Caveman Supper Club

I was listening to a podcast the other morning by Vinnie Tortorich, America's Angriest Trainer.

Vinnie trains the stars of Hollywood and he's my “sort-of-personal-trainer”, courtesy of the world wide web.

He just doesn't know it.

Which saves me a bloody fortune in fees!

During his conversation, he made a comment:

“If you want to lose weight, you've got to give up two things: grains and sugars.”

I researched that statement and it appears to be the cornerstone of the very popular Paleo Diet.

The Paleo Diet is centered on commonly available modern foods, the “contemporary” Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

This caught my interest.

So I started to ask myself, “Why“?

Grains

It appears that grains and legumes contain:

• Lectin
• Gluten
• Phytates

My “Cliff's Notes” version: Lectins and gluten can cause intestinal issues which can release toxins into your system.

Sure beans and bread contain fiber, but apparently many feel that the damage that occurs to your intestines cause many problems that outweigh the benefit.*

There's a lot of science here I really didn't want to repeat concerning the matter.

Mostly because me trying to spew stats like a scientist would be genuinely stupid on my part.

I'll let you do your own research here.

Sugar

Refined sugars are a lot like crack cocaine.

Note the “refined” part of that sentence.

Fructose is a sugar that exists naturally, commonly in fruits, and is handled by your body normally.

When the human race refined fructose and began processing it to sweeten foods, it took on a whole new look.

Consider how your body processes it.

Laboratory studies have shown when fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed; the liver will convert much of it to fat. This is known as insulin resistance, and is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and a factor in heart disease and type 2 diabetes.**

Your body processes natural sugars normally. It does not process refined sugars such as high fructose corn syrup very well and it pretty much makes your liver process it as a fat and stores it.

Do I Buy It?

Honestly, I really could care less about the science behind the diet.

Maybe I should, but I don't possess the attention span required.

I can tell you that pushing away from the “Altar of Cookies and Breads” was essential in losing the 100 pounds I did.