omega ratio of 4:1 (3:6). They have no acne (is obviously not only because of the omega ratio).

Let me ask you, how do you have such a favorable omega ratio? Is the O3 coming from ALA (plant source O3)? Read my earlier post about ALA conversion to DHA and EPA. Is easy to find online too, here:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-...upplements.html

There's more infor in other sites. If he ratio is not because of ALA, plz share the tips.

Edited by venam, 20 February 2010 - 12:14 AM.

[uncle buck]

Do you think eating grain fed animals upsets our Omega ratio?

[pogo]

Do you think eating grain fed animals upsets our Omega ratio?

Of course.

When you eat beef, eat grass fed beef if possible. It's more expensive and harder to find unfortunately.

[uncle buck]

It is tough. The only good meat near me is organic free range chicken, so I mostly stick to that and fish. I was reading that even farmed Salmon are being fed grains now, can you believe that? It makes me sick.

[pogo]

It's funny, I'm in the USA, and the only grass fed beef I can find in the supermarket I most often frequent is from Austrailia.

Yeah, you have to be careful about fish. By wild caught when possible. Again, it's harder to find and more expensive.

Canned sardines are great to have around. They are cheap, you can just stack them in your pantry and since they are smaller fish they don't absorb as many of the heavy metals and junk that larger fish do. But they taste aweful, lol. Actually with some raw onion they aren't too bad.

The marksdailyapple site that one of the previous posters mentioned has a lot of good info if you search around it.

[uncle buck]

Really? Is there a brand name on them? All the beef in my supermarket isn't even labelled, i've naturally assumed it's all hormone filled grain fed garbage. I know a good butcher who actually say where their meat comes from but it's a good 40-60 minutes away.

Sardines sound great, gonna get some next time to try.

[bitchplease]

Don't buy farmed fish. It's really unnecessary. It shouldn't be hard for you at all to find wild fish that's not very expensive. I get 400 grams of wild fish for about $2.5. Not the best fish but it's OK. One package is enough for two dinners. So it's like a dollar a day for that protein. Definitely worth it. Farmed fish is pure crap.

[bitchplease]

Oh and venam -- I know I eat a somewhat large amount of fruit. I do not eat that banana meal every day though, but at least a few times a week anyway. I'm not scared of fruit but I know you have a point. However, I do know there are acne-free foragers out there who eat large amounts of fruit during fruit season (basically nothing but fruit), like rainforest dwellers (who also, by the way, eat lots and lots of honey when they find it), but like I said earlier it's probably a good idea to be careful when new to the diet.

I just realized almonds are 24g protein too by the way... so awesome. Shouldn't it be OK to have nuts a few times a week if you eat a lot of omega 3 eggs and fish/shrimps/etc? venam, what do you think?

[venam]

Nuts are fine in the paleo diet, just watch you omega ratio. I am avoiding them personally because I haven't been able to balance my ratio while eating them. I wouldn't try to limit your food variety though. Eat them in moderation and you should be fine. I think everyone has to experiment and ind their own paleo "sweet spot." I haven't found mine as I still have acne, I don't want to give misleading advice.

BTW, I mostly eat grain-fed meat. I cannot afford grass-fed all the time as I am a college student. I buy New Zealand grass-fed lamb which I can find for $4.80/lb in Sam's club. I also eat canned wild Alaskan salmon. The rest is all grain fed meats, which I eat quite often. Once I graduate (still missing a while year+) and get a job I would be able to afford it, but now I am leaving off scholarships so...

And the omega ratio is not what you have to worry about in grain-fed beef. 1 lb of ground meat, 30% fat, will have less than 1.5 grams of O6 (http://www.nutrition...products/8001/2) which you can easily buffer with O3 supplements. 1 tablespoon of olive oil has 2.6 grams of O6. See the difference? There are much worse things to worry about in grain fed meat btw, I just cannot afford it now so I don't worry about it.

[bitchplease]

Cool, thanks. I find nuts to be a great source of "snack protein", despite the "bad" fat, and I really enjoy having some every now and then. It's like my paleo candy.

venam, how much would you say your acne has improved since you began eating this way, percent wise? Hearing about other people's success is just really inspiring and something you need when you're new on a "tough" diet. Those potato chips are still calling for me... and beer! Damn, beer! I'm actually thinking about drinking a type of expensive beer made from a plant called sorghum, if there's a drinking opportunity I just can't miss coming up during the coming months. It's naturally free from gluten and just seems better than other grains. Otherwise I'll have white wine probably, which is grain-free, free from added sugar, etc. I drink very rarely these days though.

How do you guys feel about alcohol consumption on the paleo diet? I know folks like Cordain say it's ok to have a drink every now and then but I think that's mainly because he knows people in our culture can't give it up. It's still probably not worse than having a piece of bread or a bowl of pasta though. For your skin, that is.

Edited by dirtbomb, 20 February 2010 - 12:49 PM.

[venam]

Cool, thanks. I find nuts to be a great source of "snack protein", despite the "bad" fat, and I really enjoy having some every now and then. It's like my paleo candy.

venam, how much would you say your acne has improved since you began eating this way, percent wise? Hearing about other people's success is just really inspiring and something you need when you're new on a "tough" diet. Those potato chips are still calling for me... and beer! Damn, beer! I'm actually thinking about drinking a type of expensive beer made from a plant called sorghum, if there's a drinking opportunity I just can't miss coming up during the coming months. It's naturally free from gluten and just seems better than other grains. Otherwise I'll have white wine probably, which is grain-free, free from added sugar, etc. I drink very rarely these days though.

How do you guys feel about alcohol consumption on the paleo diet? I know folks like Cordain say it's ok to have a drink every now and then but I think that's mainly because he knows people in our culture can't give it up. It's still probably not worse than having a piece of bread or a bowl of pasta though. For your skin, that is.

As for my acne. Before paleo I was using BP and I still had over 20 cysts on my face at a time. Add to that about 8 per shoulder. I did not get white heads, just cysts. About 3 months into paleo my shoulders were completely clear and I had around 5 cysts at a time on my face. This was when I tried some experiments that didn't work out. About 1.5 months ago I stopped using BP. Now I don't get more than 2-3 cysts at a time and some white heads.

As you can tell, my acne was really bad, I think most people will heal faster. For me the first 2 months I could barely notice any difference.

As for cheating, if you have to cheat to keep you on the diet, go ahead just don't make it a constant thing. Don't let perfection get in the way of good.

[marti783]

quick question. what are everyone's thoughts on tomato sauce. i know making home-made tomato sauce is probably best, but honestly, i'm italian and even i don't have the time for that! lol is out of the can okay?

as far as alcohol goes, like you said, cordain says it's okay in moderation after the first thirty days but make sure it's not beer or anything like that and also isn't mixed with any sweet drinks like juices or colas. personally, i don't mind the alcohol limitations that much because it's a great way to start saving money. as a young adult, it's a large part of our budget. am i right people!? i know dirtbomb you think he says it's okay because he doesn't think people will stop drinking but in his book he says "moderate alcohol consumption is known to improve insulin metabolism and in the long run may help to improve acne symptoms." so maybe it's not all bad. either way, i'd avoid it until after the first month.

and about the nuts. i've read that brazil nuts are great for acne because they contain something that i guess acne sufferes lack. so i went out and bought some. but according to cordain, there omega ratio's are AWFUL! if i'm reading it correctly, they're 377.9:1!! after i read that i haven't touched them. thoughts or feelings??

Edited by marti783, 20 February 2010 - 07:20 PM.

[bitchplease]

Sounds like the paleo diet is right for you venam!! And everyone else... Congrats to your amazing results.

marti, check the ingredients list. What's in that can? If it only has tomatoes and water it should be OK, however, I'm pretty sure it has some pretty sick amounts of salt in it. I don't think salt is the most important thing to avoid on the paleo diet for acne-sufferers, but still...
Making your own tomato sauce should be super easy though, honestly. And cheap! I'm not big on it though because it's boring without pasta, haha.


Thanks for that info. Really cool to hear about alcohol improving insulin metabolism. How much drinking is "moderate" to him and what beverages does he suggest? Wine? I only like beer and wine so I avoid sugary drinks anyway. I'd love to drink some beer every now and then though. Wine is still OK if it's a lot better for you, just not red wine!! So disgusting.
Haha, I hear ya. Alcohol isn't really a large part of my budget anymore, but it certainly used to be. Around 17-18 was the worst period for me, basically all of my money went to booze. I did have a lot of fun though...

Dunno about the brazil nuts dude. Maybe they should be avoided, still I don't think it's the end of the world if you have some. I don't know how interested people actually are in looking at living hunter-gatherers who don't suffer from acne, but like I mentioned in an earlier post the !Kung San have the mongongo nut as their STAPLE FOOD (I'm not 100% whether they eat it year-round or if it's a seasonal thing but they are known for their immense nut consumption, rich in omega 6). They get the majority (or used to anyway) of their daily calories from it (at least part of the year -- I'll look further into it at the library). I'm not saying we shouldn't listen to the researchers, but I find most of my inspiration in actual acne-free populations that I enjoy reading about. Many foragers often eat lots of nuts and honey, for example. Oh, and the !Kung don't eat any fish as far as I know. No fatty salmon full of omega 3 for them. Actually I'm pretty sure they don't even know what a omega 3/6 ratio is, yet they don't suffer from the diseases of civilization. How strange...

The brazil nuts are awesome, by the way. They contain some stuff that's great for your overall health, they have a nice amount of protein in them and taste really good if you get the right ones ("fresh" ones -- they should be as white as possible on the inside).

Edited by dirtbomb, 21 February 2010 - 03:49 AM.