49 replies to this topic

[acampo]

are tomatoes and other nightshades okay in the paleo diet? the lectin containing fruits and vegetables?

[abejita]

Just wondering if I got this right; grain-free, bean-free, potato-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free? Is that the whole point of the paleo diet? I´d like to try it mainly because I lack energy and can never get up before 11 in the "morning"----
Now I basically eat a breakfast containing a smoothie with soymilk, spinach and banana & hot water with lemon. For lunch I have vegetables (cooked, or with eggs as an omelette, or a veggiesoup) and for dinner I have what ever we happen to make (pasta, chicken,meat, fish). I drink a lot of water or mint tea, and if I´m feeling peckish I have a yoghurt or a fruit or some nuts, and some chocolate like 2 a week.... I drink alcohol (mostly red wine) about 3-4 times a week.
Could something in this diet be the cause of my lack of energy? I feel like I´m eating healthy....
I´d be thankful for an answer! Oh and by the way I smoke like 10 cigarettes a day, and yes I know that´s not healthy--

[cjb]

Just wondering if I got this right; grain-free, bean-free, potato-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free?

Haha, yep, pretty much. Maybe it's better to focus on what you CAN eat.

It's not so simple that one thing in your current diet is causing tiredness/acne. I think there are many reasons a person can have acne. Let us know if you try out the diet.

[MrLouie]

Just wondering if I got this right; grain-free, bean-free, potato-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free? Is that the whole point of the paleo diet? I´d like to try it mainly because I lack energy and can never get up before 11 in the "morning"----
Now I basically eat a breakfast containing a smoothie with soymilk, spinach and banana & hot water with lemon. For lunch I have vegetables (cooked, or with eggs as an omelette, or a veggiesoup) and for dinner I have what ever we happen to make (pasta, chicken,meat, fish). I drink a lot of water or mint tea, and if I´m feeling peckish I have a yoghurt or a fruit or some nuts, and some chocolate like 2 a week.... I drink alcohol (mostly red wine) about 3-4 times a week.
Could something in this diet be the cause of my lack of energy? I feel like I´m eating healthy....
I´d be thankful for an answer! Oh and by the way I smoke like 10 cigarettes a day, and yes I know that´s not healthy--

The first thing I wanted to say is that it seems your lack of energy is coming from the very low levels of protein in what you eat. Judging from what you're eating you are way low on your protein. The paleo diet is not a low-calorie diet although you can approach it from that direction. The main thing is to eat fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, high-quality animal protein, nuts, and maybe a little honey every now and then. If you haven't read it yet I suggest you pick up a copy of "The Paleo Diet" and/or "The Dietary Cure For Acne" by Loren Cordain, or you might try "Neanderthin" by Ray Audette. The guidelines are well laid out in Cordain's work.

I think the first thing I might try would be eating more lean chicken (breasts are good), salmon (canned will work for now), or shrimp to get your protein levels up into 19-35% of calories. I pick up raw nuts and dried cranberries for snack stuff. My mix is usually 2 ounces walnuts, 1 ounce filberts, 1 ounce almonds, and one ounce cranberries. You can play around with the portions and substitute brazil or macadamia nuts. I keep mine at 4 ounces for weight control.

Pick up some avocados (great source of potassium), salad materials with lots of vine spinach, and start eating. Fresh fruits are okay because the fiber content is higher and you don't get a huge sugar load. Avoid the bananas if weight is an issue.

Hope this was helpful.

[TenZin]

Take L-carnitine Fumarate. Get the 1 from a company in Westbury New York. It holds the world patent for this. It will make you feel very energetic.

[hipster23]

Are root vegetables allowed in the paleolithic diet? I know the site you linked to says it isn't. But this site: hxxP://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Food_Facts/FAQ/Paleolithic_diet.asp and other sources say that sweet potatoes and yams may have played a large part in the diets of early humans.

[94020249]

erm, i dunno.
the ingredients list is: maize flour, water.
nothing else.

As far as I now maize is spanish for corn.

Maybe somebody can fill me in on eating fruits. I know refined sugar is a nono on this diet due to the spike in blood sugar, which heightens the insulin levels, thus producing more sebum. I know the paleo diet lists fruits as acceptable food to eat, but many fruits contain lots of natural sugar. Do these fruits with high levels of natural sugar play any part in heightening insulin levels like refined sugars? Is there any limit on how much fruit one should eat in a day while on the paleo diet?

Its been 3 days since I've been on the diet and I am craving something sweet but wasn't sure about the fruit thing. I was looking over some topics on green smoothies and that sounded really good! Now I am pining for one. Please help! ahhhhhhhh I'm dying here.

The good thing is that I'm seeing some good results on the Paleo diet but I'm really hungry all the time!

I have been following the Paleo diet for just over a year now (fairly strictly)...I eat heaps of fruit - the sugar in fruit is fine as long as you eat the whole piece of fruit and don't juice it. The sugar is in the juice, but the flesh of the fruit helps the juice to be absorbed slowly through the digestive tract, keeping the fruit low GI (which in turn means no insulin spike, and therefore no sebum boost, and therefore no pimples!)...I don't honestly think the Paleo diet can eradicate acne completely, but I think it definitely helps to improve the skin. Not to mention how amazing I feel in myself...I would never go back to sugar, dairy, or wheat again. This is a life change for me Oh and if you're hungry, snack on nuts/seeds...they really fill you up. Or boiled eggs.

[Pandadude]

Well, I've been eating paleo for... around 2 months? Haven't been counting, but now it feels like I've been eating like this forever, and I don't think I'll ever go back to the standard high sugar, grain and processed food diet that everyone is on and is led to believe is healthy. I follow a health program called "The Primal Blueprint"(TPB), which builds on the paleo diet by also giving advice on exercise, stress, supplements etc, and including to significantly improving my acne I've lost fat (and I was fit before), gained lean muscle mass, and I'm just HAPPIER, more confident, and less self conscious...

To those not understanding the paleo diet, it revolves around eating the foods that our hunter/gatherer ancestors evolved eating 100 thousand years ago, which means eating vegetables and greens, fat and protein from animal sources, and some fruit and nuts. For those who don't think they can give up certain foods, TPB allows for an 80/20 commitment, meaning eating clean 80% of the time and cheating 20% of the time. Personally, after figuring out what's good for my body and what isn't, I naturally gravitated toward towards real, healthy food, and I've started to feel pretty bad whenever I binge on high sugar foods. It's a process, give it a serious try for a week, for a month, and you won't look back.

About my acne: I was on the regime when I started the paleo diet, and although it had almost cleared me, my skin was just SO sensitive that I would get ugly rashes at any sign of irritation, and my face was just red like a sunburn from all the BP... I gradually reduced the amount of produce I used, and now I've dropped it altogether and just go caveman, just pat my face with a wet towel after showering and a bit of jojoba oil as aftershave. I still have scars, red marks, and hyper-pigmentation from my acne days, but I don't break out anymore, and I currently have no active acne. I admit I still have blackheads, but whatever dont care
I still supplement with cod liver oil to achieve a better omega 3/6 ratio (mainly because I don't have access to grass fed meats), and I also take a multivitamin + mineral, and I would recommend both to anyone who isn't already taking them, but they arent required for paleo as someone else mentioned previously in the thread.
GL and HF

[jonnihafner]

are tomatoes and other nightshades okay in the paleo diet? the lectin containing fruits and vegetables?

As I read on a web using natural ingredients to care can also use natural ingredients such as vegetables and fruit. My experience proved that we eat lots of vegetables and fruits have many positive impacts on health and especially for facial skin

hopefully help

Edited by jonnihafner, 10 April 2010 - 10:51 PM.

[Miss Nulu]

I got pretty much clear on a low GI diet, loads of fat, protein and small amounts of low GI low gluten wholegrains and beans. Then I read about the low fat (high carb) diet, which is based on the concept that only FAT causes sensitivity to carbs (or insulin resistence).

This all seemed to make sense at first, and I was really feeling the urge to eat fruits as I'm a small build and feel good on sugar. So I cut right back on fat and began to eat fruit again, and all of a sudden my face is roaring with loads of big fat red pustules. And my skin is very puffed up. I will certainly be lowering the carbs from now on. I also think fat isn't good in large amounts. The success I've had in the past has always been due to small low GI meals.

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

I got pretty much clear on a low GI diet, loads of fat, protein and small amounts of low GI low gluten wholegrains and beans. Then I read about the low fat (high carb) diet, which is based on the concept that only FAT causes sensitivity to carbs (or insulin resistence).

This all seemed to make sense at first, and I was really feeling the urge to eat fruits as I'm a small build and feel good on sugar. So I cut right back on fat and began to eat fruit again, and all of a sudden my face is roaring with loads of big fat red pustules. And my skin is very puffed up. I will certainly be lowering the carbs from now on. I also think fat isn't good in large amounts. The success I've had in the past has always been due to small low GI meals.

Would a lean cut of meat that comes from a grain-fed animal be ok or no? The reason I ask is because my family hunts and so we eat a lot of venison. Unfortunately, the deer around her subsist almost entirely on corn and soybeans that the local farmers grow. So is that bad?

[Gracey1-2]

Would a lean cut of meat that comes from a grain-fed animal be ok or no? The reason I ask is because my family hunts and so we eat a lot of venison. Unfortunately, the deer around her subsist almost entirely on corn and soybeans that the local farmers grow. So is that bad?
[/quote]


I think so. As long as it's lean cuts of meat. Wild venison is still better than factory-farmed animals

[bizi]

Do you take anything for digestion, bulking foods, getting constipated...sorry TMI....
bizi

[En Be]

I find the paleo diet is the only thing that keeps me under control, but only without fruit. Fruits (except lemons) break me out badly.

Eating smaller amounts (even of protein and fat) seems to rev the healing process too, which again seems to be related to the blood sugar issue. The fact that fasting also reduces acne (probably the quickest method) also supports this.

The only problem I have is that it's easier (for me at least) to over-eat on the paleo diet. I would like to fast again but like food though so it's not something I do now that I don't use drugs anymore. Actually using drugs made my skin a lot better because I wasn't eating much at all.

[En Be]

Do you take anything for digestion, bulking foods, getting constipated...sorry TMI....
bizi

BETAINE HYDROCHLORIDE! It's great for getting one accustomed to the more dense diets. I used this to cure my chronic heartburn and it was an absolute god send. I was using this in vast amounts the last time I cleared my face.

If you don't digest dense foods very well it's probably because of low HCl - carbohydrates do not need acidity to be digested but the paleo type foods do. I'm taking 12 x 500mg capsules a day and it's working well

[bizi]

thank you for your post, I was actually talking about I was getting really constipated on that diet. Guess I was not eating enough veggies. and I have been trying to drink more water.
I really don't want to have to start taking laxatives....

[nonoyanonoes]

Hmmm. I'd like to try this diet, but I'm a hardcore vegetarian...meaning I don't eat fish or eggs either. Guess it'd be impossible since beans an soy are off limits. Surely you can't get all of the required amount of protein from nuts. Any non-soy, non-bean suggestions? Are lentils okay?

[LiveLaughFart]

I think I have been eating this way without even realizing it lol. Do you guys have to eat grass fed meat? Or does it matter?

Hmmm. I'd like to try this diet, but I'm a hardcore vegetarian...meaning I don't eat fish or eggs either. Guess it'd be impossible since beans an soy are off limits. Surely you can't get all of the required amount of protein from nuts. Any non-soy, non-bean suggestions? Are lentils okay?

Just eat meat...it's not gonna kill you. If your afraid of killing animals, then eat the blue crab meat, they re-grow their limbs after their limbs are plucked off. But if your afraid of having animals in pain, eat clams, they don't have pain responses when they are being killed. Meat obviously is beneficial, I eat it because I have to to survive, but don't like the taste of it very much.

[tk112233]

can someone please recommend a paleo-friendly flour that i can use to make breads and baked goods BESIDES almond and coconut flour. i've tried almond flour and i didn't like the taste at all. i can't find coconut flour anywhere and i heard it's a more stronger flavor so i might not like it anyways. i've seen brown rice flour that is gluten-free so why isn't it allowed on the paleo diet?? since brown rice in general isn't allowed

[tim12]

Dr. Terry Wahls story inspires me every time I watch it, further reminding me of the healing power in nutrient dense, wholesome, real food.