Tuesday 16 April 2013

Why I Eat Paleo

A lot of people are calling the Paleo or Primal Diets the new fad diets of the week. I’ve noticed that a lot of people get it confused with being gluten free. It seems that even family and friends don’t quite understand why I started eating this way, and why my husband is even jumping on board with some of these dietary changes.

I need to start this post by saying that I do not have Celiac’s Disease, nor did I ever claim to. I am medically confirmed as lactose intolerant and sensitive to yeast. I first started looking to a wheat-free/dairy free diet after seeing a naturopath  in 2006, followed by a medical Allergy Specialist in 2007. At the time, I was having repeat Urinary Tract Infections that could spread to my kidneys almost overnight. I noticed that once I reduced my sugar intake and avoided wheat and yeast, the problems seemed to go away. I also drastically reduced my dairy at this time and noticed that I was getting fewer stomach aches throughout the day. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with R that I was able to tolerate wheat and dairy again (and boy, 50 pounds and 9 months later, had I ever indulged).

After R, I began to slowly start trying to lose the remaining 30 extra pounds I took home from the hosipital. I noticed shortly after his first birthday that whenever I was eating dairy free, wheat free and processed food free, I felt better. I have been doing Wild Rose Cleanses for years, every 6 months or so, whenever I’m not pregnant or breastfeeding. On the cleanse, unlimited vegetables and low glycemic fruits are encouraged as well as nuts, seeds, fish and lean protein. I nearly always lose weight, I am not bloated and after the initial purge, I always have more energy.

This fall, it dawned on me, maybe I should endeavour to eat like this all the time? I know this is how my diabetic father eats, low glycemic foods, and how my mother with MS is told to eat, so why wait until I have to eat like this, and why not eat this way to STAY healthy and hopefully prevent or at least drastically delay any hereditary health issues. So, the short and long of it is, we try to eat raw, whole foods that are local and/or organic because we believe that it is best for our health, our community and our family.

Mid-summer, before cleanse or Paleo

Remembrance Day, following a Wild Rose Cleanse and discovering Paleo


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