The Palaeolithic Diet

paleo

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” Theodosius Dobzhansky

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Why is bread bad for you? The unwholesome truth about wheat.

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Obesity and Gut Bacteria: The Missing Link?

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Hippocrates (400BC) “Death sits in the bowels”

15 Gut Bacteria Facts

  • Humans have roughly 10 trillion cells.
  • Humans have roughly 100 trillion microbes within their bodies.
  • Of all the microbes within us, the gut bacteria are the most important.
  • Gut bacteria differ between obese and lean people.
  • It is possible to change the composition of one’s gut bacteria through one’s diet.
  • Transferring the gut bacteria from obese mice to lean mice causes fat gain in lean mice.
  • Artificial sweeteners might cause weight gain via their effects on gut bacteria.
  • Humans are born with no microbes (or very, very few).
  • “Ecobiotics” (Faecal pills) might replace antibiotics one day.
  • Faecal transplants have been used successfully to treat c. difficile bowel infections in the last 30 years.
  • Diabetes often gets cured within 48 hours of stomach bypass operations; a change in the gut bacteria is one of the mechanisms effecting this cure.
  • People who eat grains have higher levels of a particular gut bacteria which is linked with arthritis and autoimmune diseases.
  • Maternal separation in baby rhesus monkeys alters the gut bacteria in the same way as stress does.
  • Use of antibiotics in infancy is associated with an increased risk of asthma and being overweight in childhood. (Antibiotics have been used to fatten animals for the last 60 years).
  • The gut bacteria that one eventually obtains are derived from one’s mother and from exposure to the environment.
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Is your mother always right?

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The Omega Balance

What exactly are the omegas? 

  • They are types of fat.

What’s the big deal with the omegas?

  • They affect levels of inflammation, and inflammation is at the root of most Western diseases (heart attacks, obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, dementia etc…).

When do the omega fats cause problems?

  • When we consume too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3.

What is the perfect omega balance?

  • Equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3

What is the current ratio of omega-6:omega-3 in the Western world?

  • Approximately 20:1

How can we correct this?

  • Eat fewer omega-6 containing foods and eat more omega-3 containing foods.

What’s the best way of doing this?

  • Cut out vegetable oils and grains, and eat more fish.

 And finally, don’t fall into the ‘supplement trap’.

  • Eat proper food instead.
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