Are veggies really primal? page 2

[Neckhammer]

My chiropractor who first introduced me to a primal-like diet states that 60%-70% of your diet should be leafy greens, like kale, spinach and other field greens.
Would leafy greens most likely resemble the veggies that were available for consumption, vs things like peppers and broccoli?

I'm sure he meant by volume, and even at that I don't think that approach is beneficial or detrimental to health.

[BestBetter]

Some people feel great eating lots of veggies and others don't. I think it's a personal choice.

Personally, I used to be really into eating a lot of veggies, until I realized they were a trigger for my IBS flares. The insoluable fiber in most veggies is extremely difficult for the digestive system to deal with. In fact, humans don't produce cellulase, the enzyme requires to digest cellulose (insoluable fiber), so we have to rely on our guts fermenting this stuff, which can produce excessive gas, bloating, inflammation, and long term dysfunction.

I feel significantly better since ditching most of the veggies I used to eat (especially the green leafy stuff). I eat mainly low fiber veggies now, and in lesser quantities. However, I feel totally fine eating a lot of fruit and starchy tubers which I seem to thrive on.

[Rochxyde]

I'm sure he meant by volume, and even at that I don't think that approach is beneficial or detrimental to health.

It is intended as volume. I am also a she

[sbhikes]

I think so long as you eat liver and some other odd bits with some regularity, eating tons of vegetables really isn't necessary. If you are going to eat veggies, eat leafy greens for the vitamins and eat others for the flavor, eat them to fill you up and use them as delivery devices for delicious sauces and butter.

By the way, peppers are fruits. Most cultures that use peppers like them HOT. I honestly think that a cuisine without hot peppers isn't worth eating.

[Neckhammer]

It is intended as volume. I am also a she

Ahhh, yeah....There was another poster that questioned getting this much leafy greens by calories.....so I was trying to help them out . I've taken some of the Dr. Chestnut seminars. Quite paleo approach.

[Drumroll]

I honestly think that a cuisine without hot peppers isn't worth eating.

I just got a truckload of habaneros fresh from the garden. Come on over, I'm making dinner!

[Scott F]

Water and fiber you say? Yeah, I definitely don't need that in my food. Thanks for warning me.

That's all your buying. A nutritionist once told me iceberg letus has about as much nutrition as an iceberg

[JoanieL]

I used to think I didn't like veggies, and then one day I made a list of veggies I do like. Turns out I do like veggies, I'm just not much of a cold greens lover. So, conventional salads have always been a turn-off. I like balance now. There are days when I don't eat veggies; there are days when I make a big ass stir fry for supper, and toss at least four or five different kinds into the skillet.

I think cats are the only obligate carnivores in the group you mentioned. And the whole iceburg lettuce thing is just a waste of money; bland and cheap, but not worth much in the way of nutrients.

Eat what you like and if you're worried, get a blood test and see if you're deficient in anything. You can always throw something in a blender and chug it if you're really missing out on anything, or find things you like to eat that have that nutrient.

[zoebird]

Whoa. I do not even want to THINK about a diet where 60% of your calories comes from leafy greens. You'd be chewing all day! That works out to about 6 large bunches of greens to every generous portion of meat. Are you sure you understood that correctly?

I think this is a confusion between "visual volume" of the diet vs "caloric volume."

Our meals appear -- on the plate -- to be 3/5 or more veggies and then meat on the side. There's oil on there, too, but you can't see it, you know? So, the chiro would look at me and go "yes, 60-70% of that diet is veggies." But of course, our veggies only actually make up 20-25% of our calories.

----

To the OP,

I don't really care what our paleo ancestors ate. Looking at the science around this stuff -- since the WAPF days in our household where we were only eating sprouted grain stuff 1x week at most and not eating other grains except rice because of the processing -- when I found paleo, it just made sense. It was a natural progression. It also coincided with what DH's naturopath was telling him to do, and it just was a good fit for us.

We like to eat our veg. We eat diverse, seasonal veg. Lots of things -- like those that you list cukes, peppers, tomato, salad greens of all kinds, kales of various varieties, brussels sprouts, local tubers and squash (pumpkins etc) in their season, and so on. I'm even looking into foraging for our wild foods around us. We are eating diverse foods -- more fish and game (boar and venison these days) with some beef and chicken as well. I'm removing pork, but DH and DS still have it (bacon, usually). And, we eat citrus, seasonal (passion fruit, feijoa, kiwifruit, stone fruit in seasons), and berries. And, coconut cream and oil, as well as olive oil, and also butter.

Mostly, we eat what we enjoy. It's all flavorful.

For me, it's more about "does this work? Does the modern science demonstrate the healthiness of this process? is that mirrored in my health?"

And the answers are yes. And that's why I do it.

I'm not a paleo-reinactor. I just use the term "paleo/primal" becuase it's an easy label. people get what I mean.

[jfreaksho]

*snip*

I think cats are the only obligate carnivores in the group you mentioned. And the whole iceburg lettuce thing is just a waste of money; bland and cheap, but not worth much in the way of nutrients.

*snip*

My cats love wheat grass (the little 4" pots from the grocery store). They'll eat so much that they'll sometimes puke. They also love sweet potato mixed in their soft (grain-free!) food. The one cat has a sensitive stomach, and her digestion has been much better since we added the sweet potato. My wife buys little jars of sweet potato baby food, and mixes in a small spoonful once a day.