I have been studying nutrition for
the better part of my life. My dad was a nutritionist kinda guy specializing in
grains and breads. He was always concerned about the food we ate and I remember
when I was in high school, and he phoned us from his lab to tell us not to ever
put Nutrasweet® in our bodies. A controversial article had come across his desk
and he could not wait until he got home from work to talk to us. He needed us
to know right then. That was in the 1970’s and we, as a society, have discovered
so much more about sugar and sugar substitutes since then.
The year my husband and I were
married, he discovered that he had diabetes. Not only did he have a genetic
disposition to the condition, but his lifestyle also played a role. His body
crashed and he went on insulin injections. We changed our eating habits to
follow what dieticians then suggested, and within about half a year, Brent was
off of insulin and controlling his blood sugar through diet and exercise. Over
the years, his weight gain and loss was like a yo-yo and I began to suspect
that some of the fabricated foods like margarine, Splenda® and low fat, light
fare foods that we were eating, were not really food at all. It made sense to
me that we should be eating food that was as natural as possible. If it came
from a box or a can, I needed to know what each ingredient actually was.
We live on a farm with a garden and
are able to access home grown meats, eggs and honey and for this I am grateful
as it truly does make our life surrounding food, much easier. For sixteen years
we have been eating mostly natural, 3rd party certified organic,
free range, grass fed, sun kissed, food. And yet, my husband is back on insulin
and this summer found that he was using more and more. The other puzzling thing
about how diabetes works in Brent’s system, has been is high blood sugar levels
in the mornings. By playing with his diet, we found that if he cut out simple
carbohydrates from noon on, that it reduced his next morning’s blood sugar
level but not drastically enough to make a difference throughout the day or as
the days became weeks.
Enter some Paleo Creatures.
My cousin and her husband enveloped
the Paleo lifestyle a couple of years ago and have not only dropped weight but
also feel fabulous. Eight months ago, I began studying this phenomenon that
seemed to be gaining popularity. It took me those eight months to decide
whether I felt this was the right direction for everyone in our family or not.
I needed us all to buy into this way of life. As I delved into the meat of
living paleo, I struggled with finding answers to why there were some foods of
the earth, that were not to be eaten. Using The Paleo Diet for the Athlete,
by Loren Cordain, reading numerous articles for and against this way of eating, and by asking
questions, I was settled with and understood more about high and low glycemic indexed
foods and was ready to try it. I promised each family member that we would only
try it for one month and then make a formal decision based on that month’s
success or lack of, as to whether we would attempt to fully embrace this manner
or not.
One month saw amazing results that we
did not expect to see in such a short time.
Brent Age: 49 Steadily dropped weight each week, 8 lbs. during the first
week, 5 during the next week and 10 over the next 2 weeks. He cut his insulin
injections by half most meals and his morning blood sugar levels were normal.
Jillian Age: 15 Lost 7 pounds (even though she did not need to and this was
most definitely not a goal nor a focus.) We’ve known since Jillian was 5 that
she is lactose intolerant and, as a family gave up most dairy when she was 7.
We have played around with raw milk, cheese etc. but on the Paleo Lifestyle,
gave it up entirely for the month of September. Jillian remarked at how she has
been living with a continual stomach ache most of her life but did not have one
that month unless she chose to stray from the diet and ate something from a
friend.
Max Age: 17 Lost 7 pounds and again was not necessary nor a focus. He
has had the most challenging time sticking with it as he likes to go out for
lunch with friends occasionally and the choice is usually a burger. At home,
however, he has stuck to the regime and I, as mom, refuse to be a food bully.
The greatest results by far that will
help us stick with this way of being, is that we are all so thrilled for Brent,
and none of us are actually hungry. That doesn’t mean that we don’t miss some
foods, we just don’t actually crave them.
It has only been one month, but that
one-month, has demonstrated extraordinary results. Check back next month and
I’ll report on how things are progressing for us as Paleos.
~ Ellyn
