Paleo diet?

[Owlie]

The more moderate approach to this isn't that grains are bad necessarily, it's just that because of some of the mechanisms in grains (ie, a grain will not grow once it's been chewed and digested, so they have components to protect them from that happening so that they can survive), they aren't the best choice. Even if you look at all the vitamins and 'good things' in whole grains, the reality is that a lot of that good stuff is not bioavailable to your body. If your body can get all the same good stuff from veggies (and more), why bother with grains? It's not unlike choosing to eat home-grown organic spinach over iceberg lettuce from McDonalds. Both are considered food, but the spinach is SOOOO much better for you, why wouldn't you choose it over the lettuce option? Taste? Perhaps. But I can attest that it doesn't take long to stop caring about eating grains when you feel this good without them.

Again, there are lots of places on this planet where the only choice for food is grains and certainly, eating grains is better than not eating at all. The point is that grains (and legumes, and in some cases, dairy) are not the BEST option.

In my case, I felt totally fine (and even healthy) before I went paleo. I only did it out of curiosity, not out of need. What continues to shock me to the core is how much BETTER I feel eating this way.

I don't have my copy of ISWF here at work, or I could find the studies and post links. There may be links to some of them at their website/blog:

http://whole9life.com/

Another good online resource is Mark Sisson's blog. He does a lot of research and isn't one to spout off 'caveman' ideals...you may be able to find the relevant research on his site as well (though his definition of 'primal' does include some dairy):

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welco...#axzz22VSN3YDS

I noticed the end of your last post after I posted.

Playing the devil's advocate here:
But the average leafy vegetable doesn't want to be eaten either, and there are all sorts of anti-herbivore compounds in those. Why is one better than the other?

I'm pretty sure that most of the benefits of whole grain comes from the fact that fiber just binds all the fat and a lot of other stuff in your intestine. And it doesn't surprise me that there's a bioavailability issue for certain compounds. But that should be true to one extent or another for any plant-based food... I'm also curious as to how it would work for fueling intense exercise--for me, fruit/veggie-derived carbs get burned off quickly. Maybe it's psychosomatic, but a combination of grain- and fruit-based carbs sticks around a bit longer for me.

I know you don't think this way, and I thank you for it, but I for one am a little tired of "Eliminating grains and dairy will solve all your problems!" I've had eczema issues since I was two. It isn't caused by diet; it's stress. Provided I ride my bike or get other intense exercise on a regular basis, it's a non-issue. And yet people (not here) still say that I should stop drinking milk or eating toast.

Anyway, I'll stop bringing my own issues into the discussion. I'm not anti-Paleo, just skeptical. I'm an everything-in-moderation kind of person--veggies, beans, beef, beer and cheesecake. If it works for you, great! If you think you have something to gain from it, try it and tweak it.

And as always, if someone has a tasty recipe, feel free to share. I'm always up for new food.

Not trying to attack you, I swear.