My Big Four Paleo Exceptions - PART I

[Sometimes you have to make Paleo exceptions... Like to have the highest beer in Australia - Mt Kosciusko]

I used to consider myself "strict Paleo"… whatever that means. However, these days I consider myself to follow a "Paleo template", as Chris Kresser (legend) would say. 

The more I discover about Paleo and the more I look into the actual research behind many of the standard Paleo claims, the more liberal and open-minded I become as to what actually constitutes Paleo for me. It is only through self-experimentation and patience that you can forge a nutrition plan that really works best for you. 

My Diet vs Exercise Analogy

From personal experience and extensive reading on (evolutionary) nutrition, diet and exercise, I believe that 70% of one's body composition can be attributed to diet (what you eat), 10% to genetics and 20% to exercise.

Therefore, given that you can't directly upgrade or trade in your genes yet (although epigenetics is a very exciting new field), I argue that it makes sense to focus on DIET rather than EXERCISE. Here is why:

It's a hell of a lot easier to affect change by focusing on the 70% rather than the 20%. 

My Ideal Paleo Eating Day

Typical Brekky: Eggs, Sautéed Kale, Cherry Tomatoes and Prosciutto.

It's all good and well to talk Paleo and Primal and 'no grain' this and 'no dairy' that and 'low Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratios' and blah blah blah. But if the whole concept of Paleo or 'evolutionary eating' is foreign to you it can be difficult to conceptualise what a Paleo diet would actually look like on a day-to-day basis. 

Paleo Coconut Pancake Recipe

This is a really simple, go-to delicious paleo breakfast or dessert. 

Nutrition info:

• moderate to high fat (30g)
• moderate protein (15-20g)
• moderate to low carb (15g-20g)

Anti-nutrients: And Why I Don't Eat Peanut Butter

Let me start by saying that I've eaten my fair share of peanut butter in my time. I used to love the stuff. It's cheap, high energy and one of those universally delicious foods (like bacon), that makes everything taste amazing. 

So if you love the stuff and don't want some really bad news or don't care that much about optimizing your health then I would stop reading right now! 

If you're still reading, I'm going to explain why I avoid peanuts and peanut butter these days.

Does The Paleo Model Eat... Quinoa?

QUINOA (Pronounced "keen-wah" for goodness sake, not "kin-o-a"!)

Not quite a real grain...

Cereal grains are the seeds of grasses. Quinoa is the seed of a broad-leaf plant. For this reason quinoa is actually a pseudo-cereal. i.e. Not technically a grain but with similar characteristics to one.

Quinoa has many touted benefits. The main ones being a relatively high (and complete) protein content, high levels of fibre, magnesium, iron and manganese and a relatively low glycemic load. 

And while quinoa has been eaten for millennia, it seems to be an uber popular food at the moment - particularly among the vegan/vegetarian/yoga/health/hip crowd. 

It is verging on 'super food' status and I see it popping up on a lot of New York restaurant menus to fancy up an otherwise basic market side or salad. (e.g. Kale, apple and quinoa salad).

However, I really don't think quinoa is all it's cracked up to be. And I certainly wouldn't consider it a superfood. Here's why:

Fat eggs, rabbit starvation and the mercury myth

In my last post, 'Eat More Fat!' I described my preferred sources of fat and how most people really don't require that many carbohydrate to be healthy. 

In this post I'm going to delve into macronutrient breakdowns, why you don't need to go crazy on red meat or protein and why you shouldn't be scared of mercury toxicity in fish.