Birdseye: Health Tips from the Blogosphere : diet

The stone age diet: How to eliminate the health problems of modern life

Birdseye — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:06:00 GMT

The Paleolithic diet, also known as the stone age or caveman diet, is often cited as a good alternative to the modern diet. In his blog post on the stone age diet, David McEvoy summarises the main difference in the lifestyles of our ancestors: "They lived a natural life without supermarkets, ready-made meals or processed foods, and they had never heard of diets." But what exactly is the stone age diet, and what are its specific health benefits?

What are the health benefits of the stone age diet?

This post outlines the overall health benefits of the stone age diet, explaining that tribes whose diets have not changed for thousands of years "possess greater endurance and force", and are much less likely to suffer from adiposity, diabetes, hypertension or oncological diseases. Likewise, as soon as elements from the modern diet are introduced into such communities, these conditions also appear shortly after.

In particular, a recent study has shown that the stone age diet is good for people with diabetes. A clinical study in Sweden compared 14 patients following the Paleolithic diet with 15 who were following the Mediterranean diet. After 12 weeks, the blood sugar rise in response to carbohydrate intake was much lower in the stone age group: -26%, compated to -7% in the Mediterranean goup. There is a detailed discussion of these findings here.

So it would seem that the stone age diet is a good choice for people with diabetes. But a quick search of the WDDTY archives reveals other significant health benefits of this diet.

On our Forum, a practitioner contributing to a recent thread about fibromyalgia states: "My approach now is to put everyone on the Paleolithic, or stone age diet, take pharmaceutical grade fish oils, a non dairy probiotic, drink vegetable juice and start some deep breathing exercises."

Other findings suggest that the stone age diet may help metabolic syndrome, and even - as indicated by an article by Harald Gaier from the WDDTY database - can help those with HIV and AIDS.

So the health benefits of the Paleolithic diet are extensive. But what does it actually consist of?

What does the stone age diet consist of?

A good overview of the Paleolithic diet can be found in a post by Dr Ben Balzer entitled ‘Introduction to the Paleolithic Diet'. I fully recommend reading the entire article. However, in summary, Dr Balzer's advice for following the caveman diet is as follows:

Eat none of the following:

Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles

Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas

Potatoes

Dairy products

Sugar

Salt

Eat the following:

Meat, chicken and fish

Eggs

Fruit

Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)

Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)

Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

Try to increase your intake of:

Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes

Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I accept that many people find these unpalatable and won't eat them)

Recipe suggestions for the stone age diet

Changing your diet may seem like a daunting task, particularly if you cannot think of ways of introducing particular foods into your meals. But, inspired by Annemarie Colbin's helpful post on ‘Protein Breakfasts for the Health Conscious', which gives a catalogue of specific meal suggestions for those who want a high protein diet, I have scoured the web for menu suggestions for those seeking to adopt the Paleolithic diet.

One post on the Body & Health blog, part of a series of posts on the stone age diet, gives the following provisional menu:

Variants of breakfasts:

Porridge from natural oat flakes with a grated apple and cinnamon.

• Low-fat natural yoghurt without sugar and preservatives, nuts and fresh berries.

Two boiled eggs, green salad with an olive oil, an apple.

Variants of dinners:
• The hen baked on a grill, the big salad from green vegetables, an olive oil.

Low-fat cottage cheese, berries and fruit.
Stewed with greens mushrooms and some nuts.

Variants of suppers:

Baked turkey with stewed vegetables.
Herring in the oil, grated carrots, onions and soya sprouts.
Fruits.

Even more comprehensive is a post called ‘The Caveman Diet - 10 healthy foods from a Stone Age diet', which lists 10 components of the stone age diet that are readily available today, and explains why they are good for you. The post also points out:

None of these food items exist today exactly as they did in the Stone Age, but they form a healthy approximation, with good fats, phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals. A diet that contains only these ingredients is far from boring and is readily available. But be sure to wash those carrots!

The full post is well worth a read, and can be found here.

So it seems that the stone age diet could be a good, healthy diet for anyone wanting to improve their general health and reduce the risk of developing health problems. Of course, if you want to live more healthily, you would also do well to read my post on ‘How to live longer and age healthily', which collects various tips from bloggers about how to increase your longevity and improve your health throughout your life. As always, if you have any comments on the advice I've collated here, please share your thoughts below.

Four myths about exercise and weight loss

Birdseye — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:43:00 GMT

There is so much “advice” about exercise and weight loss that it is difficult to know what will really help. Research suggests that, contrary to popular belief, regular gentle exercise will not help you lose weight. Here are four popular myths about exercise and weight loss, which are still often quoted despite scientific evidence indicating that they are simply untrue.

1. Losing weight is all about eating less and exercising more

The reality is a little more complex than this common assumption suggests. Not only have studies shown that exercising more contributes very little to weight loss, but also there is evidence that it is more important to consider what we eat than how much, with the Mediterranean diet proving particularly effective.

2. To lose weight it’s best to exercise before a meal

It’s often stated that in order to lose weight, it’s best to exercise on an empty stomach. In fact, it seems that the best time to exercise is after a meal, since the exercise makes you burn more calories and also suppresses your appetite.

3. To get fit you need to exercise for 20 minutes a day

Government health agencies frequently claim that you need 20 minutes of exercise a day in order to stay fit. Although you need much more than that to lose weight, as explained below, research suggests that just 10 minutes of gentle exercise a day can help you improve your fitness levels.

4. Regular aerobic exercise will help you lose weight

Research outlined in the latest issue of What Doctors Don’t Tell You suggests that moderate exercise has very little effect on weight loss. In fact, it seems that unless you’re prepared to spend 60 to 90 minutes a day exercising, you are very unlikely to lose any weight. If you are new to WDDTY, you can read this report for free by clicking here.

If you’d like to find out more about the myths about losing weight, visit our weight loss archive. If you’re interested in living healthily in general, have a look at our guide to living longer and more healthily.

To find out why What Doctors Don’t Tell You is described by many as the best health journal in the world, claim your free trial issue now.

How to live longer and age healthily

Birdseye — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:23:00 GMT

What are the secrets of longevity? To celebrate the launch of our free report on ‘100 Ways to Live to be 100’, I have scoured the web for more tips on living longer.

Living Longer: 5 tips from the blogosphere

1. Get a good night’s sleep: Mark Stibich outlines the health benefits of sleep, which include keeping your heart healthy and possibly reducing the risk of cancer. (Mark Stibich, ‘Top 10 Health Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep’)

2. Live conscientiously: This article from World Articles Net outlines a study in which people who received low scores for conscientiousness died sooner. (World Articles Net, ‘Ten Ways to Live Longer’)

3. Stay connected: This guide to maintaining good health in old age cites research indicating that those who seek out social activities are more likely to live longer than those who do not. (Nancy Montgomery, ‘Healthy Aging 101, Part 4: Staying Connected’)

4. Get a pet: According to this post, people who own pets, particularly dogs, are more likely to survive heart attacks, and normally have lower blood pressure. (ramilcvaliente.blogspot.com, ‘15 Ways to Live Longer’)

5. Drink green tea: Further to this post on Adverse Reactions explaining why green tea is so good for us, this post commends the health benefits of green tea and gives an overview of some of the brands available. (d.i.y. naturally, ‘Green Tea the Superhealthy Elixir’)

10 tips for a healthy lifestyle

WDDTY’s comprehensive free report offers 100 ways to live to be 100. As part of that report we offer 10 tips for a healthy lifestyle. They are:

1. Choose a reasonably vigorous exercise programme you love and stick with it regularly.

2. Do not settle for anything less than challenging work or activity.

3. Try to be of service to others, on or off the job.

4. Reduce the number of poisons you put in your body.

5. Make your home a sanctuary and refuge.

6. Be connected with others and yourself.

7. Cultivate some sort of spiritual connection, whether with a god or a less directed religious entity.

8. Engage in regular relaxation techniques, particularly those which calm the mind as well as the body.

9. Don't hold grudges: cultivate a sense of forgiveness, of your enemies, your family, your parents.

10. Take responsibility for your own health.

These tips are explained here. To claim your full report on 100 ways to live to be 100, click here.

More advice for living longer and living healthily

WDDTY’s archive is packed with advice on how to live longer by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Here is an overview of the articles available.

Tips for a Healthy Diet: Diet is an essential aspect of living healthily. This article provides some excellent diet tips for staying healthy and living longer.

Live long and well - Eat the mediterranean diet: Outlines research suggesting that following a diet low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fibre can increase your chances of living longer.

Living Longer: This guide by Harald Gaier, a registered naturopath, homoeopath, and osteopath, explains how to reduce the risk of developing conditions such as angina, respiratory problems and coronary heart disease.

Healthy, Oldest and Wise: Harald Gaier explains the secrets of the world’s longest living humans – the villagers of Silanus in central Sardinia, and the inhabitants of the seaside village Ogimi, on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

FREE REPORT: Discover 100 ways to live to be 100

This special report includes 100 great tips to help you live longer and healthier – right up to the age of 100. This report is available for download right now – and it’s free.