Help with Primal Eating! page

[danceswithducks]

Quick question. I am just getting started with the Primal Lifestyle. How often does everyone eat and what. Is bacon actually ok in this lifestyle. I have been doing this for four days now and have not eaten any grains or breads or pastas ofany kind. I have been eating lots a fruit, not a lot of veggies and quite a bit of protein. My proteins consist of; eggs, bacon, fish, steak, pork chops and shellfish. I feel like I'm eating too much but I have lost some weight. Also, are there fruits to avoid? Thanks for your replys.

[Bushrat]

It doesn't matter when you eat, just eat when you are hungry. Bacon is great and IMO the fattier the better. Don't overdo the fruit consumption because then you'll be eating too much sugar. All those protein sources look fine but remember that the fattier cuts are better because you will be eating more fat to make up for not eating grains.

[Helen in Oz]

yeah, more veggies, less fruit.

Most fruit is okay but berries are a favorite; watermelon is very sweet so avoid it, and also go easy on dried fruit too. The taste is a good indication - tart is good, sweet in moderation.

Nitrate free bacon is preferred if you can get it. I can't get it here so it's still really a treat food for me.

Have you signed up for Mark's beginner newsletter? It's really useful, you get an introductory email every day which sets out the basics.

[danceswithducks]

My fruits have been mostly berries and mangos. I have never been much of a veggie eater so I guess I need to work on that. What is too much fruit? Like today I ate:

Breakfast:

Egg white omelet with bison and mago salsa.

Snack:

Pear, Peach, Fat Devils from Recipe book

Lunch:

3 Pork spare ribs

Snack:

Bag of salad, Blackberries, Strawberries

Dinner:

Grilled Shrimp with Mango salsa

How does tihs look?

[Helen in Oz]

I'm no expert but looks like you could use a some more fat, and yeah, a little too much fruit having a pear AND a peach, your carbs are getting a bit high. Could you swap out one piece of fruit for some celery sticks? And can you include the egg yolks too?

[kmacphee]

Welcome to the primal world. You will learn so much by reading through the threads, and connecting to everyone's blogs (assuming they have one) because we tend to enjoy writing about our lifestyle and what we eat.

Check out this thread about how often people eat, you may be surprised as the variance.

I agree with the fruit, if you can stick to strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, black berries etc, then you will fulfill the fruit intake while keeping the sugar lower than with apples, bananas and other high sugar fruit.

Protein is good, but I will echo Bushrat by saying that it is the fat that we need to be the highest number on the chart. There will also be a variance between people who eat paleo/primal/low carb, but the general consensus is that fat should be somewhere around 50-70% of your daily intake. Doing so will generally keep the protein to a more moderate (but not low) level, and the carbohydrates low or at least lower.

Personally, I like to eat a ton of veggies in my 3 meals, but I always make sure that they are matched with fat/protein of some sort. Here is an example of a day in the life of Karl...

Tuesday May 18, 2010: Poor Sleep because it was too hot, 10:30-2, 2:30-5:30, 5:30-6:15, Feel great today, Vit D x 5000iu, Morning Temp 35.7 (96.26)

Breakfast: (6:30) Egg scrambler with bacon (organic/nitrate free), guacamole, small smoothie, handful of berries, small water

Lunch: (12:00) Big Ass Salad (Egg, Moose, Bacon, Cheese & guacamole), Apple & Almond Butter, Cashew Lara Bar, Water

Tea: (7:00) Matcha, (3:00) Green

[cillakat]

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AV...drZnFmNw&hl=en
Primal Blueprint and Produce
Here's what The Primal Blueprint says about produce:

p40 TPB
"The gathering of berries and other fruit, leafy greens, primitive roots, shoots and other vegetation, nuts and seeds provide the bulk of Grok's food supply."

p.112 TPB
"'it may take some acclimation to center your diet around vegetables....Dont follow the example of restaurants that serve skimpy vegetable portions seemingly just for decoration; serve yourself heaping portions that crowd everything else on your plate"

p.111
"Plant foods..naturally promote a beneficial balance between acidity and alkalinity..inyour bloodstream. Almost all cells prefer a slightly alkaline environment to function properly, but many metabolic processes, including the normal production of cellular energy, result in the release of acidic waste products. The buildup of acidic waste is toxic to your body so it works very hard at all times to preserve a slightly alkaline environment, measured by the familiar pH levels."

p110 TPB
see food pyramid: the base is produce indicating that in terms of volume, this is a produce dominated
diet. His food pyramid is a clear supportive visual to both his writing, and the evidence available
regarding a primal diet (diet in our environment of evolutionary adaptation). Volume-wise, we're
eating mostly produce, though in terms of a percentage of calories, we are getting more calories from
protein and many more from saturated fat even when we don't add much, if any, free fat.

In this blogpost regarding inflammation and gut health, Mark said:


"I mentioned Dr. Art Ayer’s Cooling Inflammation blog last week, and I’m
to do so again. First, Art suggests adopting an anti-inflammatory diet. His dietary
recommendations are essentially identical to mine – high SFA, moderate animal
protein, low O-6, O-3 supplementation, leafy greens, some fruit and nuts."




❑ 3,500 mg potassium (K) is the "Daily Value" (DV) intake per the FDA, NIH,
ADA etc. Consdering that nutrient intakes from these organizations reflect
standard intakes, not optimal, consider viewing potassium needs through a
'primal' lens based on K intakes in traditional diets and what we know of diets
in environment closer to those in which we adapted.

❑ Potassium intakes in the above 'primal' diets - likely ranges
based on potassium to sodium ratio
5mg K:1mg Na to 16mg K: 1mg Na



based on potassium to calorie ratio
2-4mg K per calorie ingested


❑ 10-13 servings produce will often be required to supply potassium at
optimal or nearly optimal levels

❑ if needed to bring K:Na ratios or K:Kcal ratios into balance, tomato products
at each meal or by drinking homemade veggie peeling broths are easy, low
calorie, high potassium supplements. adding 99mg from a potassium tab
is essentially worthless when total potassium needs are 3,500-12,000 mg.

Think of magnesium and potassium as the relaxors and calcium and sodium as
the contractors. We need both - but it's all about ratio just like it is wrt Ω3 and Ω6.

[cillakat]

D is also incredibly important and most don't get enough.

At 33ºN, we can just as of last week (midmay to midsept) get sufficient sun for optimal D production on days that we get sun
1)midday
2)unprotected (no sunscreen)
3)full body (small swimsuit...bikini for women)
4)both sides
5)to the point just before a burn occurs

Take D on days that you:
wear clothes or stay indoors midday

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AV3S7fNjwg33ZHp0bWN3cV8yMDRqcXA0d3BjMw& hl=en
Vitamin D Facts: Testing, Interpreting, Dosing and Levels
compiled by Katherine Morrison

☑ A tan does not necessarily indicate sufficient vitamin D levels. It's easy to tan from UVA
without getting sufficient UVB to raise D levels.
☑If you work indoors midday or avoid midday sun for any reason or wear sunscreen, you
need supplemental D3.
☑ If you get lots of 'indicental', partial body exposure in the summer, you still need vitamin
D supplements.
☑ Supplemental D is needed on the days you don't get midday, summer, unprotected, full
body exposure to the point just before a burn occurs.
☑ Most adults not getting very signficant sun exposure need 5,000 IU D per day. Some
need more. Test, test and retest.
☑ Test, test and retest. Use only LabCorp or ZRT. Tests listed in order of preference:
① See your doctor for testing if they use LabCorp

② D Action study using ZRT's home test- grassrootshealth.org

③ ZRT's test ordered from vitamindcouncil.org

ZRT will donates $10 to that worthy organzation.

④ ZRT's test can be ordered directly from ZRT

⑤ Quest/LabCorp testing project. Test on the same day using Quest and LabCorp -

get reimbursed for up to $100 of your cost

⑥ $60 LabCorp walk-in LabCorp test: http://www.privatemdlabs.com/lab_locations.php

⑦ LabCorp via LEF: non-members $62.67 each members $35.25 each



nmoL - units used to measure D most places in the world
ng/mL - units used in the US
** Please be sure to pay attention to the units given on your lab report.
** Quest Labs -problems remain. See the end of the paper for citations.

What should my vitamin D level be?
see below for information on various vitamin D levels........

❍ 32 ng/mL (80 nmol/L) is the bottom of the current reference range in the US.
This level leaves us in a state of substrate starvation which isn't good. And if
Quest** did your test - see note above - you need to divide by 1.3.

❍ 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L) the minimum recommended by currently by
any major D researcher (see grassrootshealth.net).

❍ 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L) is the point at which we have sufficient substrate
for managing calcium levels and have additional to use for other necessary
physiological functions - including gene expression (300+ other functions in our bodies)

❍ 60-65 ng/mL (150-162.5 nmol/L) is the 'middle of the current reference range
for the major US labs. European and canadian labs are behind the times on this
one and are still generally using a much lower range that accepts truly
deficient levels as normal.

❍ 80 ng/mL (200 nmol/L) is the higher end of normal but still within the physiological
range of what we could achieve from significant midday sun exposure.

❍ 100 ng/mL (250 nmol/L) a level still obtainable by extensive sun exposure -
think lifeguards in South Florida. That this levels can be achieved only through
sun exposure implies that this is still a physiologically appropriate level.

❍ 200 ng/mL (500 nmol/L) is the lowest blood level of 25(OH)D at which there
has been documented D toxicity. There has never been a case reported at levels
lower than that.


☑ 1,000 IU (25 mcg) per 25 lbs body weight per day is a very reasonable dose of
D3 for someone who avoid sun by
→ working indoors midday
→ wearing clothes midday
→ avoiding sun midday (too hot etc)
→ wearing any amount of sunscreen midday


☑ 10,000 IU-50,000 IU vitamin D3 is produced in the skin upon full body exposure
to sunlight......with the average of the studies being about 20,000 IU. However,
adults should not take more than 5000 IU per day without testing.

☑ Children and Vitamin D - 1000 IU per 25lbs body weight per day (400 IU per 10
lbs body weight per day) is the appropriate recommended dose for children.

[danceswithducks]

I read the forum on "How often do you eat." This is getting a little more cinfusing for me as I dig deeper. I have always been tought to eat 5-6 times a day to help maintain insulin levels.

Also, after further reading, is this similar to the Atkins diet. I didn't think so at first but it seems it is similar. Everything I have heard about Atkins is bad. I do not understand how taking in that much fat, 50%-70% can help you lose wieght. Looking forward to some insight.

[Helen in Oz]

danceswithducks, you're going to have to throw out the "always taught" stuff - this is a whole new (old) way of eating. Don't just use the forum - make sure you read Mark's actual blog. People have different aims and opinions here on the forum - Mark covers the basics that you need to know. I know eating fat is counter-intuitive, but once you learn about why, it makes sense.

Basically, your body burns fat just fine - provided you don't have loads of sugar to burn off first. It's the insulin release prompted by dumping carbs into the bloodstream that drives fat into the cells. If you consistently keep your carb intake quite low, your blood sugar and insulin even out and you can easily eat once or twice a day if you choose, because you are no longer on the eat>carbs>insulin>needmorecarbs rollercoaster. However at this point it's a good idea just to eat when you're hungry.

It IS similar to the Atkins diet but with more emphasis on whole natural foods, and as far as I know Atkins restricts calories too. I'm not sure, I just got an Atkins book to have a look at but haven't read it yet.