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Paleo Diet - Neander Selvan, USA. Neander PDF
Paleo Diet - Neander Selvan, USA. Neander PDF
Paleo Diet - Neander Selvan, USA. Neander PDF
English E-Book Initiative : Ravi, Sweden ravi.antone@gmail.com
Part1DiseasesoftheCivilizedmankind
My friendhasbeensufferingfromDiabetesforthepast25years.Hisdoctorisalso
a diabetic. Both of them underwent the same treatment, went for walks together.
But no cure was to be seen. LiketheWesterncountries,inIndiaalsoweareseeing
widespread occurrence of diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Cancer,
Heartattack.Nobodyseemstoknowhowtocurethesediseases.Sotheonlyoption
left is to keep these under control. The doctors firmly believethatDiabetescannot
becured.Hencethepatientsalsobelieveso.
Matters are worse when it comes to Hypertension. In this case, the first and
foremost advice given by doctors is : Reduce salt consumption. People suffering
from this disease start following a diet with less salt. Unable to sustain the diet,
theycomebacktothedoctorforthemedicine.Heretoo,thereisnosignofcurefor
thisdisease.
Fewotherstrytoeathealthygrainslikebrownrice,millets,ragitogetrelief.But
thesegrainsonlyreducetheseveritybutdonotoffercompletecure.
Let us take some time to analyze few facts. Diseases like Hypertension, Diabetes,
Cancer are prevalent only in the civilized human beings. This includes people
living in cities and villages. Only wild animals living in jungles and tribal people
who still follow ancient lifestyle are spared from these diseases. It is clearly
evident that these diseases are seen only in civilized human beings living in cities
andvillages.
Tokelau and PukaPuka are two islands situated near New Zealand.Thepopulation
ofTokelauis1400andthatofPukaPukais600.
ThispicturedepictstribalfolkslivinginTokelauislands.Itcanbeseenthatallof
themarethinandfit.
3
PukaPukaIslandandgirlsataculturalnight.
Tribal people living here, have been following ancient caveman lifestyle with no
civilization at all. These islands are filled with sand whichisnotsuitableforany
form of agriculture. Only coconut trees can grow in a place which has no soil and
only sand. They relied only on fish, coconut, pigs, hens and tubers which were
seasonal, for their food. Even the pigs were fed only with coconut. Their diet is
considered to be very uninteresting. Though they bred hens, because of some
superstitiontheydidnotfeedontheeggs.
Later, the modern world discovered them. Captain James Cook who travelled to
these islands saw that men and women were fit, healthy with a divine beauty. The
islands were captured and ruled by the Whites. Even then there was no change in
thedietofthesetribals.
In the middle of 20th Century, scientists conducted research on these tribals. They
were surprised to see that though their diet was rich in fat, none of them had any
diseases like heart attack or diabetes. They named this phenomenon as ATALL
paradox.Frenchparadox,Italianparadoxetcaresimilarphenomenon.
TheseislandswerelaterconqueredbytheKiwis.TheGovernmentofNewZealand
showed mercy to the inhabitants of the islands. So they sent consignments of rice,
bread, tinned meat, cake, biscuits to the island. After consuming these food items,
the tribals in these islands slowly started becoming obese. Their health declined
and diseases became very prevalent. No one had a clue about the cause of this
situation.Theveryfirsthospitalwasbuiltintheislandstotreatthesickpeople.
diet.Slowly,improvementwasseeninthehealthoftheinhabitants.Oncethestorm
subsided, again the ships with the consignments landed in the islands. The tribals
started consuming processed food sent by New Zealand government. Their health
starteddeclininganddiseasesstartedloomingagain.
Now,whataboutthetribalslivinginotherislands?Dr.WestonPricetravelledto
theColdmountainsinCentralCanadaduring1930.Pleasefindbelowanextract
fromhisreport:
Dr.WestonAPrice
It is very difficult to travel to theseColdmountains.Becauseofthenatureofthe
terrain, aero planes cannot land there. There are no good roads. With great
5
difficulty, we wentthereonaboatsailingonafrozenriver.Accordingtothepact
these tribals have with the Canadian Government, they are entitled to
compensation. In addition to that, the Government also supplies food, clothes
and other essential articles. But half of the tribals refused to accept the
compensation and articles supplied by the Government, and the rest of the
Tribals accepted them. So Dr Weston was able to meet people from both the
categories.
Inthesubzerotemperature,noplantscanbegrown.Evencattlerearingisnot
possiblebecauseoflowtemperature.Sincetheriversarefrozen,fishingisalso
impossible.Theonlyfoodtheygettoeatistheanimalstheyhunt.
This region has a good population of bears. So bear hunting is very common
here. Insufficient vegetable intake in the diet causes a disease called Scurvy
(Vitamin C deficiency). I wassurprisedtoseethatnoneofthemhadScurvy.SoI
explained the symptomsofthisdiseaseandaskedanoldmanifanyoneknownto
himsufferedfromthis.
HethoughtforawhileandrepliedNoneofus(Tribals)getthatdisease.Butthe
Whites living here do suffer from this. The Whites consider us as uncivilized
Tribes. So they do not want to consume the medicine which we suggested to
them
He offered to showmethemedicinefortreatmentofScurvy.Hesaid,Wedonot
buy anything from the Canadian Government Grocery shops. He took me to a
place where a deer had just been hunted. Meat rich in fat, situated above the
kidneyofthedeer,whenconsumedisagoodcureforScurvyhestated.
During those days, it wasunknowntothefieldofMedicinethatrawmeatisrichin
its Vitamin C content. Even without this knowledge, the Tribals had somehow
realized that it was a good cure for Scurvy. Dr.Weston found that only 4 out of
2464 people in the Tribal community had Tooth Decay and Cavity which is
0.16%. When the same survey was conducted in the City ofPointCreek,hefound
that 25.5% of the people had tooth decay and Cavity. Diseases like Tuberculosis,
Arthritis were also commonly found among the people living in the city of Point
Creek.HowevernoneoftheTribalslivinginthemountainshadthesediseases.
The diet oftheTribalscomprisedofmeatladenwithfat,whichhelpedthemtostay
healthy. They did not consume Low fat milk, Oatmeal, grains, cereals, legumes
whichareconsideredtobehealthyfoodintodaysworld.
Not just these two case studies, but most of the Tribals lived only on fat, which
came from the meat of the animals they hunted. Their diet also comprised of very
few vegetables, and rare fruits which were available in the summer. Dieticians of
the Modern world would be shocked to know about their diet. But the Tribals
stayed very healthy with the help of this diet. They did not need the help of
medicines,doctorsordieticians.
The socalled healthy food consumed by the current generation for ex. Corn
flakes, Oatmeals, Skimmed milk, egg white are not meant to be eaten by human
beings. They are used to feed the pigs and fatten them up before slaughter. I have
interviewed people who raise cattle and pigs. The follow the below mentioned
techniquetofattenuptheseanimalsbeforeslaughter:
Pigs are fed with skimmed milk. The Agricultural college, Oregon recommends
that skimmed milk be fed to pigs to fatten them up. If fat content is more in the
milk, it subsides hunger and hence skimmed milk was fed to the pigs to increase
theirappetite.
Corn aids in weight gain. If a pig consumes 3.5 kilograms of corn, its weight
increases by 1 kilogram. This isthesamecornwhichisusedinmakingcornflakes
whichisapopularbreakfastamongtheurbanfolks.
Slaughterhouses adapt a profitable strategy of increasing the weight of the pigs
before killing them. They are fed with Molasses, chocolates(remainsdiscardedby
the chocolate manufacturers), the day of slaughter. Because of carbohydrates
intake, their liver expands by 34% & the pigs appetite increases, thereby leading
themtoconsumemorecornagainleadingtoweightgainleadingtobetterprofit.
The last few days before slaughter, the pigs are kept inshade,awayfromsunshine
again aiding in weight gain. Deficiency of Vitamin D leads to weight gain. This
is the reason why couch potatoes, who are not exposed to sunshine,becomeobese
verysoon.
Lets think for a while. The same food which is used to fatten up andcauseweight
gaininpigsandcows,issoldinthegroceryshopsthesedaysashealthyfood.After
consumingthese,howcanweexpectourweighttoreduce?
We can easily conclude that dietary habits followed by the current generation and
also the food consumed byvillagefolksragi(typeofgrains),unpolishedriceetc,
cannot keep us in the best of our health. Only tribals who continue to follow their
ageold dietary habits stay healthy and fit. The reason for this is not the physical
exhaustionalone.
Evenpeoplewhodohardworkphysicallyseemtobeaffectedbydiseaseslike
Diabetes,AsthmaandHypertension.
These diseases are not incurable. It is a myth that they cannot be cured and hence
need to be kept under control. Many people console themselves thinking that On
reaching 40 years of age, everyone is boundtogetdiabetes.Eveninfantswhoare
6 months of age are affected by Type 2 diabetes. The main cause for this is the
consumption ofartificialmilklikeLactogen.Thesecontainsugar,rice,wheat,soya
bean and artificial vitamins. Babies which are breastfed by their mothers never
contactsuchdiseases.
Letusseetheharmfuleffectsofthefoodgrainslikerice,wheat,ragi,millets
whichareusedasourstaplefood.
Unfortunately staple food consumed by Tamilians (South Indians) are all rich in
carbohydrates. Idli which is the most popular breakfast food item in South India
isveryrichincarbohydrates.Oneidlicontains15gramsofcarbs.Eatingoneidliis
equivalent to eating 4 spoons of white sugar. Eating 5 idlis along with sambar is
equivalenttoeating75gramsofsugar.
Manyofyoumaythink,thatitisunfairtocompareidliswithwhitesugar.Actually
eatingidlisisworsethaneatingwhitesugar.Becauseoftheglucosepresent,these
foodincreasethesugarlevelinourblood.
ConsumingtypicaldietfollowedbySouthIndianswhichisdominatedwithrice,
wheatandothergrainswhicharerichincarbohydratesisboundtoleadtodiseases
9
likeDiabetesforsure.EatingfoodconsistingoftypicalsouthIndiandietis
equivalenttoeating500to750gramsofsugarperday.Nowonderpeopleeating
suchfoodgetdiseaseslikeDiabetesandObesity.
Replacingricewithragi,reducingthenumberofidlisonlyprovidesconsolationto
themindsoftheconsumers,butinrealitythedangerstays.
Howdowegetfullfreedomfromthesediseases?Theonlysolutionistoadaptthe
Cavemandiet.Iamsurethereadersofthisarticlehavealotofquestionslike:
IfIeatmeateveryday,willmycholesterollevelincrease?
Ifthedietisrichinfat,willitnotleadtoheartattack?
CanthesediseasesbecuredcompletelybyfollowingtheCavemandiet?
Letusdiscusstheseinthenextepisode.
10
Part2Thevillainmakesanentry
According to the law of evolution, human beings came into existence 2.6 million
years ago. However humans discovered agriculture andstartedgrowingcropsonly
10,000yearsago.
ReportsfromtheScientistswhoareconductingtheresearchontheevolutionhave
thistostate:
11
Flakes, Coke, Pepsi, Burger. They are familiar only with the food which ancient
humanbeingsatemeat,fruitsandvegetables.
It has been well proven that primary food consumed by human beings was meat.
Archaeologists have found evidence dating back to 3.2 million years ago, which
show that humans have consumedonlymeatwiththehelpofstoneageweapons.
The Stone Age weapons discovered, show that they date back to 2.6 million years
ago. Homo erectus species wereancestorstoHomosapiens(Humanbeings).Ithas
been clearly proven by Research teams that our ancestors like Homo erectus were
primarily meat eaters. Meat, fruits and vegetables were the only available food
then.
During that time, humans were not able to hunt down animals like deer, elephant,
because of non availability of suitable weapons to such huge animals. But their
primarysourceoffoodeventhenwasonlymeat.
12
Later during the process of evolution, man advanced himself in his way of living
bycookingthemeatratherthaneatingrawmeat.
Humanbeingsadvancedleapsandboundsintheprocessofevolutionmainly
becauseofonereason:Eatingcookedmeat.Rawmeattookalongtimetodigest.
Butcookedmeatwaseasilydigestibleandhenceprovidedthemuchneeded
nutritionforthebody.Cookedmeatcouldbeconsumedinmorequantityandalso
providedProteins,VitaminsandMineralsneededforthehumansduringthose
days.Thehumanbrainwentthroughagreatprocessofevolutionandthethinking
abilityofhumanbeingsimproved.Thiswasanimportantphaseintheprocessof
evolution.Eatingcookedmeatdifferentiatedhumanbeingsfromtheanimals.
Hypothetically, if man were allowed to eat only one type of food and he had to
sustain, then that would be meat. No other single food is capable of providing
him all the nutrients. Rice, wheat, legumes, coconut, banana If man has to eat
only one of these foods for several days he would die because of nutrition
deficiency. Even mothers milk which is considered to be the safest food on
earth,doesnothaveallnutrientsforagrownupmantosustainon.
Paleo diet is not something which was invented by a dietician or a scientist. This
has been the primary food of human beings and has laid the foundation of the
evolutionofhumanbeings.
13
Let us time travel to 1962 and meet the first member of the Paleo diet family to
understand more about this diet. Let us remember that during those days, words
like diet, gymnasium, treadmill did not exist. During such days, a cook by
name William Banting lived in England. He rendered his culinary services for the
members of the royal family. He prepared rich and tasty food according to their
desire. He alsoendedupeatingalltherichfoodhecooked.Slowlyhebecamevery
obese when he was 30 years of age. He was so stout that he could not even bend
down and tie his own shoe lace. He panicked and consulted a doctor. The doctor
gave him the regular advice asking him to exercise. William exercised hard, he
practiced rowing for 2 hours in a nearby lake. He became even more hungry and
ended up eating more. He gained more weight and hence there was no solution to
hisproblem.
WilliamaskedthemostobviousquestiontoDr.Harvey:IfIeatmeat,fishand
eggsIamboundtoputonmoreweight.HowwillIloseweight?
Dr. Harvey patiently explained that Carnivores like lion, tiger whicheatonlymeat
areneverstoutorobese,unlikeherbivores(elephant,hippopotamus)
William was convinced and adapted the diet recommended by Dr. Harvey. He ate
only meat, eggs and fish for all his three meals. He would consume some fruits
along with his eveningtea.Hecompletelyavoidedbread,milk,sweetsandallfood
14
He was very excited to see the results and hence wanted to share his diet details
with the rest of the world. He wrote a book about hisnewdietin1863andsinceit
containedrevolutionaryideas,itbecameverypopular.
The word Banting was synonymous to the current worlds word Dieting.
During those days, there were no practices like processing corn, oats to get corn
flakes and oatmeal respectively, skimming milk to remove the fat, and eatingonly
the egg white. Strangely in todays world, people who want to stay healthy resort
onlytothesefooditems.
ThusBantingdietwasthefirstformofPaleodiet.
ThebookwrittenbyWilliambecamenotjustpopularbutalsocontroversial.
DoctorsposedalotofquestionsabouttheBantingdiet:
Whatisthefundamentalprinciplebehindthisdiet
Howdoesthisdietwork?
Since William did not have answers to these questions, he was mocked at by the
doctors. They criticized his book and completely ignored it. But people reacted
differently. They placed trust and faith in this diet and started accepting it in their
15
lives. People who followed this diet saw benefits coming out of it. Obese people
lost weight and this diet also curedpeoplefromalotofailments.Howeverthisdid
notgetacceptancefromthedoctors.
If Scientists analyzetheanatomyofabumblebee,theywouldcometoaconclusion
that it would never be able to fly. Its body structure is against the philosophy of
aeronauticengineering.
But we see that bumblebees have been flying all over. Banting diet is also similar
to the Bumblebee. Many of the phenomena (like Banting diet) do not have clear
scientific explanation, but they are real life possibilities. Since Banting diet was
being accepted widely by people, doctors and scientists decided to do more
researchonthesame.
In 1890, Dr. Helen Densmore started recommending Banting diet to her patients.
Her instructions were to eat more meat and vegetables and avoid tubers like
potatoes, sugar and bread. Patients who followed this diet, lost weight within a
shortperiodoftime.Thiswasabigturningpointinthehistoryofpaleodiet.
There was widespread acceptance for Paleo diet. Finally European and American
doctors of those days announced their acceptance for Paleo diet. Paleo diet was
recommended for people suffering from Diabetes. All books discussing about
Diabetes also recommended Paleo diet for people suffering from this. From 1863
to 1950 (about 87 years) Banting diet (Paleo diet) was the only accepted and
widelyrecommendeddietbyallthedoctors.
Let us see what caused people to move away from healthy Paleo diet to Low
caloriediets.
WhatmadepeoplethinkthatBantingdietwouldcauseweightincreaseinpeople?
Whydidpeoplestopfollowingthisdiet?
Whocreatedthetwistinthetale?
Whoisthevillaininthismovie?
16
Thevillaininthisstorymadeanentryin1956.HisnamewasAncelKeys.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys)
17
Dr.AncelBenjaminKeys
18
accepted by the American Government, people slowly started moving towards the
Cerealandmilkbreakfast.
ManufacturersofCerealsandskimmedmilkstartedadvertisingwidelyandhence
gotawidemarketshare.Meatandeggsellersweresmallmerchantsandhence
theycouldnotmatchuptothepublicityandadvertisingcampaignsofthecereal
makers.Sotheylostouttheirmarketshareandcustomers.
However lot of debate and discussion was going on among thescientistsaboutthe
impact of Cholesterol on Heart diseases. The American Government formed a
committee under the leadership of Senator George McGovern. McGovern used to
follow a low cholesterol, vegetarian diet called Pritikin diet. He had no idea
about food and nutrition concepts. He was born in a state where corn was
extensively grown. He spoke to scientists belonging to both theschoolsofthought
and submitted a random report to the US government. He stated that high
cholesterol did have an impact on heart diseases. He also recommended a low
cholesteroldietasahealthydiet.
This report was accepted by the US Government. Health bodies like American
Heart Association and American Diabetes Association also announced low
cholesterol diet comprising of corn flakes, skimmed milk, oatmeal as healthy diet.
These Associations received lot of funding from the manufacturers of these low
cholesterol food products. Medical college textbooks and Medical journals were
rewrittenbasedonthis.
19
Europe and USA are the pioneers in the world for all health and fitness related
decisions. The rest of the world also jumped into the low cholesterol diet
bandwagonandstartedfollowingthesameblindly.
20
The only reason junk food like Pizza and burger are sopopularacrosstheworldis
that they are consumed by people in USA and Europe. Asians like to follow
Western lifestyle and it is evident from prevalent practices in Asian countries like
smoking.
21
22
Part3Whatweneedtolearnfromhistory
After 41 years,oneofthevillagemencametohimwithaproblemintheappendix.
Schweitzer expresses surprise that during those 41 years, he never came across
even a single patient withcancer.Laterheencounterspeoplesufferingfromcancer
in the villages and reports that the main cause for the disease is Africans also
startedfollowingtheWesterndiet
For 41 years, he has not seen a single instance of a person suffering from cancer,
diabetes or Hypertension. This is evidence enough for us to understand that these
23
are the diseases of the modern man, whose diet had wavered away from the
Cavemandiet.
Many people who have conducted extensive research on the Lifestyle and diet of
Tribals have concluded that Cancer is the disease of the modern man. Alloverthe
world, till human diet comprised of coconut, deer meat, fish, prawns, they did not
encounteranydiseasesandstayedhealthy.
(VilhjalmurS
tefansson)(AlbertSchweitzer)
Eskimos lived in snow filled region where there was absolutely no vegetation.
They could not even light fire to cook food. So the Eskimos ended up eating only
raw meat as their food. The survived on the meat of seal, walrus, whale and polar
bear whose meat had high fat content. During summer, very rarely some
vegetables would grow. Even these vegetables were consumed after dipping them
24
in animal fat. For 11 months in a year, these Eskimos lived on animal meat which
wasrichinfatcontent.
Scientists were puzzled about how Eskimos were healthy without eating
vegetables. There was no awareness about VitaminC. People travelling long
distances using ships suffered from Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency) when they did
not eat vegetables for a long time. Scientists also knew that Lemon juice was an
ideal cure for Scurvy. But Eskimos did not eat vegetables for the whole year, yet
theywerehealthy.
Stefansson lived along with the Eskimos for five years and studied their lifestyle
and diet extensively. After fishing, they had to wait for the frozenfishtothawand
becomesoft.Thenthecookingprocesswouldbegin.
The head of the fish is specially reserved for children of the familysinceitisvery
nutritious. Then the fish meat is distributed to everyone in the family. Raw meat
was the primary food of the Eskimos. Lunch and Dinner also comprised of fish
meat. No spices were added to the meat. Stefansson says that he took a liking for
fish meat cooked in boiling water. The head of the fish is the most tastiest and
contains maximum nutrition. Eating fish meat along with whale fat wasadelicacy
hestates.
25
Extractfromhisnotes:
During my stay with the Eskimos for five years,I saw that none of them had
dreaded diseases like cancer.Each woman gave birth to at least seven or eight
children. A hospital was established to provide healthcare servicestotheEskimos.
But even before the doctors could arrive, the women would deliver children
through normal delivery. The woman who delivered a childwouldofferhospitality
to the doctor and team herself. They would be so fit even after the delivery of a
child. None of the women underwent C section or there was no case of maternity
mortality.He says he has met women who have delivered up to ten children and
werestillfitandhealthy.
These reports also act as a lesson for our lifestyle and diet. We needtounderstand
that diet comprising of high cholesterol (meat, ghee, eggs, coconut) are very
healthy and they do not make us obese. Instead they help in weight reduction and
helpusinstayinghealthy.
Rice, wheat, fruits, white sweets, sugar do not have any cholesterol in them. But
they are rich in carbohydrates. This is the cause for obesityandnotthecholesterol
inthefood.Letusunderstandthisbetter:
26
Based on the body weight, scientists came up with the Calorie equation.
According to this, if we eat more calories than we can burn, then we gain weight.
We lose weight ifwecanmanagetoburnmorecaloriesthanweconsume.Someof
thedeficienciesinthecaloriebasedpostulateare:
1. Thereisnomechanismusingwhichwecancomputetheexactnumberof
calorieswemanagetoburn.Sincethisvariableintheequationisnotknown,
theCalorieequationbecomesuseless.
2. Again,thereisnomechanismtomeasuretheexactnumberofcalorieswe
consume.Itisnotpracticaltoweighthefoodbeforeweeat.So,thisalso
becomesanunknownparameterinthisequation.
3. Withoutknowingthecalorieintakeandcalorieburnaccurately,thisequation
isrendereduseless,whenitcomestoweightmanagement
4. WhatismisleadinginthisCalorieequationis:Onechocolatehaslesser
caloriesthananegg,whichmeanstostatethateatingachocolateishealthier
thaneatinganegg.Thisisincorrect.
UsingCalorieequationmisleadspeopleinweightmanagement.
Letusunderstandwhatcausesourweighttoincrease:
27
Once the sugar level in our blood reduces, it causes hunger in our body which
forces us to eat again. When we eat food rich in carbohydrates again, the whole
processrepeatswhichaddsmoreandmorefattoourabdomen.
It is very sad that people do not have awareness about Insulin. People assumethat
Insulin is relevant only in case of people suffering from Diabetes. Insulin plays a
key role in the control of ones body weight. One must understand this clearly
beforedecidingononesdiet.
ThoughweeatLowcaloriefood,thereasonforweightgainisthepresenceof
Carbohydratesinthefood.
Insulin causes Internal injuries and is also the cause for Heart attack, Ulcer,
Obesity and other diseases. But Insulin is not a villain inourbody.Itisverymuch
essential else we would die. Insulin has an important role toplayTokeepour
28
blood sugar level under control. But excessive secretion of insulin because ofthe
presenceofcarbohydratesinthefoodcausesdiseasesandalsoObesity.
Anydietmechanismwhichdoesnotcontrolinsulinsecretiondoesnotsucceedin
controllingthebodyweight.Letusseethedifferencebetweeneating5idlis(south
indianbreakfaststeamedricecakes.)and4eggsforbreakfast.
It is accepted by manypeoplethatIdlisarehealthyforus.Itisaactuallyamyth.If
we are asked to eat white sugar equivalent to the amount present in 5 idlis, would
we agree to eat it? Snacks prepared from rice and wheat also cause increase in
insulin levels in our blood, just as white sugar does. Eating grains like rice and
wheat regularly as staple food only causes high insulin secretion, leading to fat
storageandhenceincreaseinbodyweight.
This is like a chain process. Once blood sugar level increases, Pancreas secretes
insulin, which leads to fat conversion of the Carbohydrates and storage in the
abdomen area. The abdomen fat is stored in the formofTriglycerides.Thisiswhy
people who eat grain based breakfast feel hungry in the mid morning, leading to
theconsumptionofmorecarbohydratesbasedsnacks.Thisleadstofurtherincrease
ofbodyweight.
Whathappenswhenweeatfoureggsforbreakfast?
Eggs have zero carbohydrates. So there is no increase in the sugar level in the
blood. After fasting through the night, when we eat zero carbohydrates eggs for
breakfast, our body switches to fat burning mode, burnsabdomenfattogetenergy
29
Hence it is highly recommended to have food with zero carbohydrates like eggs
and meat which directly help in less insulin secretion and reduction of body
weight.
30
Part4SlimisbeautifulThe20thcenturyslogan
We now clearly understand how Insulin plays a key role in weight gain.
Unfortunately many people, who want to reduce their weight, do not understand
the role of Insulin. Their dieticians and doctors arerepeatedlyadvisingthemtoeat
low calorie food and exercise well for weight loss. This is derived from the
Calorieequation:Burnmorecaloriesthanyoueat.
31
All this sweat is absolutely unnecessary. If people who want to lose weight
understand the philosophy behind this, they would be shocked. Exercising hard is
actuallyharmfultothebody.Peopleneedtorealizethis.
Let us now try to recollect the mode of exercise of our ancestors. They did not
exercise using treadmills nor did they participate in marathon races. Cavemen did
notindulgeinhardpracticeslikeweightliftingorcyclingawaytolongdistances.
No, they were aware of the harmful effects of such hard forms of exercise. The
anatomy of human being is not designedforrunningfast.Hecannotchaseanimals
like deer, rabbit which can run at a fast pace. Wild animals like lions and tigers
would manage to outsmart humans, when it came to running. So, it is very clear
that running fast was not one of mans strengths. Basically running is against the
natureofhumanbeings.
Let us see what science has to say about exercise. If we walk for 3kilometers,we
burn about 150 calories. This is equivalent to the calorie value of one bottle of
coca cola or one and half banana fruit. Many ofushaveabananaordrinkacupof
coffee before we exercise. Our appetite increases after we exercise, and we eat
again.Soouroverallcalorieconsumptionincreasesbecauseofexercise.
32
If weight loss has to happen through physical exercise, then one needs to workout
hard for about 90 minutes. This would lead to exhaustion ofbodyandwearingout
of joints. Even athletes and sportsmen indulge in hard sports only after taking
painkillersorstimulants.Thisisoneofthereasonstheyfallsickveryoften.
This association also proclaimed that sitting in one place for a long time is the
cause for obesity. They released an advertisement titled CHAIRS (link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLjHwwpAdg) which clearly explains this
message.(shortlink:h ttp://bit.ly/1JUmdGt)
The Beverage Institute and Fast food manufacturers joined hands and started
spreading the message that Eating high calorie food and lack of exercise is the
main cause for Obesity. Hence people should start exercising to loseweight.After
repeated broadcast of this message, people slowly started accepting this and
resorted to exercising so that they can consume more junk foodandaerateddrinks
like Pepsi, Coca Cola which contain high Carbohydrate levels. They conveniently
putforththeCalorieequationasanexplanation.
33
These organizations spend lot of money lobbying for sales of their products. They
sponsor Olympic Games and hence promote sports and physical exercise. People
aremadetobelievethatjunkfoodandaerateddrinksarenotcauseforObesity.
World healthOrganizationpublishedtheirnormsthatonly10%ofthetotalcalories
consumed should be fromcarbohydrates.Latertheydecidedtomodifyitto5%but
thiswasnotofficiallyannounced.
LetsunderstandthepitfallsofCalorieequationbetter.
The metabolism of human beings is different from that of animals. Human brain
itself burns up 20% of the total calories burnt during the day. Even if there is no
physical activity, on an average a human body burns up 2000 calories per day.
Assuming that we burn 500 calories during exercise workout, ourbodywouldstill
burn 1500 calories more and the total would only by 2000 calories. Whether we
indulge in physical exercise or not,weendupburningthesameamountofcalories
duringtheday.
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When we try eating lesser calories, proportionately lesser calories are burnt. For
example if we consume 1500 calories instead of 2000 calories, then instead of
burning 1500 calories, our body burns only 1400 calories. This is because human
metabolism is designed to save fat. There is an evolution based reason for this
process.
Till the great Agricultural revolution in 1970, there was a lot of famine and
starvation among the mankind. Caveman did not have the luxury of timely food,
thrice a day. They would feast when they find a good prey else fast if huntingis
unsuccessful. Only people who had large fat deposits in their body survived long
fastingperiods.Therestofthemperished.
During the Second World War, only people who were fat survived the famine and
acute food shortage. So genetically people in suchregionstendtostoremorefatin
their body and hence become obese soon. The human body tuned itself to store
reservefoodasfatasasurvivalmechanism.
35
In the 20th century, being slim is considered fashionable. Being fat or stout was
earlier considered as a sign of prosperity. In earlier days, diabetes was considered
as a disease of the rich. Even Gout (which is an indication of high uric acid level
intheblood)wasconsideredasaroyaldisease.
In the 1950s and 60s, dream girls from the world of south indian / tamil cinema
lookedmuchdifferentfromthecurrentones.
During those days, people who were slim were considered to be suffering from
some disease and theywererecommendedtogetsomemedicaltreatmentasshown
inthepicturebelow:
36
Even the male actors did not sport six packs or athletic bodies.Theywerenotthin
either.So,weunderstandthatslimisbeautifulisthesloganofthe20thcentury.
Thisisthepricewepayformodernizationofthecurrentworld.
Beauty contents which claim to crown the most beautiful people, publicize that
winners had to undergo a lot of starvation and tough workouts.Thewinnersofthe
male beauty pageants have even fainted and died on the dais during the prize
winningceremony.Thisisbecauseofdiureticstheyconsumedwhichwouldreduce
thewatercontentinthebody.
Insulin is a key player not only in weight gain but also in diseases like
Hypertension and Type2diabetes. DoctorsdonotexplainabouttheroleofInsulin
to the Hypertension patients. Even dieticians blame salt as the villain for
Hypertension.Inreality,salthasnoroletoplayinthisdisease.
Once diagnosed with hypertension, patients are advised to eat their food without
salt. The patients try eating bland food, then unable to bear this, come back to the
doctor and decide to take tablets instead of controlling the diseasewiththehelpof
diet.Doctorsarealsotoohappytoprescribemedicinesforthesame.
Letsseewhatroleinsulinhastoplayinthisgame.
If a person eatsbread,jamandorangejuiceforbreakfast,thereisnosaltcontentin
this menu. But it is high on carbohydrates. So blood sugar level increases and
hencecausingincreaseininsulinintheblood.
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InsulincausesincreaseintheBloodpressureinthreedifferentways.
38
Part5Whattoeat&Whattoavoid
WereadabouttheoriginandbasicdetailsaboutPaleodiet.Letusdiscussmoreon
thedietrelateddetailedofPaleo.Whattoeatandwhatnottoeat.
TherearetwosubcategoriesinthePaleodiet:
NonVegetarianPaleo&VegetarianPaleo
VegetarianPaleodiethasbeenexclusivelydesignedbyourFacebookgroupaftera
lotofstudyandresearchtobenefitthevegetarians.
RecommendeddietforNonvegetarianPaleo:
Breakfast:
100almonds(eitherfrythemorsoakthemfor12hoursandtheneatwiththeskin).
Eatingrawalmondsisnotrecommended
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FolkswhoneedanalternateforalmondscanhaveTibetanButtertea.Videolink
forpreparationofTibetanButterteaissharedbelow
Eveningsnack:Oneglassmilk,250gramsofpaleovegetables.Vegetablesmay
eitherbeeatenassaladorfriedinghee.
Dinner:
Fish,Meatofcows,sheep,pigs,chicken,andduckcanbeeatentoonesheartfill,
unlimitedquantity.
Meattobeavoided:
Fatfreemeatshouldbeavoided.Meatshouldbeconsumedwithfullfatcontent.
Meatwhichisdeepfriedinoil,soldinfastfoodjointsshouldbeavoided.Usageof
additives,preservativesoranykindofchemicalsshouldbestrictlyavoided.
Driedfish(Karuvaaduintamil)canbeconsumedinmoderatequantitybutnot
everyday.
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Eggsshouldbeeatenfullybothwhiteandyellowpart.Deepingfryingoffood
shouldbestrictlyavoided.
RecommendeddietforVegetarianPaleo:
Breakfast/Lunch/Eveningsnack:100almonds/eggsmaybetakenforthese
threemealsasmentionedabove.
Dinner:Insteadofmeat,Paneerdishes(PaneerManchurian,PaneerTikka,Paneer
buttermasala)maybeconsumed.Thesecanbetakenuptoonesheartfill
unlimitedquantity.(Paneercottagecheese)
FoodtobeavoidedinPaleodiet:
Potatoes,Beans(alllegumes),greenpeas,sprouts,groundnuts,soya,tofu(soya
paneer),soyachunksmealmaker,alltuberslikesweetpotatoes,Jackfruit,Raw
banana.Allfruitsaretobeavoided[exceptavocado(butterfruit)]
Ifyouarewondering,Theseareapartofonesdaytodaylife,howcanweavoid
them?itistimeforustodecidebetweenourhealthandourwishes.
FoodtobeincludedinPaleodiet:
Avoid:
Rice, wheat and all other grains should be avoided. Food bought from Bakeryand
other fast food joints should also be avoided. Deep fried food items should be
strictlyavoided.Itisadvisabletoconsumeonlyhomecookedfood.
Itisrecommendedtouseghee,butter,virgincoconutoilforcooking.Virginolive
oilmaybeusedforsaladsonly.
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ThesearethedietaryguidelinestobefollowedforPaleodiet.Thisprovidescure
fromobesity,Hypertension,Diabetes.Vegetarianswhodonotwishtoconsume
eggscaneatPaleovegetablesinstead.
TibetanButterTea:
Yak is a herd animal found in the mountainous regions of Tibet. Tibetans prepare
Butter tea using the butter obtained from Yak milk. Butter tea is anidealbreakfast
since it sustains hunger for about 4 5 hours. This can also be prepared with the
regularbutteravailable.
Ingredients:
Milk125ml
Water125ml
Butter30gm
Sugarteaspoon
Teapowder1teaspoon
Mixalltheingredients,boilforafewminutesanddeliciousButterteaisready.
HereisthelinktothevideowhichdemonstratesButterteapreparation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPLBPYCG4M
Here is a word of caution. Please note that we have considered only ailments like
obesity, hypertension and diabetes whichcomingupwiththePaleodietguidelines.
People suffering from other ailments are requested to consult their doctor before
followingthisdiet.
Also understand that the definition of this diet is based on cholesterol. It is quite
possible that your cholesterol levels may shoot up. But there is no need to worry.
Cholesterolisgoodforourheart&isveryessentialforourwellbeing.
It isverypopularbeliefthatObesityistherootcausefordiseaseslikeDiabetesand
Hypertension. This is incorrect. In fact, all the three diseases shareacommonroot
42
cause. We have already understood that Insulin is the culprit in all the three cases.
Paleo diet helps in keeping Insulinsecretionundercontrolandhenceeliminatesall
thesethreediseases.
If you are suffering from Diabetes, while following Paleo diet, your Blood sugar
levelmaysufferafall,thusleadingtoHypoglycemia.Itisherebyadvisedthatsuch
people monitor their blood sugar levels continuously and adjust the medication
levelappropriately.
For example, assume that your fasting blood sugar level is 140, and after
consumingbreakfastitemslikeidli,dosa(withcarbohydrates),itincreasesto200.
While following paleo diet, the fasting blood sugar level would remain the same
140. The postprandial sugarlevelafterconsumingPaleobreakfastwouldbe142or
145, with only marginal increase in blood sugar level. Hence if one continues to
take the amount of medication, it may lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar
levels)
SUCCESSSTORY:
Let's read the success story of Ms. Dolly Bala, 54, who lives in Bangalore, India.
She followed vegetarian Paleo diet (with eggs) and managed to get cured of her
Hypertension problems. She also managed to lose 17 kgs weight by following
Paleodiet.Let'sreadaboutherexperienceinherownwords.
I was veryfrustratedandhadgivenuponmyhealthproblemsandincreaseinbody
weight. Though I lost some weight through some alternate medication, there were
side effects. So I stopped all medication. Thats when the turning point in my life
happened.
I started my Paleo diet regime with minimal variety: Eggs, almonds, paneer, &
Paleo vegetables. Selvan has advised on avoiding grains (rice, wheat), sugar,
starch. It was not difficult for me to avoid sugar in my coffee. But drinking tea
without sugar was initially difficult.LaterIgotusedtothattoo.Selvanadvisedme
againstdrinkingcoffee,sinceitcausesanincreaseinBloodPressure.
It was easy for me to avoid rice because I used to eat rice only twice a week. But
giving up chapathis was not so easy. I had been eating one or two chapathis for
several years. Will great determination, I avoided eating them too. I did not face
anydifficulty.Iusedtofeelhungryinitially,butlaterIgotusedtothattoo.Istarted
with vegetables, paneer and almonds. Later I added eggs also to my diet regime.
Thishelpedmecontrolhunger.
For several years, my regular breakfast was Kelloggs Cornflakes or Oats. I firmly
believed that these would help me in weight reduction. In Paleo diet, we need to
avoid both Corn flakes and oats. When I travelled to the USA, I had to eat out.
Luckilysaladswereavailable,soIcouldmanageeasily.
I was able to see the benefits (changes) right from the first week. There was a
reduction in my weight. My Blood pressure also started stabilizing gradually. At
the end of the first month, I got a blood test done. There was lot of improvement
seen. I stopped taking Statin tablets, which was for cholesterolreduction.Withina
time span of about seven months, I lost ten kgs. weight. At my age, this level of
weight reductionwasaboon.Hence,Iwasabletowalkeasily.SoIstartedwalking
6kilometreseveryday.
LetmelistdownthebenefitsIreapedfromPaleodiet:
(Vegetarianpaleodietwitheggs,myage57years)
1. Weightlossof17kilos
2. My Blood Pressure level was 140 /90inspiteoftakingthreetablets.Now
it has reduced to 110/70. I still continue to take one tablet because of my
44
Please take a look at Ms. Dolly Balas pictures taken before and after following Paleodiet.The
first picture was taken in February 2013 (before Paleo) and the second one was taken in July
2015.Theresultsareheretospeak.
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Part6Cholesterolisagoodfriend
Let us understand more about Cholesterol. Words like fat, saturated fatputalotof
fear in peoples mind. Eggs, Red meat, fat obtained from pork, Butter When
these words are uttered, the only question that comes to ones mind is : Wont
theseleadtoheartattack?
If our heart comes to know about our false belief that Red meat and saturated fat
are bad for our heart, it would have a hearty laugh!! Ourheartisabigpieceofred
meat along with saturated fat. Our brain is a big ball of cholesterol. The human
organ which has stored the maximum amount of cholesterol is our brain. Human
brainhastentimesmorecholesterolthananyotherorganinthebody.
Let us realize that Cholesterol is our good friend who protects us from heart
attacks. The role of cholesterol is similar to the role Lord Krishna played toArjun
in the war of Kurukshethra (Indian Epic Mahabaratha). Cholesterol plays a key
roleinthereproductionofhumanbeingsandsurvivalofmankind.
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Cholesterolisastickypastekindofsubstance.Itisamyththatcholesterolcontains
lot of calories. It is an important ingredient in the human body. Let us understand
moreaboutthis.
Hormones play a key role in the human body and ensure that all the functions are
executed correctly. The hormone called Testosterone is responsible for sperm
production inmenandgivesmenphysicalstrength.Thisiswhymenarephysically
strongerthanwomen.
Cholesterol is very essential for the generation of cell membrane, which provides
water proofing to the cells. The presence of cholesterol is very essential for the
secretion of hormones like Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Adrenaline,
PregnenoloneandalsothegenerationofVitaminDinourbody.
This is the reason why human body generates cholesterol. For proper functioning
of our body, 2000 mg of cholesterol is needed per day. Our liverisresponsiblefor
generationofcholesterolfromthefoodweeateveryday.
47
Themorethecholesterolinourfood,themorehealthyourliverwillbe.
There is absolutely no difference between the cholesterol our liver generates and
the cholesterol we obtain from the food we eat, directly. If eating food items like
red meat, eggs are harmful because they contain cholesterol, then why would our
bodygeneratethesamecholesterol?Letusthink.
Our body needs 2000 mg of cholesterol every day. If the same can be supplied to
our body by eating eight eggs(about 1600 mg cholesterol), then our liver needs to
generate only 400 mg cholesterol. So eating food items like meat, eggs is not
harmfultous.
An average American gets about 400 mg of cholesterol from his daily food.
(American government recommendation is 300 mg) Indian Government
recommendation is only up to 365 mg. These recommendation levels are very
absurd.
Is it possible togettherequired2000mgcholesterolonlythroughthefoodweeat?
It may not be possible for many of us. The cholesterol vegetarians getbydrinking
2 cups of milk is only 50 mg. If we consume 4 eggs in our diet, we get 800 mg
cholesterol. An additional 500 grams of chicken meat would provide 500 mg
cholesterolmore.
48
LDL (Low density Lipoprotein) plays the role of transporting the cholesterolfrom
the lover to all the cells of the body. HDL (High density Lipoprotein) plays the
reverse role of gathering the cholesterol deposited on the cell walls and
transportingthemtotheliver.
When you get your lipid profile test done, if the LDL presence is high, the doctor
would tell you that Bad cholesterol has increased, causing some worry in your
minds. Though LDL is termed as bad cholesterol, it is not cholesterol at all. It is
only a form of protein. Cholesterol is not soluble in water. Hence the liver uses
LDL as a carrier to transport cholesterol to all the body cells and internal organs
throughbloodcirculation.
The transportation of cholesterol to all body cells ensures the secretion of all the
essential hormones in our body. LDL acts as carrier to Vitamin A, Vitamin D and
antioxidants, which are soluble in cholesterol, and ensures that they reach all the
cells in the body. If the presence of cholesterol in the body reduces, it may leadto
diseases like Depression, Suicidal tendency, Hormone imbalance, Impotence,
Cardiacarrest.
49
Later, the Hero escapes from the prison, finds out who the real culprit is, andthen
theVillainispunished.
Cholesterol getting penalized is also a similar story. The victim is our heart.
CholesterolistheHerowhichiswronglyidentifiedastheculpritinitially.Nowitis
timeforustorealizewhotherealculpritis.
Inflammation (Internal injury) is the real culprit. Lets see how cholesterol is
wronglyframedastheculpritforthis.
During post mortem of a cardiac arrest victim, when they cut open the heart, they
saw that there were huge deposits of cholesterol. Cholesterol deposit on the walls
of the arteries blocks blood circulation and hence causes cardiac arrest.Sodoctors
immediatelyblamedthecholesterolasthecauseforcardiacarrest.
Internal injury called as inflammation occurs on the walls of the arteries. LDL
cholesterol layer is needed to protect the arteries from inflammation.Oncethereis
an inflammation, another layer of LDL cholesterol is formed. As more injuries
occur, more layers of LDL cholesterol are formed as protectivelayer.Theselayers
blockbloodflowandhencecausecardiacarrest.
Hencecholesterolisnotthemaincauseforcardiacarrest.Itisourwellwisher.
Nowletustrytounderstandwhatcausestheseinternalinjuries.
50
Eating food items with Carbohydrates (like rice, sugar, maida) is the main cause
for these internal injuries. Using Trans fatforcookingalsocausesinternalinjuries.
The smokingpointofvirginsunfloweroilisverylowandhencecannotbeusedfor
cookingpurposes.
Since the smoking point of the virgin oils is very low, it causes inability to use
them for cooking. So these oils are subjected to a process called Hydrogenation.
One atom of hydrogen is introduced in the fat of these virgin oils which causes
them to become Trans fat. Now these oils are ready for use in cooking as their
smokingpointisnowhigh.
After consumption of the Trans fat, Liver & our body are unable to handle the
digestionofthese.ThisisoneofthemaincausesofInflammation.
It is unfortunate that many people still (wrongly) believe that Cholesterol is the
cause for cardiac arrest and other ailments. Let us be aware of the harmful factors
inourdietandavoidthemtogaingoodhealth.
51
Part7Graingraingoaway...
Letusseewhygrainsareharmfultoourbody.Thewordgrainherereferstorice,
wheat, ragi, corn and also includes the ones from the Western world like quinoa,
oatsandbarley.
It might sound strange to hear that grains are harmful to our body. In the Western
world, bread is a common food, including patients. Even in many parts of India,
doctors recommend patients to eat idlis as breakfast, since it is considered to be
healthy.
People suffering from diabetes in Tamil Nadu are advised to eat wheat basedfood
items. Rice is the staple food for people living in Tamil Nadu.Theymayconsume
rice based items like idli, dosa in large quantity. But they may consume wheat in
lesser quantity. This is the reason behind recommending wheat based diet for
diabetespatients.SimilarlyforsuchpatientslivinginNorthIndia,ricebaseddietis
recommendedsincericeisnotthestaplefoodforNorthIndians.
52
Though doctors recommend idli, chapathi as health food, we need to realize that
they are not good for our health. They cause a lot of harm and become the root
causeformanyailments.
Humans have been eating food grains only for the past 10,000 years. But the
history of human beings being in existence dates back 1.6 million years ago. Of
these 1.6 million years, we have started eating rice, wheat and other grains in the
last 10,000 years only. 99.99% of hereditary patterns of humans were formed
duringthetimewhenwewereeatingonlymeat.
53
We cannot help wondering if 10,000 years is not long enough for the human
genetic patterns to change and include grains in them. But in reality, only few
minorchangeshavehappenedtothehumangeneticpattern.
Letmeexplainthiswiththehelpofanexample.
Till about 4.2 million years ago, we were all fourlegged animals. Our ancestors
using all the four legs were jumping from one tree to another. The reason because
of which man started walking on two legs and used his other two legs as hands
couldbeevolution.Afterthis,manbecameatwoleggedbeing.
54
Though we became two legged 4.2 million years ago, our genes have not got
accustomedtothischange.Youmayfindthishardtobelieve.
As man started walking on two legs, the womans pelvic bones went through a
change which causes difficultyindeliveringthechild.Ourancestorslikemonkeys,
chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas do nothavethisproblemsincetheycontinue
to be fourlegged. A chimpanzee delivers its offspring within a few minutes time,
without any complication or pain. Immediately,themotherstartsfeedingthechild.
Thereisnoneedforanyhospitalornurseforitsdelivery.
A change which happened 4.2 million years ago, has not been registered in the
genetic patterns of mankind. Imagine how many more years it would take for the
55
The main reason why grains are harmful to our body is the carbohydrates they
contain. They spike up the insulin level in the blood hence causing the body to
switch to fat storagemoderatherthanfatburningmode.Accordingtothestatistics
issued by the Indian Government, an average Indian consumes 166 kilogram of
grains (rice, wheat)annually.Thistranslatesto400gramsofgrainsconsumption
per day. These levels match with the World level average statistics of 170
kilograms.
56
Carbohydrates are not the only problem with respect to grains. These grains
contain Goitrogens which prevent the secretion of Thyroid. Human body finds it
very difficult to digest the proteins contained in dry crop grains like ragi, millets
and sorghum. The Goitrogens present in these cause a disease called
Hypothyroidism. This causes fatigue, obesityandmemoryloss.Itmayevenlead
tohugelumpsintheneckasshowninthepicturebelow:
57
A few years ago, we would have seen many people residing in villages suffering
from Goiter. This is caused by the inflammation of thyroid glands, the reason for
which is Iodine deficiency. Goitrogens present in the dry crop grains prevent the
absorptionofiodineintothebodyhencecausingthisdisease.
This disease is common even among the people residing in cities because
Goitrogen is present in groundnuts and wheat. Usage of peanutbutterisoneofthe
reasonsfortheoccurrenceofthisdiseaseamongthepeoplelivingincities.
We read earlier that the main cause for cardiac arrests is Inflammation or
Internal injuries. Research hasprovedthat80%peoplewhodieofcardiacarrests
were affected by Inflammation.Theseinternalinjuriesharmthenervesinourheart
andlargeintestineandcausediseaseslikeindigestion,damageofthestomachwall,
stomachachefinallyleadingtoulcer.
58
Scientists compared the skeletal remains of the people (who lived about 10,000
years ago) who ate only meat with those of the people who had started eating
grains also. Theaverageheightofthepeoplewhohadstartedeatinggrainsreduced
by half a feet, size of the brain reduced and the teeth were damaged. The teeth of
people who ate only meat werestrongandhealthyandnocavitieswerefound.The
cavemendidnotbrushtheirteethusingavarietyoftoothpastes.
Once man started eating grains, problems like weak teeth and cavities wereonthe
raise. When we chew the food containing grains, thecarbohydratesspreadallover
the teeth and damage the enamel of the tooth. They all cause cavities in the teeth
therebydamagingthem.
59
P
opularSwedishModelEllinorBjurstromwithPsoriasis.
The main cause for Psoriasis is our body does not want to accept the proteins
present in the grains. Immediately our immunity system starts action on our body
itself thus causing more damage. A good analogy would be to think that the
security guard ofthehousefalselythinksthatthehousehasbeenburgledandstarts
shooting the house. This causes internal injuries and blisters all over the body and
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leads to Psoriasis. People spend a lot of money, get different types of medication
andapplyointments.Butthesedonotcurethisproblematall.
Many people think diseases like Psoriasis are incurable. If eating grains are
stopped, this disease can be cured. For many of the present day diseases, the root
cause lies in the consumption of grains. So, it is very apt to name these grains as
dangerousanddeadly.
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Part8Diabetesiscurable
Since the glucose level in the blood is very high, the kidneys are unabletoflushit
out. So it mixes with the urine. One of the salient symptoms of people suffering
fromdiabetesispersistenthungerallthetime.
The main causes for diabetes are sugar and carbohydrates. This fact may not be
known to the patient's, Indian Diabetes Association and American Diabetes
Association. In 1913, a doctor by name Frederick Allen had stated that ancient
Indiandoctorswereawareofthisanditwasindeedafact.
The ancient Indian doctors were not aware of the presence of carbohydrates.They
were not aware of its abundant presence in grains like rice. Hence they must have
doneextensiveresearchonthedietofpeoplesufferingfromdiabetes.
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Inthebeginningof20thcentury,booksandmedicaljournalswrittenfordiabetes
patientshadclearlymentionedthisfactthatgrains,pulses,sweets,fooditemswith
carbohydrateslikebreadandfruitsneedtobestrictlyavoided.Recommendedfood
wasmeat,fish,eggsandvegetables.Duringthosedays,patientswerenotadvised
toeatchapatis.
Pleasefindbelowthelinkforthejournal:
https://archive.org/stream/diabeticcookeryr00oppeiala#page/n0/mode/2up
Insulin was discovered in the beginning of the 20th century. It was also discovered
that Insulin is the hormone which can manage blood sugar levels. It was also
known in the beginning of 20th century that eating food that is high in
carbohydratescausesaspikeinbloodsugarlevel.
Doctors of those days knew well that administering insulin and stopping
carbohydrate intake both have the same effect. Their treatment for diabetes was
based on this philosophy. One question that immediately comes to our mind is :
Whyhasthisknowledgenotbeenpassedontothenextgenerationdoctors?
There is a common belief among people now that Diabetes is incurable. Medical
Organizations and doctors have been spreading the same message across all their
patients.
Type 2, which is the most common one, is caused because of diet, can be cured
with the help of change in food habits. We have seen instances where some
members of the tamil facebook group &
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DietrecommendedforDiabetespatientsinourFacebookgroup:
NonVegetariandiet:
Morningbreakfast:4eggs
Lunch:Cauliflowerriceand250gramsofPaleovegetables
Eveningsnack:SaladofPaleovegetablesandonecupfullfatmilk
Dinner:Unlimitedquantityofmeat(Mutton,chicken,fish)
Vegetariandiet(witheggs):
Morningbreakfast:100almondsorbuttertea
Lunch:Cauliflowerriceand250gramsofPaleovegetables
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Eveningsnack:SaladofPaleovegetablesandonecupfullfatmilk
Dinner:4eggs
Vegetariandiet(withouteggs):
Morningbreakfast:100almondsorbuttertea
Lunch:Cauliflowerriceand250gramsofPaleovegetables
Eveningsnack:SaladofPaleovegetablesandonecupfullfatmilk
Dinner : Dishes made out of Paneer, prepared from full fat milk, like Paneer
Manchurian,PaneertikkaorPalakpaneermaybeconsumed.
Vegandiet(withoutmilkandeggs):
Sorry,wrongnumber.
WhatisCauliflowerrice?
Since eating rice is prohibited, cauliflower rice may be consumed along with
vegetable gravy. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, grate in a mixer or grater till it
gets cut into small pieces to the size of ricegranules.Nowsteamthesecauliflower
rice granules for a few minutes and cauliflower rice is ready. This is very tasty
when eaten with vegetable gravy. Since the carbohydrates present in this is very
less,itdoesnotleadtoincreaseinbloodsugarlevel.
Letscometothemostimportantquestion:HowdoesPaleodietcurediabetes?
It is verywellknownthateatingfoodwithcarbohydratesisthemaincauseofType
2diabetes.Ifonecontinuestoeatsuchfood,howcanthediseasebecured?
65
As soon as one eats food containing carbohydrates like Idli, Dosa or chapathi,
bloodsugarlevelspikesup.
LetusnowseewhathappensafterthepatientmovesovertoPaleodiet:
His lunch would be cauliflower rice or 100 almonds. Lets assume he consumes
paleofoodfordinneralso.
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His blood sugar level would keep dropping since he is not consuming
carbohydrates in any form. Gradually his medication level for diabetes would be
reducedandlaterhisbloodsugarlevelwouldstabilizetonormallevels.
Many medical journals have opined that Paleo diet can be recommended for
Diabetes patients to reducebloodsugarlevels.Anynewconceptiswellresearched
upon, discussed and debated before they are published in Medical journals. Later
these concepts are incorporated in Medical education books to be practiced by
doctorsallover.
In the year 2008, Professor Eric Westmans research paper was published in the
London based Medical journal called Nutrition and Metabolism. A study was
conducted to compare low carbohydrate based paleo diet and slightly high
carbohydratebasedlowglycemicindexdiet.
Dr.EricWestman
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All the 49 people who participated in this study had high blood sugar and were
obese too. Paleo diet was recommended to one half of them and low glycemic
indexdiettotheotherhalf.
Results:Aftersixmonths,itwasnoticedthatpatientswhofollowedPaleodietsaw
1.5pointreductioninHBA1C.Theyalsolost11kilogramsbodyweight.HDL
cholesterol(whichiscalledasgoodcholesterol)valuesincreasedby5.6points.
HencetheinferencethatPaleodietisthemostsuitabledietforDiabetespatients
wasdrawn.(Link:h ttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/)
AResearchpaperwaspublishedintheJournalofAmericanCollegeNutrition.A
study was conducted on the impact of Paleo diet on 14diabetespatientswhowere
alsoobese.Theeffectcausedbyinsulininjectionsontheirhealth,bloodsugarlevel
and impact on their heart was studied. Thisstudywasconductedin2013underthe
leadershipofDr.Krebs.
Dr.ErnstT.Krebs
Allthe14patientsfollowedPaleodietmeticulously.
Results:
1. Allofthemlosttenkilogramsofbodyweight
2. HBA1Chadreducedby11points
3. Therewasaconsiderablereductioninthebloodsugarlevel
4. Bloodpressurehadreducedbytenpoints
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5. HDLhadincreasedby10points
6. HDL:Triglyceridesratioshowedconsiderabledecrease
7. Improvementwasseenintheircardiacactivity
Link::http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24015695
Research has time and again proven that Paleo diet is beneficial to Diabetes
patients. This diet has helped in the reduction of blood sugar and it has a positive
impactontheheart
Though this is being discussed and debated in many medical forums, this has not
been incorporated in Medical text books for doctors to practice. The only reason
for this could be : Itwouldprovetheirearlierrecommendationthatlowcholesterol
diet is beneficial would be proven false. Many fast food manufacturers have been
making their products based on the low cholesterol mantra. Companies
manufacturingcornflakes,oatswouldalsobeimpacted.Thiscouldtheonlyreason
why paleo diet is not being officially recognized as a healthy diet and
recommendeddietfordiabetes.
Despite these hindrances, paleo diet has been making a great impact in the West.
This awareness has to spread in India also. Social media is a very effective
mechanismtospreadthisawareness.
The myth that Type 2 diabetes is incurable should be broken. We need to work
towardsliberatingpeoplefromthisdreadfuldisease.
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Part9DiabetesandNephropathy
We have now understood that type 2 Diabetes is curable through Paleo diet.But
the irony is millions of Indians who are suffering from this disease do not even
know about this diet regime. People lack awareness that diet is one of the main
causes for this disease. Heredity, lack of physical exercise, excessive eating are
some of the causes which are blamed for this disease. Patients are mislead to
believe that Diabetes is incurable and it can only be managed with the help of
Insulin drugs. What lies behind this misconception are : Wrong understanding
about the disease and its causes, Political games which are being played by drug
manufacturers.
Typically physical exercise (like regular walking) and diet comprising of chapathi
are recommended for Diabetes patients. Some people also include dry crop grains
like ragi, maize, corn in their diet with the hope that the disease will be under
control. Seeing no improvement, they console themselvesbyblamingheredityand
seeingmanypeopleattheageof40gettingthisdisease.
It has not yet been proved scientifically that Type 2 Diabetes is hereditarily
transmitted. The main cause for this disease is only diet and not how our previous
generation was. It is a coincidence that we also eat the sametypeoffoodthatthey
were eating and hence we get the same disease. We need to understand that the
same diet being followed across generations causes the disease making it look
like the disease is transmitted hereditarily. We need to understand this very
clearly.
Let classify the genes in our body as good ones and bad ones for the sake of
our understanding. The good genes get activatedwhenweeathealthyfoodandthe
bad ones get triggered into action when we eat nosohealthy food. Our health
quotient and the diseases we get are directly linked to the food we eat and have
nothingtodowithourheredity.
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If thebloodsugarlevelsarenotkeptundercontrol,itislikelytoaffecttheNervous
system, Arteries, Kidney, Heart, eyes of the patient. When the blood sugarlevelis
consistently high, it damages the kidneys by affecting their functionality. The
Nervous system being affected is called Diabetic Neuropathy and eyes being
affectediscalledDiabeticRetinopathy.
A study was conducted on the relationship between Paleo diet and Diabetic
Nephropathy by Medical Professor Jorgen Nielsen and his team. The results were
publishedintheMedicalJournalNutritionalMetabolismintheyear2006.
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SwedishProfessorJorgenVestiNielsen
Prof.Nelsenstatesthefollowing:
The link between HBA1C levels and Diabetic Nephropathy is being proven.
Unfortunately even patients with high blood sugar level are being recommended
diet with carbohydrates. Because of this, their blood sugar level further increases,
leading to hyperglycemia (very high blood sugar levels), they become obese and
theseimpactthefunctioningofthekidneys.
During this phase, his body weight ranged between 85 and 89 kilograms. He was
following regular diet with carbohydrates. When he consumed lesser calories his
weight reduced, and when the calorific value of the food increased, his weight
increased.
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The albumin content in his urine increased. This is a dangerous indication thatthe
kidney might stop functioning. The doctors became alert andstartedadministering
Insulin injections to him. As soon as insulin was administered, HBA1C values
temporarily dropped, but his body weight started increasing. Once his bodyweight
touched 90 kilograms, his blood pressure increased from 125/90 to 145/90. The
albumin values skyrocketed from 116 to a dangerous 2000 (Reference level 55).
HisBloodpressurealsoshotupto160/90.
In 2004, changes were made to his diet. Everyday 90 grams of carbohydrates was
reduced from his food. He was given vegetables, proteins and high cholesterol
food.Hisfoodcompositionwas:20%cholesterol,50%cholesterol,30%proteins.
Professor Jorgen Nielsen concludes that Paleo diet should be recommended for
patientswithdiseaseslikeHighbloodsugar,DiabeticNephropathy,Obesity
Link:h ttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1523335/
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Let us understand more about HBA1C tests. The food we eat is converted to
glucoseandmixedwiththebloodstream.Liveralsogeneratesglucose.Theglucose
is mixed with blood so as to provide energy to the cells. Our blood contains Red
blood corpuscles (RBC). The glucose sticks to these RBC cells&staysfor8to12
weeks. Hence by testing the RBCs, we can find out the glucose level in ones
blood.
This research brought out a few facts like, the impact low cholesterol diet has is
only on a persons weight reduction it does not cure inflammation, it does not
reduce the blood sugar levels.Onthecontrary,whilefollowingPaleodiet,allthree
benefits were seen : Weight reduction, Reduction in blood sugar levels and curing
ofInflammation.
Link:h ttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025600/
These Research papers prove well that Paleo diet just doesnt cure people of
Diabetes but it also cures diseases caused by Diabetes like Diabetic Nephropathy
and helps in reducing body weight. It also revives kidneys which arealmostabout
tostopfunctioningbecauseoftype2diabetesandobesity.
With all these benefits, it is unfair and unnecessary to fear whether Paleo diet is
harmful to the heart. Many a times, research studies have proved that Paleodietis
beneficial to mankind in many ways. It is equally meaningless to recommend
carbohydrate based diet for people suffering from type 2 diabetes and diseases
causedbythis.
LetusunderstandmoreaboutType1diabetes.
Medical science does not have clear cut answer for the cause of this disease.
People suffering from this disease are affected right from their young age. Their
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bodies are not able to digest carbohydrates and hence they have to take insulin
injectionsrightataveryyoungage.
Paleo diet helps managing Type 1 diabetes. Since this problem persists fromones
birth, it is not possible to cure this. However Paleodietisabletocontroltheblood
sugar level in a persons body thereby reducing the amount of medication(insulin)
the person needs to take. Paleo diet also prevents diseases like inflammation and
nephropathywhicharecausedbydiabetes.
thehelpofPaleodiet.Letsreadabouthisexperienceinhisownwords
I have been taking insulin injections for the past 29 years to manage my Type 1
diabetes related problems. In1986,whileIwas12thstandard,itwasdetectedthatI
have Type 1 diabetes. I was dogged by fatigue andIfounditdifficulteventowalk.
I went through continuous weight loss andwhenIwasadmittedtothehospital,my
weight was 37 kilos. DuringthetwomonthsthatIstayedinthehospital,Itookfive
injectionseverydayandmybodyweightwentupto39kilos.
ingredientsandcalorificvalueweredisplayedinthere.Hecreatedlotofawareness
about Diabetes. They alsoexplainedthatpeoplesufferingfromthisdiseaseneedto
take injections throughout their life. They also taught us how to administer these
injections ourselves in the thigh and stomach region. I never ate sweets, yet I
would take 70 units insulin in the morning and 60 units in the evening every day.
Afteramonthstreatmentmyweightincreasedto55kilos.
I also learnt which food items caused increase in blood sugar levels, and how the
intake of insulin reduced blood sugar levels. I always carried a 50 gram sugar
packetwithme,justincasethebloodsugarleveldroppedsuddenly.
Icontinuedmyeducation,gotmarriedandhadchildren.
During those days, the insulin drug was prepared from Pancreas of cows. Human
insulin was brought into practice from the year 1998 by the Americans. This was
manufactured in the laboratory. From the year 2000, I used to getmybloodtested
once in three months and lived with the help ofinsulinandregularexercise.Inthe
year 2006, Insulinpenwasintroduced.(InsulinpensaredisposableformofInsulin
injections). My weight reached 70 kilos and continued to be in the same rangefor
fewyears.Imanagedtokeepmybloodsugarlevelundercontrol.
totally wrong diet but after continuous reading and better understanding, I was
convincedaboutthislowcarbohydratehighcholesteroldietanditsbenefits.
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My Insulin intake has reduced to half its initial usage. After few more days, my
insulin intake reduced to one third of its initial usage. After three months, when I
tested by blood sugar levels, there was no major cause of concern. Mycholesterol
levels had increased. After few more months of following Paleo diet, both my
cholesterolandbloodsugarlevelscameundercontrol.
In the morning I take almonds, afternoon I eat eggs and in the night I include
meat, vegetables and milk in my diet. Only once or twice in a week, I resort to
eating South Indian food. I am aware that Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured, but it
feels great that Iamabletoreducemyinsulinintaketoonethirditsinitialamount.
I am not worried that my weight would increase. Based on my learning and
experiences I am writing a few articles in tamil about how to manage diabetes
using Paleo diet called (English : I will win over you
diabetes).AndmyjourneyoflifecontinueswiththehelpofPaleodiet..
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