In Defense of Starch: How Carbs Can Fit Into a Paleo Diet

Photo by Christian Guthier via Flickr.comThanks again to all that have reviewed the book. We’ve mentioned it before but we are truly grateful. It is a terrifying thing to hope that people “get” what you have done and provide a place for them to leave an indelible, public critique of your pride and joy. But your comments have been amazing. To see reviews from all over the world and from people actually making the recipes and reporting back with rave reviews removes so much of the anxiety. We’re proud to have reviews like that, from real users. Not the  kind that write an infomercial sales pitch version of the book with compliments like “looks great”. We strive to be genuine in all we do and recommend. We’d rather put our effort into making something worth liking than trying to fool you into believing we have. Random side note: Much to my chagrin, and at our illustrator’s insistence, I joined Instagram.  I’m only using it to “creep” on #primalcravings and #healthbent; I’m not interested in posting anything–like I really need another social media outlet to suck at, but it’s been extremely cool to see what y’all are making.Some of our reviews mention the starch content in the book in a negative context. We thought we’d address our feelings on that here, for what it’s worth….We  recommend what we’d refer to as a “low-carb” diet, but to us the “low” implies a lesser amount relative to the Standard American Diets 300-500 grams. To those who consider low to be an Atkin’s induction phase (or any other ketogenic diet) at 0-50 grams of carbs per day, it’s probably more accurate to call what we believe in a moderate-carb diet. As we personally fall in the 75-200 grams per day of carbohydrates. The amounts vary based on our training and current goals (and male/female).To obtain those carbs, we don’t see harm from (and actually see benefit with) starch. We are big fans of Paul and Shou Ching Jaminet’s work in this arena. In their book The Perfect Health Diet, the Jaminet’s argue for including what they call “safe starches” which include plantains, tapioca, rice, and potatoes of all kinds and colors.Citing several ways at which they arrive at what The Perfect Health Diet would consist of; they argue that in many cases nutrient deficiencies can arise from a paleo diet that is too low in carbs for long periods of time.We certainly have nothing against ketogenic or very low carb diets. And we know that there are certain conditions that they suit very well, in addition to being very effective for weight loss. We just don’t think that the extreme necessarily means that it’s more healthy long term. We don’t believe that insulin is evil or that rises in blood sugar from sensible choices are unnatural/dangerous in those with normal metabolisms. We agree with Kurt Harris’ assessment that very low carb diets are unnecessary and can be problematic long term. That said, if you were eating very low carb for any reason we still feel the book contains many (90+!) recipes that would be suitable and knock-your-socks-off tasty.In what I’d estimate is about 30 of the 125+ recipes, we use tapioca flour or some form of starch, with tapioca flour as the basis of our baking. These starches and flours are only used where other traditional paleo recipes would include almond flour. And we’ve written about why we avoided using almond flour.  Not only have we been able to use about half the amount of total flour for the same yield out of baked goods (which usually contain coconut flour too, so it’s not all starch), but we also use the minimum of sugar (less than traditional almond paleo recipes) and the carb load is actually not as much as or that different from traditional almond flour recipes.CrossFitters and all other active folks will likely do well with some starch with amounts depending again on size/activity level/goals/gender. And honestly I’d be pretty surprised if anyone reading this wasn’t incorporating much good activity into their day-to-day since paleo as a lifestyle is about more than just what we eat. It’s about using our bodies to stay capable.We do think “carbs can be evil” but isn’t this stigma that all carbs are terrible like saying all fat is evil because trans fats are? We just want to be careful with lumping all carbs in the same boat with processed non-food foods. At first, the paleo diet was labeled as “lean meats only”. A trend that has since been bucked and it seems that to some the same is now happening with carbs. The paleo diet can be a very low carb diet but it’s not synonymous.Last, we do have a great primer to the paleo diet in the front of the book. It’s probably already apparent from the rest of this article that our take is slightly unique in some ways. We say in the book that the recipes are of course the books primary intent, but that since they are recipes about a dietary lifestyle, we’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on what our principles are and how we use those recipes.The recipes in our book are how we really eat within the context we describe in “our philosophy”.Everyone has their own context of how things work for them. We do get a little sick of the warnings that people try to give about sweets and treats. “Don’t eat this at every meal”…”this isn’t how you should always eat”…and blah, blah, blah. Not only are they likely overstating the supposed “danger” of some carbs (and projecting it onto everyone without regard for individual variance) but it’s extremely patronizing to assume you have to save everyone from their own ignorance. And is there really anyone anywhere thinking that a treat of any kind, paleo or not, is appropriate all day every day?fictional person: “Well I’m so excited, I’ve made 17 cookie and cake recipes and I’m all set for my meals for the week.”fictional snob: “You shouldn’t eat treats at every meal, or all day every day.”fictional person: “Noooooooooooo. Thanks so much for letting me know. Now what am I going to do with all 50 lbs of these treats?”Sound realistic? To us it’s on par with suggesting a glass of wine or a cocktail can be good for you but feeling the need to add a disclaimer…”Now make sure you don’t drink 413 of them per day or from a beer helmet while on the way to work!” No shit.To describe our view on the paleo diet we use our “umbrella diagram” expertly illustrated by our artist Danna Ray. We try to make this thing as simple as possible! We get fed up with books and sites that at times seem to want to complicate it and add impractical “rules” that add more hassle and undue neurosis about food choices. Our diagram ties together our motivation for eating this way in the first place, the principles that determine what foods to choose (for autonomous decision making), and what the foods included are. But it emphasizes what to avoid since we really feel that’s the most unifying principle of paleo diet evidence and the biggest impact.We just wanted to have our view accompany the recipes to highlight our subtle differences but also to provide a solid yet hopefully very reasonable and non-dogmatic version of what the diet is in hopes that the book would make a great gift to those with less paleo knowledge.There are so many “intro to paleo” books out there now. Our real emphasis for this book was to try and create recipes to blow your mind, but we didn’t want you to need an “intro to paleo” book to go with it if you were just learning about the diet.We wanted to explain the diet our way and then provide the recipes before anyone can even utter the phrase “so now what can I eat?”.

Chunky Monkey Muffins

 This recipe is from our cookbook, Primal Cravings: Your Favorite Foods Made PaleoA classic combination of bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Make sure you use bananas that are brown and spotty. If they’re too ripe for eatin’, then they’re perfect for beatin’—errr, baking with.Yield: 12 muffins½ cup coconut flour½ cup tapioca flour1 teaspoon baking soda½ cup butter, melted½ cup coconut sugar1 cup mashed bananas, from ~2 medium bananas1 teaspoon vanilla extract4 eggs½ cup chocolate chips½ cup walnuts, choppedPreheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, tapioca flour, and baking soda.In another large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, bananas, vanilla extract, and eggs.Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.Gently fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Divide batter among the lined muffin cups.Bake until the muffins have puffed and the edges have slightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

15 Minute Apple Crisp (Nut Free)

 Yield: 1 serving. Just kidding (but not really)butter, for the skilletsquirt of lemon juice, about 1 teaspoon2 lbs apples, peeled, cored, & chopped1/3 cup apple juice concentrate (in the freezer aisle)1/4 cup raisins1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground ginger1/4 teaspoon grated nutmegFor the Topping3 tablespoons tapioca flour1 tablespoon coconut flour2 ounces (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes1 tablespoon apple juice concentratePlace your oven rack in the middle of the oven and turn on broil.In a medium oven-safe skillet (cast iron recommended), melt a few tablespoons of butter of medium-high heat. Add in the lemon juice, apples, apple concentrate, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir to combine and let cook until the a.j. concentrate has reduced and things get bubbly, about 5-6 minutes, then turn off the heat.Meanwhile…In a small bowl, combine the tapioca and coconut flours. Toss in the butter and use your hands to create small pea-sized crumbs. Gently stir in apple juice concentrate.Sprinkle the mixture evenly on top of the apples and place in the oven. Broil until the top has lightly browned, about 4-6 minutes.

Chili, Garlic, Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I know it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted anything–and I don’t really see that changing much in the future. A few reasons why: a.) We’ve got our fingers crossed that our CrossFit gym will f.i.n.a.l.l.y. be open by the end of November, which means virtually zero time logged in the kitchen and b.) I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’m pretty much “out of love” with the Paleo Diet, the circle jerks, the zealots, and the “true believers” that go along with it. Honestly, I’m not sure where I am with it, regarding this website.I’m a chronic self-experminter when it comes to diet and I most certainly don’t mean detoxes, deprivation or 30-day challenges–extremes that go hand-in-hand with Paleo. Neither of us believe in that–and we wrote about it on our book. I mean looking at what people with differing opinions have to say about food, diet, performance, quality of life, etc. and I plan on writing about what I’ve been eating and reading, probably next week.3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubesjuice and zest of 1 lime~2 t chili powder~½ t granulated garlicsaltneutral-tasting oil (high-oleic sunflower oil or butter would work great)Preheat your oven to 400ºF.Place sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet, topped with a silicone mat, and toss with lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add enough so it looks like everybody is coated well.Cook, undisturbed, until the sweet potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside–stirring around every 15 minutes–for about 30-45 minutes total–depending on how small your sweet potatoes are.Once the sweet potatoes are done, place them in a serving bowl, and toss with the reserved lime zest and taste for flavor–usually needs a bit of salt.

Barbacoa Meatballs with Guac

 I love barbacoa, but I usually don’t (a.k.a. never) have the foresight to stick a huge hunk of meat in the crock pot before I think, “Mannnnn, barbacoa sounds soooo good right now.” Yeah I could go to Chipotle and pick something up, but that would also mean I would need to have showered and look/smell somewhat presentable-ish, and I’m not always down for that. So here we have it; I can look like a scrub and eat the same flavors, in about 30 minutes.For the Meatballs2 pounds ground beef (use 80/20 or they may be dry)2 teaspoons granulated garlic2 teaspoons ground cumin2 teaspoons smoked paprika2 teaspoons dried oreganosalt to taste1 teaspoon ground coriander1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamonzest of 1 limeFor the Guacamole2 ripe Haas avocadosjuice of 1 limesalt to tastePreheat your oven to 400ºF.In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together all the meatball ingredients. Use a cookie scoop to portion the meatballs into a 9×13 oven-safe baking dish. Bake until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.Meanwhile, make the guacamole by smashing all the ingredients together.

Buffalo Greek Caesar Salad

An oldie, but goodie–revamped with a new pic…Yup, that’s a long ass title..but I said it. There’s no other way…I mean, what are you supposed to do when you love Caesar salad, Greek salad and buffalo chicken? Mix them all together and see what comes out. What came out was deliciousness. We roasted garlic for the Caesar dressing to add some serious flavor and are omitting dairy (parmesan). It may seem like a tedious task, but I highly, highly recommend you try it–even do a few heads, as opposed to a few cloves, because it keeps really well in the fridge and can be added to ANYTHING that calls for garlic. It’s worth the trouble, I promise.1 lb chicken, chopped in ½” cubes2 T FOC (fat of choice)3 T hot sauce1 t cajun seasoning (no salt added)–if you can’t find it or don’t have it, just use hot sauceHeat FOC and add diced chicken. Sear on high heat before flipping to facilitate the browning action. When the chicken is cooked through (10-15 minutes total, 5-7.5 per side) add hot sauce and cajun seasoning directly to pan…stir in and keep on low heat until ready to serve.½ C mayo2 T white wine or apple cider vinegar6 cloves roasted garlic or 1 teaspoon granulated garlicS & lots of PMake mayo per directions. I’m intrigued by PaleOMG’s blender bottle method–haven’t tried it, but will be soon. Peel the garlic cloves and place in a piece of  foil, drizzle with olive oil and crumple the foil into a pouch shape. Roast the garlic in a 400°F oven until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Don’t burn it! Add all the ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth. Parmesan would be a welcome addition here, if you wish. We didn’t use it and know it’ll be delicious either way.2 heads romaine, choppedroasted red peppers, dicedkalamata olivesfeta or Parmesan cheese, optionalanchovies, if you like ‘em8 ounces mushrooms, sliced thinS&PClean and remove gills from mushrooms. Slice thin. Saute the shrooms in your FOC, until softened. If you want, remove the chicken from the pan and use it to saute the ‘shrooms.Serve romaine topped with sauteed mushrooms, diced red pepper, olives, buffalo chicken and garlic dressing.

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins

I’m sitting at home, craving something reallllly sugary and sweet. You know why. Usually I’m a salty, crunchy kind of snacker, but I had already eaten a bag of popcorn coated in butter and salt, and was still on the hunt for something to inhale.  I open the freezer, stare into the fridge, and dig through the pantry and all I can find are some frozen mango chunks and a half eaten jar of peanut butter; neither of which I’m particularly interested in. I find about 4 cans of pumpkin puree that I had picked up, all at different trips to the store I’m sure, thinking, “Hey, I need to keep this on hand for something.” And here we have our “something”. These have a bit more sugar than the usual 1/2 cup I call for, but without it, pumpkin just tastes like squash and that’s not at all why we crave pumpkin flavored everything this time of year–especially in my pms-induced sweet dreams. I had already eaten 3 muffins before I got the pictures off the camera.Yield: 12½ cup coconut flour (Let’s Do Organic)½ cup tapioca flour (Ener-g)½ t baking soda½ t baking powder¼ t salt1 ½ t ground cinnamon½ t freshly grated nutmeg½ t ground cloves½ c melted butter (or coconut oil or palm shortening)2/3 c sugar (I used plain old white sugar, ha)3 eggs1 c pumpkin puree (not quite a 15 ounce can)1 t vanilla extractextra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on topPreheat your oven to 350ºF and line a standard size muffin tin with liners.In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, powder, spices and salt.In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla.Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk to combine. Portion into your muffin liners. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with more sugar and cinnamon and it’ll bake into a nice crunchy topping. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

Estimado Paleo, renuncié.

Translate Request has too much data Parameter name: request Translate Request has too much data Parameter name: request Image: nataliedee.comWhat is Paleo? There doesn’t seem to be one, simple defining set of words, and yet, for years, we tried so hard to fit our ideas of what a healthful diet was into the confines of the term Paleo. That ends today. We are not Paleo. We are Health-Bent, so go ahead and unlike us on Facebook.We wrote about 80/20 living, X Number of Days Detox Deprivation Diets, and carbs in our book. So this really isn’t anything that’s changed with the way we think (Which is why we get pooped on for having carbs and dairy options in our book). We still eat and believe in the recipes in our book, but there a few things that lie outside the typical Paleo mindset.I do not have allergies, autoimmune issues, or celiacs, and I’m not overweight, and that seem to be why a lot of people decide to “go Paleo”. So, if you “went Paleo” for any of the aforementioned reasons, some of the things I discuss below may not pertain to you. Personally, I eat for health/quality of life, performance, and to look good naked. The content below is based on my own personal experience. Everyone is different, and we don’t all do/perform/look the same on the same diet. Please be respectful of that. I reserve the right to delete your comment if you’re being an a-hole.How it All StartedIt’s 2006, I was in college, and went in for a colonoscopy, and later, an endoscopy, all so the gastro could tell me I had IBS  and here take this pill. I wasn’t impressed. A few months later, Brandon read The Paleo Diet, and thought it could help. I read the book, agreed that it made sense and thus the ball got rolling. We went full-blown Paleo. After years of reading and self- experimentation, we’ve 80 percented our diet as Paleo for almost seven years (That was weird to write, I feel old.). We started CrossFit in 2009, are pretty good at it, and are currently set to open our gym, Base 10 CrossFit, at the end of November.Let’s Start a Blog & Tell People What We EatThroughout those years, we read the blogs and the books, and gave 2 hour long talks at the gym we worked out at. Our talks weren’t about cavemen and only eating what they had available, we talked about the science. Where we got it wrong was where we were looking for the science. We chose to reference the bloggers and books we read, from the people who were picking studies to prove their points; referencing PubMed and studies that, as a layperson, I couldn’t tell the grade A from the grade quack. I rarely (read never) clicked or looked up the reference links to read them for myself, and even if I did, would I even really know what it said (or didn’t say)? Probably not. I just believed the interpretation I was reading. I realized we were cherry picking the cherry pickers, and needed to find/read sources that were selling research, not a diet and a slew of products to along with.From the very beginning, we always tried to convey ideas of 80/20, moderation, and enjoying the food we prepared and ate. We battled the Paleo Purists, and the “paleo-izing” of our favorite conventional foods & flavors, being told by one popular Paleo blogger that we had “sucrose sweetened venom” running through our veins. Lol. All so now those same dogmatic purists sell the same message, via hypocrisy, in the form of diet books, product affiliations, and cookbooks. Needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway), we don’t participate in the Paleo circle jerk (I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine) and don’t really find ourselves wanting to be associated with people who perpetuate perfection, dogma, treat/carb-shaming, and disordered eating a la guilt and excuse making when they eat “unpaleo” food. Anyway.Eating “Clean”Neither one of us are fans of the super strict challenges. Sure it helps people, and I’m happy if that’s what motivated you to make a change and you’ve experienced positive results because of it, but we think those types of challenges are completely unnecessary if you aren’t extremely overweight/obese, suffering from autoimmune/allergy issues, etc. Beyond that, I’ve never understood why craving something is bad. Why challenging yourself not to eat fill-in-blank for x number of days makes things better? What proof is there that some arbitrary number of days is going to “cure” you of those cravings anyway? And if you’re prone to disordered eating (more of us are than you realize), I really think these challenges of eliminating certain groups of food can makes things worse. It’s an unnecessary test of willpower. If the day after the challenge is over and you binge eat on the “not healthy” foods (who wouldn’t), that is proof enough for me that the challenge does nothing to “cure” you of any so-called “cravings” or “bad habits”.Read it…it’s worth it, I promise. Why “Clean Eating” is a Myth -impruvism.comOrthorexia/Disordered Eating & CarbsI came across the website GoKaleo.com and read about her weight loss success and her current diet. She’s vegetarian (I think), and eats a ton of carbs. I died. I couldn’t believe it. How did she not regain weight? How was she so ripped? Carbs are evil!I was eating a typical paleo diet: lots of meat, vegetables with fat on top (butter, olive oil, etc.), virtually zero nuts, very little fruit, and I looked swollen & puffy, my face was broken out, and I consistently bonked during my workouts. I wasn’t happy.This was when I began to realize that a.) I was eating too much and b.) I may have a tinge of disordered eating. Even with my disdain for 30 day detox deprivation diets, I realized that I was afraid to eat carbs. I didn’t vilify carbs per se, but how many carbs I ate took precedence over everything else. With no measurable results of my own, except that I wasn’t as lean as I used to be, I chalked it up to CrossFit and muscle (that you couldn’t see very well, because it was covered by a cushion). With all the hard work I was putting in to the gym, why wasn’t I happy? If calories don’t matter then why don’t I look the way I want to? That’s when I realized maybe I have this all wrong.Energy Balance & Looking Good NakedLet me be very frank here: If you don’t look good (my idea of good), I’m not particularly interested in taking your advice. Shallow? Snarky? Maybe. But if you don’t walk the walk, then, to me, you have have little credibility–I don’t care how many letters you have (or don’t have) after your name. And within the Paleo community, there are very few “credible” looking female figureheads. In other words, I’m not really inspired by many female paleos.“Recently on the Internet, a common meme is that the application of thermodynamics to the human body is incorrect.  This usually comes out of people talking about something that they clearly do not understand in any way shape or form which is the energy balance equation.” – Lyle McDonald via http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.htmlThis is totally me (and most of us, I think). Paleo says don’t worry about calories, they don’t matter. Keep your insulin & blood sugar low, and you can eat all the meat, fat, and vegetables you want. That’s what I did. And that did not work for me (see above). I don’t have a science background, but I have enough common sense to know that if I’m doing what I’m told and I don’t like the results, then it’s time to stop, reevaluate and try something different.“You have to be in energy surplus to gain weight and deficit to lose weight.  There are some dietary factors that dictate how much of that weight is fat vs. lean, but this appears to be largely dependent on protein and activity.  And it’s a lie that carbohydrates + high insulin favors energy storage as fat while fat + low insulin favors energy usage.  In the end, our carbohydrate stores are so small as to be negligible in determining long term energy balance.  We get fatter if we eat more calories because fatty acids have high energy density, and we store them in fat cells because that’s what they are designed for.  When you are in caloric surplus to the tune of 3500 calories, roughly one pound of lipid is deposited, hopefully in your fat cells.  How this exactly equates to a pound of adipose tissue or other tissue it might be deposited in and/or associated water weight is where the fuzziness comes in, but this doesn’t change the nature of calories and energy.  There’s no magic.” -Evelyn via http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/2013/07/calories.htmlInsulin“One of the biggest misconceptions regarding insulin is that it’s needed for fat storage.  It isn’t.  Your body has ways to store and retain fat even when insulin is low.  For example, there is an enzyme in your fat cells called hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL).  HSL helps break down fat.  Insulin suppresses the activity of HSL, and thus suppresses the breakdown of fat. This has caused people to point fingers at carbohydrate for causing fat gain.However, fat will also suppress HSL even when insulin levels are low.  This means you will be unable to lose fat even when carbohydrate intake is low, if you are overeating on calories.  If you ate no carbohydrate but 5,000 calories of fat, you would still be unable to lose fat even though insulin would not be elevated.  This would be because the high fat intake would suppress HSL.  This also means that, if you’re on a low carbohydrate diet, you still need to eat less calories than you expend to lose weight. Now, some people might say, “Just try and consume 5000 calories of olive oil and see how far you get.”  Well, 5000 calories of olive oil isn’t very palatable so of course I won’t get very far.  I wouldn’t get very far consuming 5,000 calories of pure table sugar either.” -James Krieger via http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319“Carbohydrates get a bad rap because of their effect on insulin, but protein stimulates insulin secretion as well(ZING!).  In fact, it can be just as potent of a stimulus for insulin as carbohydrate…The bottom line is that insulin doesn’t deserve the bad reputation it’s been given.  It’s one of the main reasons why protein helps reduce hunger.  You will get insulin spikes even on a low-carb, high-protein diet.  Rather than worrying about insulin, you should worry about whatever diet works the best for you in regards to satiety and sustainability.”-James Krieger via http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319 (my zing, not James’)“As I mentioned earlier, people seem to confuse blood glucose control and insulin control.  It is the management of blood glucose itself that is partly responsible for the health benefits of low-glycemic carbohydrates, or reducing carbohydrates, or increasing protein intake, or consuming dietary fiber, or consuming fruits and vegetables, or consuming whole foods over processed foods.  It is not the control of insulin; the control of insulin ends up being a byproduct of these other behaviors through improvements in insulin sensitivity (how responsive your cells are to insulin) and reductions in blood sugar swings.” -James Krieger via http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=459More about insulin and how it works in the body: Insulin…More of a Traffic Cop Than a Storage Hormone: http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=571“It is clear that dairy products are extremely insulinemic, moreso than many high carbohydrate foods.  Thus, if the carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis were true, then we would predict that a diet high in dairy products should promote weight and fat gain.  However, studies fail to show any relationship between dairy product intake and weight gain…The evidence is overwhelming that dairy products do not promote weight gain, and they actually inhibit weight gain in animal studies.  This is despite the fact that dairy products produce very large insulin responses, as much or greater than many high carbohydrate foods.  Thus, it is clear from this article, as well as my previous articles, that the carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis is incorrect.  Insulin is not the criminal in the obesity epidemic; instead, it is an innocent bystander that has been wrongly accused through guilt by association.”-James Krieger via http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=536And also, The Carbohydrate Hypothesis of Obesity: a Critical Examination via Stephen Guyenet: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.htmlContext, Dose, and Logic “So why is it in the field of nutrition and training that the majority seem to think in absolutes where the context of the situation is never taken into consideration?  Because as often as not, it isn’t.   Rather, individuals will state in absolute terms, regardless of context that such and such is good, or bad, or best, or worst.   Squats are good, squats are bad, carbs are good, carbs are bad, saturated fats are good, saturated fats are bad.  Pick a topic and you’ll find extremist, absolutist viewpoints on all sides…Because what might be perfect for a given situation could be the absolute worst choice for another situation.  Whenever someone starts speaking in absolutes, it’s clear that they aren’t thinking about the situation, they’ve ignored the context. In their mind, there’s only one answer (usually what works for them or whatever propaganda they’ve absorbed to the point of repeating it without thought) and the context be damned.” -Lyle McDonald via http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-importance-of-context.html“Yes, Kale does contain chemicals, all foods do. In very large amounts or in certain vulnerable people could cause problems. Many of the studies I chose involved animals with a diet almost completely based on kale, which I think anyone will agree is a bad idea. Most also involved varieties not sold for human consumption and consumed in ways that humans might not consume- uncooked, un-marinated, etc. A lot of the rest involved just scary language about various chemicals and studies involving isolated chemicals.” -Melissa McEwen via http://huntgatherlove.com/content/just-kale-me-how-your-kale-habit-slowly-destroying-your-health-and-worldRead the article. It’s satirical, but it makes a fantastic point–any food can be made to look unhealthy. It’s dose. Replace “kale” with “gluten” or “fructose” and this sounds like every excerpt I’ve read from someone tying to sell Paleo. Animal trials (I am not a mouse, and neither are you), or human trials on sedentary, overweight and deconditioned/untrained people (which I am not), dosage administered way beyond a normal intake, sometimes through the brain (I like to use my mouth to eat), and isolating the nutrient/food/chemical.A few other interesting points from Alan Aragon via: http://www.nsca.com/uploadedFiles/NSCA/Inactive_Content/Program_Books/PTC_2013_Program_Book/Aragon.pdf:“Comparitive research favoring Paleo diets have failed to match macronutrient intake, making it impossible to isolate the inherent benefit of Paleo-approved foods.”This includes calories, and should immediately raise your critical thinking flag.“It’s impossible to universally define the diet of our prehistoric ancestors due to widely varying intakes according to food availability and geographical location.”We’ve said this many times. Think about it.On Grains:Claim: “Grains contain phytates and oxalates, which are antinutrients (designed to protect the plant), reducing the bioavailability of essential minerals”Evidence: “Phytates and oxalates are not exclusively contained in grains. They exist in a wide range of plant foods, including green/leafy vegetables…Selectively claiming that certain plants should not be eaten because they were designed to resist consumption is as illogical as claiming no one should eat animals with defense against predation.”Question: “Are there some populations of people that you believe are extremely maladapted to Neolithic diets and therefore should avoid grains and legumes altogether?”Answer: “I don’t think it’s practical or even accurate to assume population-wide extreme intolerance to grains and legumes. The issue with grains inevitably boils down to some level of gluten intolerance. The most current estimates of celiac disease prevalence fall below 1% of the population. As far as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) goes, a very recent study led by Daniel DiGiacomo of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University estimated that the national prevalence of NCGS is a smidge over 0.5%, which is about half the prevalence of celiac disease. I’ve seen higher gluten sensitivity prevalence estimates in less reliable literature, but the bottom line is that the gluten-tolerant fraction of the population is likely to be well over 90% of us. So, it simply makes no sense to view gluten-containing foods as universally “bad.” Adding to the illogic of banning foods that are tolerable by the vast majority of the population, the traditional Paleo diet doctrine selectively ignores the fact that ‘Paleo-approved’ foods (i.e., nuts, fish, and shellfish), have a combined prevalence of allergenicity comparable to – and by some estimates even greater  than that of gluten-containing grains. Another amusing fact is that 4 of the 8 “major food allergens” designated by the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act are Paleo-approved.” -Alan Aragon via http://paleomovement.com/alan-aragon-paleo-critic/On Dairy:Claim: “Cow’s milk is good for baby cows, but not humans. We are the only animal that drinks the milk of other animals.”Evidence: “…Who gets to decide which parts of the cow we should consume? It’s perfectly Paleo to eat the cow’s muscle, but not the milk that laid the foundation for the growth of those same muscles?”On Fructose:“So, is fructose really the poison it’s painted to be? The answer is not an absolute yes or no; the evilness of fructose depends completely on dosage and context. A recurrent error in Lustig’s lecture is his omission of specifying the dosage and context of his claims. A point he hammers throughout his talk is that unlike glucose, fructose does not elicit an insulin (& leptin) response, and thus does not blunt appetite. This is why fructose supposedly leads to overeating and obesity. Hold on a second…Lustig is forgetting that most fructose in both the commercial and natural domain has an equal amount of glucose attached to it. You’d have to go out of your way to obtain fructose without the accompanying glucose. Sucrose is half fructose and half glucose. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is nearly identical to sucrose in structure and function. Here’s the point I’m getting at: contrary to Lustig’s contentions, both of these compounds have substantial research showing not just their ability to elicit an insulin response, but also their suppressive effect. on appetite [3-6].” -Alan Aragon via http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/Performance & Fat Adaption“Low-carb diets have never gained a foothold in professional sport for one simple reason; professional athletes are expected to perform consistently at a high level. Their very livelihood depends on it. If their performance suffers, all hell breaks loose. Sports columnists start writing savage critiques, fans start calling for their heads, sponsors start wondering whether they should continue with lavish endorsements, and team selectors start sizing up other promising athletes as potential replacements. So, apart from the occasional wayward Joey, low-carbohydrate diets are avoided like an infectious disease in the upper echelons of sport. Given that they’ve been repeatedly shown to kill performance in glycogen-dependent activities, it’s little wonder that top-flight athletes and their coaches avoid them like a bad smell…The bottom line is that both zero-carb and low-carb diets are a disaster for those engaged in regular strenuous exercise. And for anyone with a sound knowledge of the biochemistry of energy production, this is no big surprise…If you want to train, perform and look like a serious athlete, you better damn well eat like one. People who perform vigorous exercise have no business eating a diet best suited to diabetics and sedentary soccer mums.” -Anthony Colpo via http://anthonycolpo.com/why-low-carb-diets-are-terrible-for-athletes-part-2/“So what we have from Phinney’s study is sprinting performance that promptly went down the crapper, worsening endurance performance in 2 of the cyclists even at low exercise intensity levels, no significant change in another of the cyclists, and extremely unlikely increases in “endurance” in the remaining 2 that are most likely an artifact of test familiarization. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the pinnacle study from which we are supposed to conclude that low-carbohydrate dieting will not hurt endurance cycling performance.” -Anthony Colpo via http://anthonycolpo.com/why-low-carb-diets-are-terrible-for-athletes-part-2/“During an interview at the [CrossFit] Games every individual athlete was asked who follows a paleo diet, and not a single one raised their hand.” -Talayna Fortunato, CrossFit Games competitor, via http://wodsuperstore.com/blogs/news/9623173-top-10-mistakes-crossfitters-makeSidebar Figuring Out My IBSIssues with my gut would wax and wane over the years. Sometimes I felt okay, sometimes I was pumped up like the Hindenburg. It wasn’t until 2011 when I read about FODMAPs and realized what MY IBS was…I can eat a meal full of gluten, grains, sugar and dairy (pizza and ice cream is my particular favorite) and wake up the next morning with a completely flat stomach, and no bubble guts (you know the gurgle noise your tum-tum makes) to speak of. What really sends me running for the bathroom and gives me a food pooch rivaling a 2nd trimester pregnancy are vegetables. Not all vegetables, but certain FODMAPs (pdf). Bloat sets in after I eat cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, eggplant, kale, raw zucchini, beets, most dried fruit, and chicory root or inulin. So, I avoid most of this stuff. It’s so funny to me the things that are unarguably Paleo are the things that mess me up the most.What I Do NowWithin my routine below, there is some context that is important to know: I do CrossFit 4 times a week and want to eat to fuel performance, look good naked, and for overall health and enjoyment (that’s really important to me). I don’t have very much weight to lose, but I gain weight very easily–I’m the “last 5 pounds” kind of person. I have to work pretty hard and be very “present” about the food and quantities I eat to remain lean. My personal goal is to be a little bit leaner, not 6-pack ab- body builder lean, just leaner. It’s completely cosmetic and superficial, I know, but that’s what I want and I’m not ashamed of it.1. My priorities are: Calories > Protein > Carbs > Fat2.Within that hierarchy, I want to eat a varied diet, made of whole foods, most that I prepare myself. That’s nothing new.3. Calories. Calories do count.  I believe that. First week, I weighed most of the food I ate (and I continue to do that off and on), so I could see what 4 ounces of meat looked like, or 1/2 cup of a rice, and stayed around 1800-2000 calories a day. I do CrossFit once a day, just whatever Brandon programs at the gym… strength, skill, and conditioning components are always there, but it’s a total of an hour of work, tops.4. Protein. Most mornings I eat low-fat plain greek yogurt of low-fat cottage cheese for breakfast, mixed with sweetener like maple syrup or jam or a few eggs with some sort of toast, or very occasionally I’ll eat plain oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana. Lunch is leftovers or a salad with quinoa or a rice tortilla filled with meat and some cheese, snacks are vegetables (mostly cukes and red peppers) dipped in a yogurt dressing I make, fruit and/or a protein shake, and dinner is a lean protein, a veg, and some form of starchy carb.5. Carbs. I eat a lot more of them now. Things like potatoes and sweet potatoes, but also non-paleo things like: quinoa, rice, rice noodles, and really good sourdough spelt bread with lots of butter. I don’t completely eschew gluten, but I don’t eat it everyday either.6. Fat. It’s lower than it used to be, for sure, not because I think it’s bad, but because it’s not helping me reach my goals. I don’t eat bacon very often. I’m kind of sick of it anyway. I stick to leaner cuts of meat and add things like sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc. on top of the meat, so I can have greater control over the amount of fat I eat, because the #1 priority for me is calories.7. Breaks. Once or twice a week (sometimes more) we’ll go out or make and eat whatever we want. It’s usually pizza and either Ben & Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs. Yum.Simply put, I’m eating fewer calories, eating food that I like, and food that makes me feel full. It’s been really easy.That’s how things have been for the last 6 months. I lost 6 pounds easily, and have kept it off for the last 3 months, all without feeling deprived. I look better naked, my clothes fit better, I feel and do better in the gym, my skin has cleared up (with the exception of a minor blemish here and there) and I eat what I want when I want, in moderation. I feel really good. What else could I ask for?At the end of the day, we started this blog and called it Health-Bent, because that’s what we are. We’re not Paleo-Bent. We want to eat the way that makes sense to us, even if what makes sense changes. We don’t know what we don’t know, so that’s why we believe it’s paramount to continue to read, learn, experiment and keep an open mind.Resources: Who I Linked To & Who I ReadAlan Aragon alanaragon.comLyle McDonald bodyrecomposition.comMelissa McEwen huntgatherlove.comJames Kriegerweightology.netEvil Sugar Radio evilsugarradio.comArmi Legge  impruvism.comCarb-Sane carbsanity.blogspot.comGo Kaleo gokaleo.comWhole Health Source wholehealthsource.blogspot.comAnthony Colpo anthonycolpo.com

From the Book > Cheese Crackers (We made a boo boo)

 This recipe is in the snacks section of Primal Cravings, on page 196, except it doesn’t say “1/2 teaspoon baking soda”.I am mortified and so, so sorry. Ink is so very much more permanent than pixels on a screen. Oy vey.See what had happened was…Our editor gave us the good news that we’re already starting a second printing of the book, and to go through and look for any typos and what not. One of the things a few people had mentioned on Amazon was “What is 1½ cups of cheese?”–And I agree, that was silly of me. So we decided to re-make this recipe so we could use the weight of the cheese. Well, low and behold, I made a batch and was like,”Well these aren’t quite like the picture.” Don’t get me wrong; they were fine, but more like crispy cheese wafers. That’s when I realized there was no leavener in the ingredient list and I had a mild anxiety attack.We decided the best way to deal with this (if there is a best way) is to give y’all the corrected recipe. So here it is…Sidebar: Yo dairy haters, this is the only recipe in the book where you can’t remove or substitute dairy, so don’t go telling me this “isn’t Paleo” or whatever. I don’t wanna hear it.Yield: 2 dozen crackers4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese4 tablespoons butter (2 ounces or 1/2 stick), softened1/4 cup tapioca flour1 tablespoon coconut flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard1/4 teaspoon powdered onionPreheat your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Buzz until a ball of dough has formed.Use your hands to shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on the baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between each.Bake until the edges are slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

  The book has been out for almost 2 weeks now and we could not be more thrilled with the feedback we’re getting. Thank you all so much for the comments, emails and reviews. I have never written a review or even a blog comment in my life, so as corny and eyeball-rolly-worthy as it is; it truly means so much to us that you’d take the time to do it.One of the emails I received was from a mom whose daughter is allergic to nuts, and when she saw that we didn’t use any almond flour, she said she was over the moon. I might be paraphrasing. She was however wondering how she could adapt a certain cookie recipe that did call for nuts. We’ve got a handful of cookie recipes in the book, and 2 of them use almond butter as their base (for those with coconut allergies). Since I read the email, I started futzing around with Let’s Do Organic Creamed Coconut to see if I could come up with something. And for some reason, the nut-based Mexican wedding cookie came into my head. I’m a dodo. But anyway, a few tries later, this recipe took shape. Of course, since these cookies contain nuts, you could definitely leave them out for more of a traditional shortbread-like cookie. Baking times and yield may need to be adjusted.In other news, my Breaking Bad t-shirt came in the other day and I’m like a 5 year old in a princess costume…I can’t/won’t take it off. Brandon made me pose for a picture because he thinks I’m ridiculous. I chopped my head off because a.) I’m smirking and b.) we were on our way out the door to help some friends move and I looked like the way I mentioned in the Barbacoa Meatball recipe post. You think I just made that up? No way. I am either un-showered or wearing some form of spandex or sweat pant material 90% of the time. Yield: 12-18 cookies (depends on the pecans & cookie scoop size)Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Place the creamed coconut into a large bowl and microwave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, just until it’s soft enough to whisk. Finely chop the pecan pieces, or place them in a food processor and buzz them up. I should have buzzed, but I was being lazy and just chopped them. Add the pecan pieces/dust to the melted coconut cream, along with the sugar, egg, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well to combine. The batter will annoyingly clump inside the whisk, but it’s easy to get out. Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the batter onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bottom edge of the cookies start to look brown. Let the cookies cool COMPLETELY before eating. They harden up a bit, and taste much more wedding cookie/shortbread like. Dust with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar.