Last time I checked, the Paleo lifestyle promoted meat eating. I get it- Paleo emphasizes eating wholefoods and unprocessed foods, but isn't a Paleo person that doesn't eat meat just a vegan? And these vegetarian Paleo people- where do they get their protein from? Because if it is soy, beans, or other legumes, then they definitely are not Paleo. What about nuts you say? To get a decent amount of 'protein' from nuts, a person would have to consume massive amounts daily. Here is an example (following the popular 1g protein : 1lb body weight ratio)- A 150lb person who exercises regularly would have to eat 5 cups of whole almonds per day in order to reach their daily goal for protein intake. I mean, I probably could eat that many nuts if I wanted to, but 5 cups of nuts equals 351g of FAT and over 4000 calories!!! I look at nuts as a healthy fat, not a protein. Complete protein is found is meat, eggs, and fish. And the vegetarian 'paleo' people think bacon is going to make us fat?... At the end of the day, these 'vegetarian 'paleos' are just grain-free vegans that want to partake in our cool caveman lifestyle ;)
Very interesting information about a commonly misunderstood diet. I look forward to reading more and seeing more great recipes (although I'm not disciplined enough now to go all out Paleo). Xoxo
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Paula the Pirate
8/1/2013 05:19:29 am
Okaaaaaay I finally have a moment to put my two cents in :) A paleo person that doesn't eat meat is attempting a vegetarian paleo lifestyle. This would be of value to that person because they are eliminating grains from their diet (which cause all sorts of issues for most people in the form of food sensitivities and intolerances), and eliminates meat. The desire to not eat meat could stem from SO many reasons: Environmental - eating meat uses up a significant amount of resources and causes a LOT of pollution - see your standard factory pig farm... grossss. SO. GROSS. Cow flatulence is a significant contributor to climate change (funny, but true!). A quick example: If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would be like not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million cars off the road. - See more at: http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/reducing-your-footprint/#sthash.sMtTOfQQ.dpuf
Health reasons - organic meat is expensive (right now). As more people start to jump on the train the price will go down. But right now, most of the meat that comes from restaurants and that we find in the grocery store comes from industrialized factory farms. This means that they are often fed a diet of other animals (chickens are often fed other ground up chickens), antibiotics, steroids, and hormones. This is creating cancers from ingesting excess hormones, and antibiotic resistance. Could you imagine getting an infection, and doctors being able to treat you because you are immune to their antibiotics? People DIE from this. As well, from living in close, cramped quarters and having little to no vet care, these animals often live in their own waste, and this can often contaminate the food. Even if it's not making you sick, you are still more often than not ingesting fecal matter. Look at the speed at which the majority of slaughter assembly lines look at. There is absolutely NO WAY to have zero contamination. Not to mention this is one of the most dangerous places on the face of the planet to work, and the workers are often treated like meat themselves. Also, food borne illness, more often than not from meat, is a huuuuuuuge issue that is often covered up by these major transnational conglomerates that have a lot of lobbying power. If you look at the stats of how many people die every year from contaminated food (especially children) it's really, really scary. And sad.
Animal rights reasons - As mentioned above, the animals that come from these factory farms are treated like shit. See any PETA video. This is REALITY. It's not happening on one farm, and PETA is not exaggerating to make a point. They really aren't. it's happening on almost all farms that don't have organic standards to uphold. And even the organic farms don't necessarily have to offer the animals a lot of pasture. These animals live miserable lives. Chickens often never see the light of day. These animals are sick and sad. When they are prepared for slaughter they are often stresssssed out. And this creates a hormonal response that has an effect on the meat. So as a result you are eating sick, stressed out meat. Make your own decision on how you think ingesting this meat would affect you. You are what you eat (and what you think! - and if you put me up as a guest blogger this is the first thing I'll write about!)
Anyways, enough with the animal rights rant lol. Vegetarian paleos would get most of their protein from eggs. And nuts. And seeds (chia!). And hemp hearts. And vegetables (yup, they have protein!). And seaweed!! (See chlorella and spirulina.. YESSSS). And bee pollen (there is a great story about a community in Russia that pretty much survives exclusively off this shit and they have all lived to 100 years plus). So yeah, some compromise might have to be made (organic yogurt perhaps? Maybe some brown rice protein?) but research has demonstrated time and time again that we don't need as much protein as has been suggested by the Canadian and American food guides. This is a myth perpetuated by powerful lobby groups from the meat and dairy industry who sit on the board that creates these guides (no joke!). And most people who I know who eat this way at least 80% of the time are some of the healthiest people I know. Maybe some supplements may be needed, iron perhaps. Maybe some Vit D.
So anyways, I don't think it's as much of a "is bacon going to make me fat" issue as it is a "where is my bacon coming from, and what else is in it?" issue. I am a great example of someone who was overweight and vegetarian for 12 years, and started including some meat in my diet again (from healthy sources as much as possible), including bacon! (yes, you loves your bacon) and dropped a significant amount of weight. No, bacon doesn't make you fat. Bacon fat doesn't make you fat either.
But industrial contaminants can!! Pollutants are often stored in your fat cells. I've read
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Paula the Pirate part 2
8/1/2013 05:37:53 am
Shiiiiit your blog totally cut off everything else I wrote lol. Anyways, I've read that the body will often hold on to excess fat in order to protect itself from the release of these contaminants. So detoxing can get rid of them, and then the body will start to release fat. And you know where a lot of these contaminants come from? Seafood. Mercury. We literally flush all this contamination out to sea and then let our food swim around in it and eat it, then we eat it. Then we become it. Because we are what we eat, right? and what we think! (and if you let me do a guest blog that will be the first thing I write about lol).
So anyways, a paleo person that doesn't eat meat isn't just a grain-free vegan. Because vegetarians can still eat bee pollen, and nutritional yeast (yum!) and eggs!!
So yeah, I think you are right though, the paleo lifestyle does place a great significance on eating meat. So I think a better descriptor would be grain-free vegetarian. But calling oneself paleo-vegetarian would not be inaccurate!
So in summary, no, I have no desire to partake in the cool caveman lifestyle unless the meat is coming from organic, truly free-range and sustainable sources. If you could hook me up with this kind of meat at an economic price on the regular, then I would be paleo alllll the way!! I'm alll for sustainable hunting. Till then I'll stick with my 80% of the time grain-free vegetarian and watch Jaclyn the paleo-pirate monster devour her bacon wrapped bacon LOL! And I'll continue to mow down on french fries at work. It's allll about balance right??! haha
So yeah, I'm really enjoying your blog so far! Keep up the good work!! What I would like to see next is the WHHHHHHY part of paleo. Why do you do it?? What are your perceived health benefits? Also I would like to see a nod to the quality of the meat consumed.
Blogs take a lonnnnng time to get rolling, sometimes years, so don't get discouraged. It's a work in process. And speaking of work, see you there soon bacon pirate!! XO
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Captain Paleo Jac
Paleo-Student-Server-Spin Instructor-Meat loving-Technology illiterate-Pirate. That about sums it up.