Comments on: Dear Mark: Primal Blueprint Superiority?

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:52:05 +0000

See, my problems are not generated by being hungry. I rarely binge when I’m hungry. And I can binge on anything: bread, cookies, donuts, deliciously salty cheese, scrambled eggs. It doesn’t matter what it is, because it never satisfies. And even knowing the science and my own experience, I have fewer problems when I say that having a piece of whole wheat toast is not going to hurt me. It’s the same reason that I smoke on occasion: the increased possibility of lung cancer or a rise in blood sugar/insulin and all that means, these are both preferable to the certain destruction of my teeth, fingers, and digestive tract.

In addition, if the eating disorder is not driven by wild swings in blood sugar, consuming self-limiting foods doesn’t really matter. When you use it to run away from emotions and everything you don’t want to deal with and to avoid feeling anything at all, you will never eat enough and you will never throw up enough. Eating according to the Primal Blueprint will not help that.

By: Trinkwasser

Trinkwasser — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:36:55 +0000

Wow what a fascinating thread! The observational stuff from Riceball et al. is interesting. Backs up a quote I can’t attribute “in the Third World the poor are thin and the rich are fat, in the West the poor are fat and the rich are thin”

More quotes I can’t attribute: Genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger

Our funky genes had obvious survival factor, in times of food shortage we could probably outsurvive nondiabetics, or as yet someone else wrote “we survive famines, but feasts kill us” and currently we’re stuck in energy stashing mode. It’s probably a matter of degree, we’re the dietary canaries in the coalmine. Probably a third of the population carry a form of the “thrifty” gene set and our government is expecting a third of the population to become diabetic. No expense spent on prevention.

Here’s another vote for Taubes (it’s called The Diet Delusion in the UK), a massive and hard to read book but well worth the effort, he ties together a wealth of stuff we used to know, but were instructed to forget, with modern research.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:42:25 +0000

Cobalteffect — if you’re looking for science to back up the PB, try Gary Taubes’s book (”Good Calories, Bad Calories”). It has all the detailed science you could ever wish for, written by an award-winning science writer of national reputation.

By: darya

darya — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:22:19 +0000

Greg, excellent questions. The fact is science is very difficult to conduct and interpret, and hardly anyone who claims to know the answers knows what they are talking about. Stay skeptical.

By: 090424 WOD “DL’s Burpees Run” « Santa Rosa Fire Department Crossfit

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:12:31 +0000

[...] “Primal Blueprint Superiority?” Marks Daily [...]

By: Christoph Dollis

Christoph Dollis — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:05:36 +0000

Dr John, you’ve inspired me.

Once I get through my beers, I’m going to join you.

By: Mia

Mia — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:41:16 +0000

I’m so glad someone wrote that e-mail because I’d been wondering about the exact same things.

By: Sonya

Sonya — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:01:18 +0000

Donna – It can make quite the argument when you come up against someone who has studied diet and nutrition! I try not to comment too much but the other day couldn’t help it as the topic of health and nutrition came up with a friend who is a fitness/Health professional. The conversation really revved up when I said that ‘basically most of what you believe in, my beliefs are the opposite.’ These people have gone to uni and studied for years for their degree so I can see why they stand their ground. I think that it is fantastic how for me personally, only been into the PB for approx five months can see from my own results that my new way of eating and fitness far out ways my former decades of the ‘old way.’ The results do speak for themselves and so for me to turn everything on its head is a major augment with most people, after all I was one of those ‘most people’ not too long ago – which is why I don’t get into it with friends/family, only those that are genuinely interested.

Yes it would be so good if others found the knowledge that we have found, only I think we are the minority.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:17:31 +0000

Just thought I should add some observations on my Chinese relatives.

Calorie restriction: I calculated my average daily calories while staying in China: ~1200 (I ate as my family did too). And I wasn’t hungry. The only reason I can guess at for this is that the food’s ALWAYS the same. There isn’t any “Oh, feel like some Indian tonight?”. All meals are home-cooked, and they’re all the same flavor family. I mean, you CAN go to Pizza Hut or KFC if you want, but it’s generally viewed as a special treat (and it is–KFC’s a popular date place over there).

Another note, but I don’t know if it’s just my family–when we go out to restaurants on weekends or special events, we don’t order rice. At big parties and banquets it’s not normal to eat rice either.

And and I noticed when my aunt and uncle wanted to lose weight, she just stopped eating rice at dinner and ate only veg.

No sugar, too. Like, ever. Sometimes a piece of fruit after dinner, if in season. It’s actually because of my family that I knew fruit wasn’t too good even before I started hearing about Primal–my great-aunt became diabetic after a long affair with lychees.

Yup, diabetic on FRUIT.

By: Tate

Tate — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:24:51 +0000

I live in Campania, Italy (Southern Italy) were they are famous for their pasta and pizza … which they eat a lot of including other various sweets. Not at all like the diet of Rome and further North. They, as a group, are short, fat, weak (I play Rugby, and have never played with/against such weak opponents), and die young. In fact, my neighbor died two months ago at 55 from complications to diabetes. The more traditional diet is plant and meat based, with a little pasta and sometimes some potatoes, but very few of them eat that way anymore. Especially the younger generation, and they are extremely unhealthy. When I go to the grocery store here, it is as bad as the states when it comes to processed foods. Of course there is a section for the traditional food, which I take advantage of, but that is not what is primarily bought by the average Southern Italian.
If you are concerned about the science behind a PB type diet, try reading the book about the Metabolic diet. It will give you more studies and references than you could ever want. They advocate using a once a week carb-up for hormonal/body building purposes. It works, but I don’t think you feel as good as the PB diet. In fact, sometimes during the week (especially after the carb-up), you feel down right sick. However, using the diet I got the strongest I have ever been. (405 bench, 500 dead-lift, 475 squat) I am now following more of a PB diet, because I am trying to lose weight and am not as concerned about strength as I was before. I feel a lot better, and am losing weight (fat) faster. This post kind of got away from me, I hope it helped.