Diet Alternative For Better Health

Always looking for a healthier living ideas, I read up on the Paleo Diet. The Paleo diet is quite simple in its base foundation. Eat what our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago. Sounds pretty simple, and has a lot of common sense built into it.

I found Robb Wolf’s web page the most informative. Though the claims about the diet are questionable. I do not think there is a one diet sure all where we can cookie cut people into better health.

Basically following the Paleo Diet, it is okay to eat all fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. Sounds good so far. How can you wrong eating these foods? I really doubt you can.

The Paleo diet has been modified over the years, from its original basis of eating what our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago into another form where the word Paleo to describe the diet, does not really fit any longer. In a quest to further improve the Paleo Diet, grains, legumes (generally beans), starches, and dairy are not part of the diet.

Detractors of the Paleo Diet, and there are many, seem to attack the Paleo Diet, not on what it is, but by making comparisons to what we think our ancestors actually ate, and the choices we have today. In a lot of attacks on any diet, business interests seem to be a basis of the attacks, though it is never mentioned.

The meat and dairy industry have a lot to lose if diets like Paleo Diet ever took off. Some of the foods dairy cattle are fed on a regular basis are nothing remotely close to the home on the range diet you think dairy cows eat. Generally the same issue resides within the meat industry.

Problems meat and dairy animals experience is compensated too often with growth hormones and antibiotics. Even the better meats and dairy available may have been fed a diet of GMO Foods, which may or may not be as healthy when they are passed on to us in the meat and dairy we consume.

On the other side, meat and dairy are available due to better living through chemistry. Though in my experience, some foods only look like what they represent. That is where the comparison stops. Chemicals, DNA modification, and growth, and other hormones in our food supply is off topic for this post however.

From the perspective of a someone who feels better following a Celiac Diet, the Paleo Diet is very restrictive, and more expensive. The recommended meats are grass fed meats. Meaning a trip to the local grocer is unlikely to put many meat choices in your shopping cart.

Tastes good

A Cheeseburger and fries cost more than this meal

All Paleo Diet food should be organic which is a good thing. If nothing else organic foods generally taste better, so are more enjoyable to eat. Soy is questionable depending on where you are reading. For dairy substitutes, once cow, goat, and soy milk is removed one is left with almond, and a few other odd milk like products which are not fit for the weak of pocketbook crowd.

Legumes are to be avoided as they contain a chemical complex that is thought to be harmful for some people. Grains are not allowed as I understand it for the same reason.

On the bright side if you can afford the Paleo Diet, and you can be happy with the constraints of the Paleo diet, your health can only improve. I read an article yesterday that identifies emulsifiers as major contributors to stomach and intestinal issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS.

In these days of our food supply being strongly influenced by chemistry, every person should strive to be a food expert. I know from experience that problems with food start slowly and hide well, masquerading as other causes like pollen allergies, colds, flu’s, arthritis and other common ailments.

Only when one is willing to sample a different way of eating, whether the Paleo Diet, or other less mainstream diet, can one better understand exactly what is making them feel less than perfect.

I have learned that most maladies that show up in our lifetimes start out slow, and progress in a stealthy manner. Everything from Shampoo, deodorant, to the food we put in out mouth should be suspect if we start feeling anything less than we did when we were ten years old.

I recommend you take some time and read about the Paleo Diet. It was founded in common sense and a need to move away from eating processed modified foods that are not healthy. Over the decades, the Paleo Diet has been modified to give everyone the best chance at a long and healthy life.

Even with expense taken into consideration, we should be eating as well as we can afford to eat. There is not a lot of difference in price between Nachos and Chips, and several healthier alternative foods. Eating poor quality food and slowly losing your health is not a good trade for more free time or more money in your pocket.

Auto Immune, ADD, Pregnancy, and Acetaminophen Link Possible

Acetaminophen is a wonder drug. It is generally safe to use, when proper dosing is followed, works great for pain relief, and does not upset your stomach as some other pain relievers may. Acetaminophen also has a dark side. I have read up to an estimated 17,000 overdoses per year cause serious health concerns and/or deaths per year.

Recently two articles caught my eye about Acetaminophen. The first was about a link between Acetaminophen and Celiacs. Celiacs, loosely described is a wheat or wheat gluten allergy.

When I discovered I was a Celiac, it was barely being recognized as an actual illness. A few years ago, estimates were one in one hundred and forty people of European descent had some level of Celiacs. Today, I am hearing estimates of more than one in one hundred people may be effected by Celiacs and are not aware of it, because it hides so well in our body unless it becomes an extreme sensitivity.

Celiacs is commonly thought of an auto immune disorder these days. I have seen Celiacs grouped with Multiple Scleroses, Gout, Diabetes, and Crones disease. Whether these are all variations of one issue is a hot debate in medical and scientific circles. Whether they too may be affected by Acetaminophen, I have not read about it. Seems like a possibility though.

There appears, from what I read, to be two new side effects to Acetaminophen according to the articles. One is Acetaminophen makes one more sensitive to wheat Gluten (Celiacs).

The second more serious side effect may be a disturbing link between Acetaminophen and ADD, when the pregnant mother takes Acetaminophen during her pregnancy.

As someone who was taking Acetaminophen three or more days a week, stopping has strongly reduced my gluten sensitivity, and returned my life to almost normal. No longer do I need to be concerned about a lone crouton in my salad making me ill.

I no longer feel sick with Celiac symptoms when I know I have not had eaten any wheat in the last three or four days. Eating oatmeal which is one of my main breakfast foods has not bothered me since I stopped taking Acetaminophen.

I have been told Celiacs itself, “Is all in my head” by a few odd people. I have to disagree with them. Celiacs is all in my digestive track. My head only notices how poorly I am feel.

As to taking Acetaminophen while pregnant, I have no opinion. It is obvious, years ago ADD and illnesses like it were a rare occurrence, and is now a minor epidemic. The article I read claimed a link between Acetaminophen use during pregnancy and ADD symptoms as the babies develop.

I do not have any medical advice to offer one way or another on this. I do not know if what I read is based on real studies or repeatable data. What I do know is not taking any Acetaminophen products has made me feel better.

If you are Celiac or have another auto immune disorder, you can determine for yourself if Acetaminophen has any effect on your body. It was as obvious to me, as not eating wheat in any form first was. Within a couple of days I started feeling a lot better.

As to pregnancy and Acetaminophen, this is a decision each Woman should make of her own volition, independently of other opinions. In any case it is a matter of risk verses reward. In my case the risk seemed small until I started to enjoy the reward.

Healthy Smoothie for Celiacs and Other Diets

I found out I was a Celiac (Gluten Intolerant) a few years back. I thought at the time it was almost the end of the world. Everything I wanted to eat was making me ill because it had wheat either as a main ingredient, or disguised under another ingredient name. After a week of not eating any foods with wheat, I felt so much better I did not care that I was eating almost nothing I used to eat. There was not a lot known about Celiacs then, and what I learned I learned piecemeal.

Recently I created a good for me (you) smoothie. Whether you are Gluten Intolerant or want something low calorie and filling to eat, to help with a diet, here is a simple smoothie I make and drink. It only takes a minute or two make and it keeps me full. I am not sure whether it is because of the roughage, or the vitamins and minerals, but it fills me up, and when I wake up in the morning I am hungry, but not famished. It also seems to stay with me through the day. I get hungry, but not like when I have not drank one the night before.

Healthy SmoothieIt doesn’t look really yummy, but it tastes ok and satisfies your appetite, plus provides needed roughage.

1/2 banana

1 Broccoli Stem & Floret

1 Brussels Sprout

1/2 carrot (~ a five inch piece of carrot)

Spinach Leaves with stalk (~ 12, more or less depending on how much you want)

~ 8 – 10 ounces Soy Milk – I am sure regular milk works just fine.

~ 1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt

Even Less Ground Pepper

Add ice if you need to. Mix in a blender until smooth. Don’t be afraid to add other items to change the taste. I use blueberries, squash, peanut butter, spices, almost anything.

Be careful with the fruits though, fruits can add a lot of sugar calories. Peanut Butter and Nuts add fat which also may not be wanted.

For me, I have found that trying to eat as I used to is a waste of time and way too many calories. Too much of the gluten free breads and pastries are too calorie dense, and taste deficient, not to mention outrageously expensive. I enjoy a lot of beans cooked different ways, Corn – Tortillas & Chips, and Oatmeal in different ways. Rice (boiled and tortillas) on occasion. Almost the whole produce section of the grocery store is mine for the eating with the exception of a few vegetables.

There are some articles across the internet that claim a celiacs diet is unhealthy. Completely untrue unless one chooses to only eat carb dense, gluten free ‘normal food’ wannabe foods. In fact a well rounded Celiac diet is closer to the Paleo Diet than almost any other diet. It can be full of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meats.

I found a great meal recipe website recently for those that want to eat as if they are not gluten intolerant, learn how to cook gluten free, or start cooking in general. The Baking Beauties, is ran by Jeanine who I never met, out of Manitoba, Canada. She has a really great site, and is a great celiac recipe and cooking resource.

If you are interested in more general gluten free or Celiac posts, or interested in a regular diet that actually works, check out the celiac and diet posts on There is also a link on the right side of the web page.

When you meet someone who is Gluten Intolerant they are sometimes overweight. This is a general side effect of Celiac’. The small intestine over produces its protective coating, and much nutrition is lost because it can’t be absorbed, leading the person to be overly hungry. Even though they eat enough each day, their body doesn’t absorb enough nutrients. Sticking to a well balanced gluten free diet is the best fix for being overly hungry, but not always a cure or fix.