Tweet
I was hoping to start this new thread later on, with a more fleshed-out version of my thesis, but due to the interest in the topic, I'll get it started with a reader's digest version so those unfamiliar know what we are talking about.
I enthusiastically welcome serious commentary, questions and criticism.
Those who are vegetarians for ethical or religious reasons, or who believe in a "macrobiotic" diet as a political plank, will probably not be persuaded.
PaNu - A modified paleolithic diet that can improve your health by duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu.
How do you do it?
I have patients that that don't care about the details, they just want to to cut to the chase about what to do. Here is the heirarchical list I give them. I tell them to go as far down the list as they can in whatever time frame they can manage. I tell them the further along the list they stop, the healthier they will be. There is no counting, measuring, or weighing. They are not required to purchase anything specific from me or anyone else. There are no special supplements, drugs or testing required. I have yet to charge anyone a penny for this advice. I already make a good living as a practicing radiologist and private investor, so I have zero financial incentive in this.
1 Eliminate sugar (including fruit juices and sports drinks) and all flour
2 Start eating proper fats - animal fats and monounsaturated fats like olive oil - substituting fat calories for carb calories. Drink whole milk or half and half instead of skim.
3 Eliminate grains
4 Eliminate grain and seed derived oils (cooking oils) Cook with butter, coconut oil, olive oil or animal fats.
5 Get daily midday sun or take 1-2000 iu vit D daily
6 Intermittent fasting and infrequent meals (2 meals a day is best)
7 Fruit is just a snickers bar from a tree. Stick with berries and avoid watermelon which is pure fructose. Eat in moderation.
8 Eliminate legumes
9 Adjust your 6s and 3s. Grass fed beef or bison avoids excess O-6 fatty acids and are better than supplementing with 0-3 supplements.
10 Proper exercise - emphasizing cross-fit or interval training over long aerobic sessions
11 Eliminate milk (if you are sensitive to it, move this up the list)
12 Eliminate other dairy including cheese- (now you are "orthodox paleolithic")
If you can do step 1, that is about 50% of the benefit and alone a huge improvement on the standard american diet (SAD) By about step 6 you are at about 75% , by step 9 about 80% and at 10 you are at 99% for most people.
Here is the skeleton of the theory:
Insulin is a phylogenetically old hormone. It is a biological messenger that in excess, is metabolically saying the following to your tissue and organs: Go ahead and store energy, and go ahead and mature, reproduce and die. Excess insulin in humans is linked to diabetes, alzheimer dementia, metabolic syndrome, obesity, coronary disease and cancer.
We did not evolve under conditions of insulin excess. Food was intermittently available and not superabundant like today. Scarcity and famine were frequent everywhere until recently in evolutionary time. Preferred foods were available year round and dense in calories and nutrients. Animal products, including organs and bone marrow of mammals, fish, and invertebrates (insects) were the staples, supplemented by edible plants (not grains) until the dawn of agriculture. Fruit was seasonal and not yet bred for maximum sweetness. Food was eaten less frequently, had lower carbs than the typical american diet which is about 60%, and was supplemented by often involuntary periods of intermittent fasting and lower calories overall.
We are not adapted to chronic hyperinsulinemia.
We are also not adapted to eating grass seeds, to which we have been exposed for only about 10,000 years. They contain molecules that are specifically designed to discourage consumption, as well as other problematic chemicals.
The diet is not about eating like a caveman, or killing your own food. It is solely about duplicating what I believe are the key elements of the internal hormonal metabolic milieu that we evolved under from especially less than 1 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. It is not about eating specific things, it is about not eating specific things.
Calorie restriction is a severe, uncomfortable way to have low insulin levels and if calorie restricted (starving) your insulin levels can be reasonable even if your carb percentage is high. However, with calorie restriciton you can get muscle wasting, fatigue and weakened immune function. In animal models, calorie restriction increases longevity substantially. Remember the metaphorical message of insulin? It says, increase your metabolic rate and then die. This message is attenuated by having low insulin levels.
Is there another way to live in a world of abundant food without being hungry all the time, yet avoiding the risk of immune dysfunction associated with eating grass seeds that cannot even be eaten without mechanical processing and cooking ?
Yes, you can work your way down the list.
I enthusiastically welcome serious commentary, questions and criticism.
Those who are vegetarians for ethical or religious reasons, or who believe in a "macrobiotic" diet as a political plank, will probably not be persuaded.
PaNu - A modified paleolithic diet that can improve your health by duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu.
How do you do it?
I have patients that that don't care about the details, they just want to to cut to the chase about what to do. Here is the heirarchical list I give them. I tell them to go as far down the list as they can in whatever time frame they can manage. I tell them the further along the list they stop, the healthier they will be. There is no counting, measuring, or weighing. They are not required to purchase anything specific from me or anyone else. There are no special supplements, drugs or testing required. I have yet to charge anyone a penny for this advice. I already make a good living as a practicing radiologist and private investor, so I have zero financial incentive in this.
1 Eliminate sugar (including fruit juices and sports drinks) and all flour
2 Start eating proper fats - animal fats and monounsaturated fats like olive oil - substituting fat calories for carb calories. Drink whole milk or half and half instead of skim.
3 Eliminate grains
4 Eliminate grain and seed derived oils (cooking oils) Cook with butter, coconut oil, olive oil or animal fats.
5 Get daily midday sun or take 1-2000 iu vit D daily
6 Intermittent fasting and infrequent meals (2 meals a day is best)
7 Fruit is just a snickers bar from a tree. Stick with berries and avoid watermelon which is pure fructose. Eat in moderation.
8 Eliminate legumes
9 Adjust your 6s and 3s. Grass fed beef or bison avoids excess O-6 fatty acids and are better than supplementing with 0-3 supplements.
10 Proper exercise - emphasizing cross-fit or interval training over long aerobic sessions
11 Eliminate milk (if you are sensitive to it, move this up the list)
12 Eliminate other dairy including cheese- (now you are "orthodox paleolithic")
If you can do step 1, that is about 50% of the benefit and alone a huge improvement on the standard american diet (SAD) By about step 6 you are at about 75% , by step 9 about 80% and at 10 you are at 99% for most people.
Here is the skeleton of the theory:
Insulin is a phylogenetically old hormone. It is a biological messenger that in excess, is metabolically saying the following to your tissue and organs: Go ahead and store energy, and go ahead and mature, reproduce and die. Excess insulin in humans is linked to diabetes, alzheimer dementia, metabolic syndrome, obesity, coronary disease and cancer.
We did not evolve under conditions of insulin excess. Food was intermittently available and not superabundant like today. Scarcity and famine were frequent everywhere until recently in evolutionary time. Preferred foods were available year round and dense in calories and nutrients. Animal products, including organs and bone marrow of mammals, fish, and invertebrates (insects) were the staples, supplemented by edible plants (not grains) until the dawn of agriculture. Fruit was seasonal and not yet bred for maximum sweetness. Food was eaten less frequently, had lower carbs than the typical american diet which is about 60%, and was supplemented by often involuntary periods of intermittent fasting and lower calories overall.
We are not adapted to chronic hyperinsulinemia.
We are also not adapted to eating grass seeds, to which we have been exposed for only about 10,000 years. They contain molecules that are specifically designed to discourage consumption, as well as other problematic chemicals.
The diet is not about eating like a caveman, or killing your own food. It is solely about duplicating what I believe are the key elements of the internal hormonal metabolic milieu that we evolved under from especially less than 1 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. It is not about eating specific things, it is about not eating specific things.
Calorie restriction is a severe, uncomfortable way to have low insulin levels and if calorie restricted (starving) your insulin levels can be reasonable even if your carb percentage is high. However, with calorie restriciton you can get muscle wasting, fatigue and weakened immune function. In animal models, calorie restriction increases longevity substantially. Remember the metaphorical message of insulin? It says, increase your metabolic rate and then die. This message is attenuated by having low insulin levels.
Is there another way to live in a world of abundant food without being hungry all the time, yet avoiding the risk of immune dysfunction associated with eating grass seeds that cannot even be eaten without mechanical processing and cooking ?
Yes, you can work your way down the list.
Comment