Paleo Diet - Neander Selvan, USA. neander.pdf

Paleo Diet

Beat Diabetes, Hypertens Hyper tension, ion, Hyphyroidism, PCOD/PCOS, Obesity, Vitiligo, Vitiligo, Psoriasis and Numerous her Health Problems with Paleo Diet (or High Fat Low Carb Diet)..

English E-Book Initiative : Ravi, Sweden [email protected] Written By : Neander Selvan, USA. [email protected] Translated by : Sudha Ji, Bangalore.

Images Courtesy : Getty Images, Google and Internet.

Part 1 - Diseases of the Civilized mankind

My friend friend has been suffering suffering from Diabetes Diabetes for the past 25 years. His doctor doctor is also a diabetic. Both of them underwent the same treatment, went for walks together. But no cure was to be seen. Like the Western countries, in India also we are seeing widespread occurrence of diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Cancer, Heart attack. Nobody seems to know how to cure these diseases. So the only option left is to keep these under control. The doctors firmly believe that Diabetes cannot  be cured. Hence the patients also believe so. Matt Matter erss are wors worsee when when it come comess to Hype Hypert rten ensi sion on.. In this this case case,, the the first first and foremost advice given by doctors is : Reduce salt consumption. People suffering

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Images Courtesy : Getty Images, Google and Internet.

Part 1 - Diseases of the Civilized mankind

My friend friend has been suffering suffering from Diabetes Diabetes for the past 25 years. His doctor doctor is also a diabetic. Both of them underwent the same treatment, went for walks together. But no cure was to be seen. Like the Western countries, in India also we are seeing widespread occurrence of diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Cancer, Heart attack. Nobody seems to know how to cure these diseases. So the only option left is to keep these under control. The doctors firmly believe that Diabetes cannot  be cured. Hence the patients also believe so. Matt Matter erss are wors worsee when when it come comess to Hype Hypert rten ensi sion on.. In this this case case,, the the first first and foremost advice given by doctors is : Reduce salt consumption. People suffering

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from this disease start following a diet with less salt. Unable to sustain the diet, they come back to the doctor for the medicine. Here too, there is no sign of cure for  this disease. Few others try to eat healthy grains like brown rice, millets, ragi to get relief. But these grains only reduce the severity – but do not offer complete cure. Let us take some time to analyze few facts. Diseases like Hypertension, Diabetes, Cancer Cancer are preval prevalent ent only only in the civili civilized zed human human beings beings.. This This includ includes es people people living in cities and villages. Only wild animals living in jungles and tribal people who who stil stilll foll follow ow anci ancien entt life lifest styl ylee are are spar spared ed from from thes thesee dise diseas ases es.. It is clea clearl rly y evident that these diseases are seen only in civilized human beings living in cities and villages. We do not not hold hold trib tribal al peop people le in high high este esteem em beca becaus usee we cons consid ider er them them as uncivilized. But scientists who have done extensive research on their health and wellbeing have disclosed that they do not suffer from any ailments like obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, psoriasis or sinusitis. They surprised the scientists  by claiming that they didn’t even know about the existence of such ailments. There are lots of lessons to be learnt from these folks. Tokelau and PukaPuka are two islands situated near New Zealand. The population of Tokelau is 1400 and that of PukaPuka is 600.

This picture depicts tribal folks living in Tokelau islands. It can be seen that all of them are thin and fit. 3

Puka Puka Island and girls at a cultural night.

Tribal people living here, have been following ancient caveman lifestyle with no civilization at all. These islands are filled with sand – which is not suitable for any form of agriculture. Only coconut trees can grow in a place which has no soil and only sand. They relied only on fish, coconut, pigs, hens and tubers which were seasonal, for their food. Even the pigs were fed only with coconut. Their diet is considered to be very uninteresting. Though they bred hens, because of some superstition they did not feed on the eggs. Later, the modern world discovered them. Captain James Cook who travelled to these islands saw that men and women were fit, healthy with a divine beauty. The islands were captured and ruled by the Whites. Even then there was no change in the diet of these tribals. In the middle of 20 th Century, scientists conducted research on these tribals. They were surprised to see that though their diet was rich in fat, none of them had any diseases like heart attack or diabetes. They named this phenomenon as ATALL  paradox. French paradox, Italian paradox etc are similar phenomenon. These islands were later conquered by the Kiwis. The Government of New Zealand showed mercy to the inhabitants of the islands. So they sent consignments of rice,  bread, tinned meat, cake, biscuits to the island. After consuming these food items, the tribals in these islands slowly started becoming obese. Their health declined and diseases became very prevalent. No one had a clue about the cause of this situation. The very first hospital was built in the islands to treat the sick people. In the year 1966, since the weather was stormy, ships with the consignments could not reach the islands. The tribals in these islands reverted back to their good old

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diet. Slowly, improvement was seen in the health of the inhabitants. Once the storm subsided, again the ships with the consignments landed in the islands. The tribals started consuming processed food sent by New Zealand government. Their health started declining and diseases started looming again.

 Now, what about the tribals living in other islands? Dr. Weston Price travelled to the Cold mountains in Central Canada during 1930. Please find below an extract from his report :

Dr. Weston A Price  It is very difficult to travel to these Cold mountains. Because of the nature of the terrain, aero planes cannot land there. There are no good roads. With great  5

difficulty, we went there on a boat sailing on a frozen river. According to the pact  these tribals have with the Canadian Government, they are entitled to compensation. In addition to that, the Government also supplies food, clothes and other essential articles. But half of the tribals refused to accept the compensation and articles supplied by the Government, and the rest of the Tribals accepted them. So Dr Weston was able to meet people from both the categories.  In the subzero temperature, no plants can be grown. Even cattle rearing is not  possible because of low temperature. Since the rivers are frozen, fishing is also impossible. The only food they get to eat is the animals they hunt. This region has a good population of bears. So bear hunting is very common here. Insufficient vegetable intake in the diet causes a disease called Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency). I was surprised to see that none of them had Scurvy. So I  explained the symptoms of this disease and asked an old man if anyone known to him suffered from this.  He thought for a while and replied “None of us (Tribals) get that disease. But the Whites living here do suffer from this.” “The Whites consider us as uncivilized  Tribes. So they do not want to consume the medicine which we suggested to them”   He offered to show me the medicine for treatment of Scurvy. He said, “We do not  buy anything from the Canadian Government Grocery shops”. He took me to a  place where a deer had just been hunted. “Meat rich in fat, situated above the kidney of the deer, when consumed is a good cure for Scurvy” he stated.

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During those days, it was unknown to the field of Medicine that raw meat is rich in its Vitamin C content. Even without this knowledge, the Tribals had somehow realized that it was a good cure for Scurvy. Dr.Weston found that only 4 out of  2464 people in the Tribal community had Tooth Decay and Cavity – which is 0.16%. When the same survey was conducted in the City of Point Creek, he found that 25.5% of the people had tooth decay and Cavity. Diseases like Tuberculosis, Arthritis were also commonly found among the people living in the city of Point Creek. However none of the Tribals living in the mountains had these diseases. The diet of the Tribals comprised of meat laden with fat, which helped them to stay healthy. They did not consume Low fat milk, Oatmeal, grains, cereals, legumes which are considered to be healthy food in today’s world.  Not just these two case studies, but most of the Tribals lived only on fat, which came from the meat of the animals they hunted. Their diet also comprised of very few vegetables, and rare fruits which were available in the summer. Dieticians of  the Modern world would be shocked to know about their diet. But the Tribals

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stayed very healthy with the help of this diet. They did not need the help of  medicines, doctors or dieticians. The so-called healthy food consumed by the current generation – for ex. Corn flakes, Oatmeals, Skimmed milk, egg white are not meant to be eaten by human  beings. They are used to feed the pigs and fatten them up before slaughter. I have interviewed people who raise cattle and pigs. The follow the below mentioned technique to fatten up these animals before slaughter : Pigs are fed with skimmed milk. The Agricultural college, Oregon recommends that skimmed milk be fed to pigs to fatten them up. If fat content is more in the milk, it subsides hunger and hence skimmed milk was fed to the pigs to increase their appetite. Corn aids in weight gain. If a pig consumes 3.5 kilograms of corn, its weight increases by 1 kilogram. This is the same corn which is used in making corn flakes  – which is a popular breakfast among the urban folks. Slaughterhouses adapt a profitable strategy of increasing the weight of the pigs  before killing them. They are fed with Molasses, chocolates (remains discarded by the chocolate manufacturers), the day of slaughter. Because of carbohydrates intake, their liver expands by 34% & the pigs’ appetite increases, thereby leading them to consume more corn again leading to weight gain leading to better profit. The last few days before slaughter, the pigs are kept in shade, away from sunshine  – again aiding in weight gain. Deficiency of Vitamin D leads to weight gain. This is the reason why couch potatoes, who are not exposed to sunshine, become obese very soon. Lets think for a while. The same food which is used to fatten up and cause weight gain in pigs and cows, is sold in the grocery shops these days as healthy food. After  consuming these, how can we expect our weight to reduce? We can easily conclude that dietary habits followed by the current generation and also the food consumed by village folks – ragi (type of grains), unpolished rice etc, cannot keep us in the best of our health. Only tribals who continue to follow their 

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age-old dietary habits stay healthy and fit. The reason for this is not the physical exhaustion alone. Even people who do hard work physically seem to be affected by diseases like Diabetes, Asthma and Hypertension. These diseases are not incurable. It is a myth that they cannot be cured and hence need to be kept under control. Many people console themselves thinking that “On reaching 40 years of age, everyone is bound to get diabetes”. Even infants who are 6 months of age are affected by Type – 2 diabetes. The main cause for this is the consumption of artificial milk like Lactogen. These contain sugar, rice, wheat, soya  bean and artificial vitamins. Babies which are breastfed by their mothers never  contact such diseases. Let us see the harmful effects of the food grains like rice, wheat, ragi, millets which are used as our staple food.

Unfortunately staple food consumed by Tamilians (South Indians) are all rich in carbohydrates. Idli which is the most popular breakfast food item in South India –  is very rich in carbohydrates. One idli contains 15 grams of carbs. Eating one idli is equivalent to eating 4 spoons of white sugar. Eating 5 idlis along with sambar is equivalent to eating 75 grams of sugar. Many of you may think, that it is unfair to compare idlis with white sugar. Actually eating idlis is worse than eating white sugar. Because of the glucose present, these food increase the sugar level in our blood. Consuming typical diet followed by South Indians which is dominated with rice, wheat and other grains which are rich in carbohydrates is bound to lead to diseases 9

like Diabetes for sure. Eating food consisting of typical south Indian diet is equivalent to eating 500 to 750 grams of sugar per day. No wonder people eating such food get diseases like Diabetes and Obesity. Replacing rice with ragi, reducing the number of idlis only provides consolation to the minds of the consumers, but in reality the danger stays. How do we get full freedom from these diseases? The only solution is to adapt the Caveman diet. I am sure the readers of this article have a lot of questions like : If I eat meat every day, will my cholesterol level increase? If the diet is rich in fat, will it not lead to heart attack? Can these diseases be cured completely by following the Caveman diet? Let us discuss these in the next episode.

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Part 2 - The villain makes an entry

According to the law of evolution, human beings came into existence 2.6 million years ago. However humans discovered agriculture and started growing crops only 10,000 years ago. Reports from the Scientists who are conducting the research on the evolution have this to state : 99.99% of Human genetic patterns were formed before discovering agriculture. The modification over the last 10,000 years (i.e., after agriculture) is only 0.01%. Our genes do not identify with the modern day food items like Noodles, Corn

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Flakes, Coke, Pepsi, Burger. They are familiar only with the food which ancient human beings ate – meat, fruits and vegetables.

It has been well proven that primary food consumed by human beings was meat. Archaeologists have found evidence dating back to 3.2 million years ago, which show that humans have consumed only meat – with the help of stone age weapons. The Stone Age weapons discovered, show that they date back to 2.6 million years ago. Homo erectus species were ancestors to Homo sapiens (Human beings). It has  been clearly proven by Research teams that our ancestors like Homo erectus were  primarily meat eaters. Meat, fruits and vegetables were the only available food then. During that time, humans were not able to hunt down animals like deer, elephant,  because of non availability of suitable weapons to such huge animals. But their   primary source of food even then was only meat.

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Later during the process of evolution, man advanced himself in his way of living  by cooking the meat rather than eating raw meat. Human beings advanced leaps and bounds in the process of evolution mainly  because of one reason : Eating cooked meat. Raw meat took a long time to digest. But cooked meat was easily digestible and hence provided the much needed nutrition for the body. Cooked meat could be consumed in more quantity and also  provided Proteins, Vitamins and Minerals needed for the humans during those days. The human brain went through a great process of evolution and the thinking ability of human beings improved. This was an important phase in the process of evolution. Eating “cooked meat” differentiated human beings from the animals. Hypothetically, if man were allowed to eat only one type of food and he had to sustain, then that would be “meat”. No other single food is capable of providing him all the nutrients. Rice, wheat, legumes, coconut, banana … If man has to eat only one of these foods for several days; he would die because of nutrition deficiency. Even mother’s milk – which is considered to be the safest food on earth, does not have all nutrients for a grownup man to sustain on. However if a man consumes only meat, it provides all the required nutrition for his well being. In addition to that, meat food also cures him of all his diseases and he would become healthier. Meat is the only food which contains all the required vitamins, minerals and nutrients for a human being to live on. Meat is the food which has helped human beings evolve from his ancestors (apes). This is evidence enough to prove that meat is the primary and most essential food for human beings. Paleo diet is not something which was invented by a dietician or a scientist. This has been the primary food of human beings and has laid the foundation of the evolution of human beings.

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Let us time travel to 1962 and meet the first member of the Paleo diet family to understand more about this diet. Let us remember that during those days, words like “diet”, “gymnasium”, “treadmill” did not exist. During such days, a cook by name William Banting lived in England. He rendered his culinary services for the members of the royal family. He prepared rich and tasty food according to their  desire. He also ended up eating all the rich food he cooked. Slowly he became very obese when he was 30 years of age. He was so stout that he could not even bend down and tie his own shoe lace. He panicked and consulted a doctor. The doctor  gave him the regular advice asking him to exercise. William exercised hard, he  practiced rowing for 2 hours in a nearby lake. He became even more hungry and ended up eating more. He gained more weight and hence there was no solution to his problem. William was distressed and this time he was advised to eat low calorie food. He ate only vegetable salads and he exercised hard. This drove him to exhaustion and he was hospitalized. He continued the regime of exercising hard and eating low calorie food and after a year he had lost only 3 kilos weight. His hearing ability also started deteriorating. In 1862, William consulted yet another doctor by name Dr. Harvey. Glucose sugar  (Carbohydrates) had just been making news then. Dr. Harvey advised William to avoid any food which contained carbohydrates since it was the main cause for  weight gain. He recommended that William eat only meat, fish, eggs and cheese which had no carbohydrate content in them. William asked the most obvious question to Dr. Harvey : “If I eat meat, fish and eggs I am bound to put on more weight. How will I lose weight?” Dr. Harvey patiently explained that Carnivores like lion, tiger which eat only meat are never stout or obese, unlike herbivores ( elephant, hippopotamus …) William was convinced and adapted the diet recommended by Dr. Harvey. He ate only meat, eggs and fish for all his three meals. He would consume some fruits along with his evening tea. He completely avoided bread, milk, sweets and all food

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rich in carbohydrates. He ate huge servings of his food. He lost 30 kilos of weight in 2 years. He regained his hearing ability and also his good health.

He was very excited to see the results and hence wanted to share his diet details with the rest of the world. He wrote a book about his new diet in 1863 and since it contained revolutionary ideas, it became very popular. The word “Banting” was synonymous to the current world’s word “Dieting”. During those days, there were no practices like processing corn, oats to get corn flakes and oatmeal respectively, skimming milk to remove the fat, and eating only the egg white. Strangely in today’s world, people who want to stay healthy resort only to these food items. Thus “Banting diet” was the first form of Paleo diet. The book written by William became not just popular but also controversial. Doctors posed a lot of questions about the Banting diet : “What is the fundamental principle behind this diet” “How does this diet work?” Since William did not have answers to these questions, he was mocked at by the doctors. They criticized his book and completely ignored it. But people reacted differently. They placed trust and faith in this diet and started accepting it in their 

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lives. People who followed this diet saw benefits coming out of it. Obese people lost weight and this diet also cured people from a lot of ailments. However this did not get acceptance from the doctors. If Scientists analyze the anatomy of a bumblebee, they would come to a conclusion that it would never be able to fly. Its body structure is against the philosophy of  aeronautic engineering. But we see that bumblebees have been flying all over. Banting diet is also similar  to the Bumblebee. Many of the phenomena (like Banting diet) do not have clear  scientific explanation, but they are real life possibilities. Since Banting diet was  being accepted widely by people, doctors and scientists decided to do more research on the same. In 1890, Dr. Helen Densmore started recommending Banting diet to her patients. Her instructions were to eat more meat and vegetables and avoid

tubers like

 potatoes, sugar and bread. Patients who followed this diet, lost weight within a short period of time. This was a big turning point in the history of paleo diet. There was wide-spread acceptance for Paleo diet. Finally European and American doctors of those days announced their acceptance for Paleo diet. Paleo diet was recommended for people suffering from Diabetes. All books discussing about Diabetes also recommended Paleo diet for people suffering from this. From 1863 to 1950 (about 87 years) Banting diet (Paleo diet) was the only accepted and widely recommended diet by all the doctors. Let us see what caused people to move away from healthy Paleo diet to Low calorie diets. What made people think that Banting diet would cause weight increase in people? Why did people stop following this diet? Who created the twist in the tale? Who is the villain in this movie?

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The villain in this story made an entry in 1956. His name was Ancel Keys. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys) Ancel Benjamin Keys was an American scientist who studied the influence of diet on health. In particular, he hypothesized that different kinds of dietary fat have different effects on health. He examined the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and was responsible for two famous diets: K-rations, formulated as balanced meals for  combat soldiers in World War II, and the Mediterranean diet. Keys conducted extensive studies on diet and its impact on health across 22 countries. He published his article quoting the results from seven countries called “Seven countries study”. Keys postulated a correlation between cholesterol levels and Cardiovascular diseases. His postulate was “diet low in animal fat protected against heart disease and that a diet high in animal fat led to heart disease”. At a later stage, the data collated from the other 15 countries were also analyzed. It was discovered that cholesterol level and CVD had no direct correlation. The question of why data from only seven countries were considered for analysis was never  answered by Keys till his death. Though Keys’ postulate was proven wrong at a later point of time by scientists, no one questioned him during his tenure. Popular magazines like TIME and Reader's Digest published cover stories based on Keys’ conclusion.

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Dr.Ancel Benjamin Keys In the 1950s, Kelloggs brothers invented the process of manufacturing Corn flakes from Corn. It was widely advertised by Cereal manufacturers that cereals and skimmed milk would form the ideal breakfast for a healthy life. But Americans and Europeans shunned this recommendation. After Keys’ postulate was published and

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accepted by the American Government, people slowly started moving towards the “Cereal and milk” breakfast. Manufacturers of Cereals and skimmed milk started advertising widely and hence got a wide market share. Meat and egg sellers were small merchants and hence they could not match up to the publicity and advertising campaigns of the cereal makers. So they lost out their market share and customers. However lot of debate and discussion was going on among the scientists about the impact of Cholesterol on Heart diseases. The American Government formed a committee under the leadership of Senator George McGovern. McGovern used to follow a low cholesterol, vegetarian diet called “Pritikin diet”. He had no idea about food and nutrition concepts. He was born in a state where corn was extensively grown. He spoke to scientists belonging to both the schools of thought and submitted a random report to the US government. He stated that high cholesterol did have an impact on heart diseases. He also recommended a low cholesterol diet as a healthy diet. This report was accepted by the US Government. Health bodies like American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association also announced low cholesterol diet comprising of corn flakes, skimmed milk, oatmeal as healthy diet. These Associations received lot of funding from the manufacturers of these low cholesterol food products. Medical college textbooks and Medical journals were re-written based on this.

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Europe and USA are the pioneers in the world for all health and fitness related decisions. The rest of the world also jumped into the “low cholesterol diet”  bandwagon and started following the same blindly.

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The only reason junk food like Pizza and burger are so popular across the world is that they are consumed by people in USA and Europe. Asians like to follow Western lifestyle and it is evident from prevalent practices in Asian countries like smoking.

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Eggs and meat were shown the door, corn flakes and skimmed milk occupied their   place in the dining tables.

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Part 3 - What we need to learn from history

In 1931, Albert Schweitzer, a Christian Preacher travelled to Africa to spread Christianity. He was also a Philosopher and a social reformer. He built a hospital in one of the Western African villages to serve people. He cured the illnesses of about 2,000 people in a year’s time. After 41 years, one of the village men came to him with a problem in the appendix. Schweitzer expresses surprise that during those 41 years, he never came across even a single patient with cancer. Later he encounters people suffering from cancer  in the villages and reports that the main cause for the disease is “Africans also started following the Western diet” For 41 years, he has not seen a single instance of a person suffering from cancer, diabetes or Hypertension. This is evidence enough for us to understand that these 23

are the diseases of the modern man, whose diet had wavered away from the Caveman diet. Many people who have conducted extensive research on the Lifestyle and diet of  Tribals have concluded that Cancer is the disease of the modern man. All over the world, till human diet comprised of coconut, deer meat, fish, prawns, they did not encounter any diseases and stayed healthy.

(Vilhjalmur Stefansson)

(Albert Schweitzer)

Vilhjalmur  Stefansson was a scientist who travelled to North Pole in 1903 to study the life of the Eskimos there. He conducted his research there for about 5 years. This was the same time, when cancer was spreading across the European countries. In 1898, a book titled “Lancet” was published. It states that “50 years ago, in a sample of a 100 thousand people, 17 people suffered from cancer. It has increased to 88 people now”, thus confirming the rise in the number of cancer patients. Eskimos lived in snow filled region where there was absolutely no vegetation. They could not even light fire to cook food. So the Eskimos ended up eating only raw meat as their food. The survived on the meat of seal, walrus, whale and polar   bear – whose meat had high fat content. During summer, very rarely some vegetables would grow. Even these vegetables were consumed after dipping them 24

in animal fat. For 11 months in a year, these Eskimos lived on animal meat which was rich in fat content. Scientists were puzzled about how Eskimos were healthy without eating vegetables. There was no awareness about Vitamin-C. People travelling long distances using ships suffered from Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency) when they did not eat vegetables for a long time. Scientists also knew that Lemon juice was an ideal cure for Scurvy. But Eskimos did not eat vegetables for the whole year, yet they were healthy. Stefansson lived along with the Eskimos for five years and studied their lifestyle and diet extensively. After fishing, they had to wait for the frozen fish to thaw and  become soft. Then the cooking process would begin.

The head of the fish is specially reserved for children of the family since it is very nutritious. Then the fish meat is distributed to everyone in the family. Raw meat was the primary food of the Eskimos. Lunch and Dinner also comprised of fish meat. No spices were added to the meat. Stefansson says that he took a liking for  fish meat cooked in boiling water. The head of the fish is the most tastiest and contains maximum nutrition. Eating fish meat along with whale fat was a delicacy he states.

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However, he also states that food of Eskimos did not have salt. During August and September (Summer) the fish are caught. Since they cannot be preserved during the summer, they become stale. Eskimos considered eating stale fish as a delicacy. This was considered something similar to eating Vintage cheese. Stefansson writes that he also enjoyed eating stale fish. Once he met a European who came there on a sled. Stefansson borrowed little salt from him to eat along with the fish. But after just one meal, he stopped eating salt, since he enjoyed eating the fish without adding salt. He says his health improved to its peak during the time he stayed with the Eskimos and ate fish meat as food. Stefansson shares that he enjoyed eating fish meat as food every day. The Eskimos who eat only fish meat did not get scurvy and remained healthy. Extract from his notes : “During my stay with the Eskimos for five years,I saw that none of them had  dreaded diseases like cancer.Each woman gave birth to at least seven or eight  children. A hospital was established to provide healthcare services to the Eskimos.  But even before the doctors could arrive, the women would deliver children through normal delivery. The woman who delivered a child would offer hospitality to the doctor and team herself. They would be so fit even after the delivery of a child. None of the women underwent C section or there was no case of maternity mortality.He says he has met women who have delivered up to ten children and  were still fit and healthy.” These reports also act as a lesson for our lifestyle and diet. We need to understand that diet comprising of high cholesterol (meat, ghee, eggs, coconut) are very healthy and they do not make us obese. Instead they help in weight reduction and help us in staying healthy. Rice, wheat, fruits, white sweets, sugar do not have any cholesterol in them. But they are rich in carbohydrates. This is the cause for obesity and not the cholesterol in the food. Let us understand this better :

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Based on the body weight, scientists came up with the “Calorie equation”. According to this, if we eat more calories than we can burn, then we gain weight. We lose weight if we can manage to burn more calories than we consume. Some of  the deficiencies in the calorie based postulate are : 1. There is no mechanism using which we can compute the exact number of calories we manage to burn. Since this variable in the equation is not known, the “Calorie equation” becomes useless. 2. Again, there is no mechanism to measure the exact number of calories we consume. It is not practical to weigh the food before we eat. So, this also  becomes an unknown parameter in this equation. 3. Without knowing the calorie intake and calorie burn accurately, this equation is rendered useless, when it comes to weight management 4. What is misleading in this Calorie equation is : One chocolate has lesser calories than an egg, which means to state that eating a chocolate is healthier than eating an egg. This is incorrect. Using Calorie equation misleads people in weight management. Let us understand what causes our weight to increase:

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When we eat food which contains carbohydrates, there is increase in sugar level in our blood stream. To bring this under control, Pancreas secretes a hormone called Insulin. Once insulin is secreted, the carbohydrates are sent to liver for processing. Liver converts the carbohydrates to fat and it is sent to the abdomen are for storage. Once the sugar level in our blood reduces, it causes hunger in our body which forces us to eat again. When we eat food rich in carbohydrates again, the whole  process repeats which adds more and more fat to our abdomen. This continuous insulin secretion also causes the Beta cells in our liver to get worn out. This impacts secretion of insulin in our body and slowly leads to Diabetes. If  we eat food rich in cholesterol, there is no need for insulin secretion since the food does not contain any carbohydrates. If people suffering from diabetes consume only meat (which contains no carbohydrates) their blood sugar level will not increase and their body weight will not increase. It is very sad that people do not have awareness about Insulin. People assume that Insulin is relevant only in case of people suffering from Diabetes. Insulin plays a key role in the control of one’s body weight. One must understand this clearly  before deciding on one’s diet. The secretion of insulin is a preventive mechanism deployed by our body. The main responsibility of Insulin is to reduce the blood sugar level. It also issues commands to our body to move from “Fat burning mode” to “Fat Storage mode”. The excess sugar in our blood stream has to be converted to Fat and stored. So our   body cells also start conversion of Carbohydrates to Fat and then store fat in the abdomen region. Though we eat Low calorie food, the reason for weight gain is the presence of Carbohydrates in the food. Insulin causes Internal injuries and is also the cause for Heart attack, Ulcer, Obesity and other diseases. But Insulin is not a villain in our body. It is very much essential – else we would die. Insulin has an important role to play – “To keep our 

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 blood sugar level under control”. But excessive secretion of insulin because of the  presence of carbohydrates in the food causes diseases and also Obesity. Any diet mechanism which does not control insulin secretion does not succeed in controlling the body weight. Let us see the difference between eating 5 idlis (south indian breakfast - steamed rice cakes.) and 4 eggs for breakfast.

It is accepted by many people that Idlis are healthy for us. It is a actually a myth. If  we are asked to eat white sugar equivalent to the amount present in 5 idlis, would we agree to eat it? Snacks prepared from rice and wheat also cause increase in insulin levels in our blood, just as white sugar does. Eating grains like rice and wheat regularly as staple food only causes high insulin secretion, leading to fat storage and hence increase in body weight. This is like a chain process. Once blood sugar level increases, Pancreas secretes insulin, which leads to fat conversion of the Carbohydrates and storage in the abdomen area. The abdomen fat is stored in the form of Triglycerides. This is why  people who eat grain based breakfast feel hungry in the mid morning, leading to the consumption of more carbohydrates based snacks. This leads to further increase of body weight. What happens when we eat four eggs for breakfast? Eggs have zero carbohydrates. So there is no increase in the sugar level in the  blood. After fasting through the night, when we eat zero carbohydrates eggs for   breakfast, our body switches to fat burning mode, burns abdomen fat to get energy 29

for our day to day activities. This also causes the cholesterol in the eggs to be burnt up and hence there is no fat accumulation in our body. This also causes the reduction of fat in our abdomen, hence leading to weight loss. Hence it is highly recommended to have food with zero carbohydrates like eggs and meat – which directly help in less insulin secretion and reduction of body weight.

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Part 4 - “Slim is beautiful” - The 20th century slogan

We now clearly understand how Insulin plays a key role in weight gain. Unfortunately many people, who want to reduce their weight, do not understand the role of Insulin. Their dieticians and doctors are repeatedly advising them to eat low calorie food and exercise well for weight loss. This is derived from the “Calorie equation” : “Burn more calories than you eat”.

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Obesity being prevalent even among children, everyone is advised to exercise well to lose weight. People have started practicing morning walks in beaches and nearby parks in large numbers. Some people have resorted to cycling, to get to their workplace. Gymnasiums are mushrooming all over the place. People enroll themselves in these gyms and sweat out using modern exercise equipments like treadmills, stationary cycle…. Few others practice yoga with great enthusiasm. People believe in investing large amount of money in buying these exercise equipments and these have grown to be a good market in the industry. All this sweat is absolutely unnecessary. If people who want to lose weight understand the philosophy behind this, they would be shocked. Exercising hard is actually harmful to the body. People need to realize this. Let us now try to recollect the mode of exercise of our ancestors. They did not exercise using treadmills nor did they participate in marathon races. Cavemen did not indulge in hard practices like weight lifting or cycling away to long distances.  No, they were aware of the harmful effects of such hard forms of exercise. The anatomy of human being is not designed for running fast. He cannot chase animals like deer, rabbit which can run at a fast pace. Wild animals like lions and tigers would manage to outsmart humans, when it came to running. So, it is very clear  that running fast was not one of man’s strengths. Basically running is against the nature of human beings. The only exercise, which the cavemen did was – walking with spears and stones in their hand – in search of animals to hunt for food. The womenfolk went around gathering fruits, eggs and vegetables. In villages, even today the women folk walk  long distances to fetch water. It is evident that cavemen did not run or exercise hard. Let us see what science has to say about exercise. If we walk for 3 kilometers, we  burn about 150 calories. This is equivalent to the calorie value of one bottle of  coca cola or one and half banana fruit. Many of us have a banana or drink a cup of  coffee before we exercise. Our appetite increases after we exercise, and we eat again. So our overall calorie consumption increases because of exercise.

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If we walk for 6 kilometers, we burn about 300 calories. We need to understand that this will not lead to a great weight loss. Our body burns the same number of  calories in a day, whether we exercise or not. If our body burns 2000 calories in a day, then with exercise also the total number of calories burnt will be 2000 only. So, there is no scope for weight loss here. If weight loss has to happen through physical exercise, then one needs to workout hard for about 90 minutes. This would lead to exhaustion of body and wearing out of joints. Even athletes and sportsmen indulge in hard sports only after taking  painkillers or stimulants. This is one of the reasons they fall sick very often. However, exercising is good for health in other ways. 30 minutes of slow walking is good for our heart and improves blood circulation. So it is good to exercise mildly. But exercising with the objective of weight loss is not advisable. Then why is exercising so popular? It is a game of Politics played by Soft drink  manufacturers. Coca Cola and Pepsi together have formed an association called “Beverage Institute”. There was widespread criticism that these two soft drinks are one of the reasons for obesity among people. They started this association and later  started promoting the philosophy that “Exercise can lead to weight loss”. This association also proclaimed that sitting in one place for a long time is the cause for obesity. They released an advertisement titled CHAIRS (link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLjHwwpAdg ) which clearly explains this message. (short link : http://bit.ly/1JUmdGt) The Beverage Institute and Fast food manufacturers joined hands and started spreading the message that “Eating high calorie food and lack of exercise” is the main cause for Obesity. Hence people should start exercising to lose weight. After  repeated broadcast of this message, people slowly started accepting this and resorted to exercising so that they can consume more junk food and aerated drinks like Pepsi, Coca Cola which contain high Carbohydrate levels. They conveniently  put forth the Calorie equation as an explanation.

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These organizations spend lot of money lobbying for sales of their products. They sponsor Olympic Games and hence promote sports and physical exercise. People are made to believe that junk food and aerated drinks are not cause for Obesity. World health Organization published their norms that only 10% of the total calories consumed should be from carbohydrates. Later they decided to modify it to 5% but this was not officially announced. Organizations manufacturing soft drinks and junk food contribute to a great amount in the form of Election Funds. They influenced the beneficiaries of these funds (Politicians) to write to the World Health Organization to withhold the revision to 5%. If the revised figure of 5% had been published, these organizations would have suffered a great dip in their sales, doctors would be recommending  people not to consume them. Let’s understand the pitfalls of Calorie equation better …. It is inappropriate to confine the human metabolism within a simple equation. It is not a simple equation which can be understood only with numbers. According to the Calorie equation, a person who eats healthy food of greens of value 2000 calories would be putting on more weight compared to a person who eats sweets and sugar of value 1900 calories. This is incorrect. One more misleading example would be : To think that it is healthy to drink a 150 calorie coca cola rather than three eggs which amount to 200 calories. It is incorrect to compare just the number of calories to arrive at the right conclusion. The equation is not as simple as that. The metabolism of human beings is different from that of animals. Human brain itself burns up 20% of the total calories burnt during the day. Even if there is no  physical activity, on an average a human body burns up 2000 calories per day. Assuming that we burn 500 calories during exercise workout, our body would still  burn 1500 calories more and the total would only by 2000 calories. Whether we indulge in physical exercise or not, we end up burning the same amount of calories during the day.

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When we try eating lesser calories, proportionately lesser calories are burnt. For  example if we consume 1500 calories instead of 2000 calories, then instead of   burning 1500 calories, our body burns only 1400 calories. This is because human metabolism is designed to save fat. There is an “evolution based” reason for this  process. Till the great Agricultural revolution in 1970, there was a lot of famine and starvation among the mankind. Caveman did not have the luxury of timely food, thrice a day. They would feast when they find a good prey – else fast if hunting is unsuccessful. Only people who had large fat deposits in their body survived long fasting periods. The rest of them perished. During the Second World War, only people who were fat survived the famine and acute food shortage. So genetically people in such regions tend to store more fat in their body and hence become obese soon. The human body tuned itself to store reserve food as fat as a survival mechanism.

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In the 20 th century, being slim is considered fashionable. Being fat or stout was earlier considered as a sign of prosperity. In earlier days, diabetes was considered as a disease of the rich. Even Gout (which is an indication of high uric acid level in the blood) was considered as a royal disease.

In the 1950s and 60s, dream girls from the world of south indian / tamil cinema looked much different from the current ones. During those days, people who were slim were considered to be suffering from some disease and they were recommended to get some medical treatment as shown in the picture below :

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Even the male actors did not sport six packs or athletic bodies. They were not thin either. So, we understand that “slim is beautiful” is the slogan of the 20 th century. This is the price we pay for modernization of the current world. Beauty contents which claim to crown the most beautiful people, publicize that winners had to undergo a lot of starvation and tough workouts. The winners of the male beauty pageants have even fainted and died on the dais during the prize winning ceremony. This is because of diuretics they consumed which would reduce the water content in the body. Insulin is a key player not only in weight gain but also in diseases like Hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. Doctors do not explain about the role of Insulin to the Hypertension patients. Even dieticians blame “salt” as the villain for  Hypertension. In reality, salt has no role to play in this disease. Even if a person consumes a diet with no salt at all, the decrease in Blood pressure will be very marginal. It may reduce from 140 / 90 to 137 / 87 which is very minimal. Avoiding salt will not cure the disease. It is true that adding salt causes an increase in the Blood Pressure. When diet with salt is consumed, as soon as the food is digested, the blood pressure returns to its normal value. So salt is not the culprit here. Once diagnosed with hypertension, patients are advised to eat their food without salt. The patients try eating bland food, then unable to bear this, come back to the doctor and decide to take tablets instead of controlling the disease with the help of  diet. Doctors are also too happy to prescribe medicines for the same. Let’s see what role insulin has to play in this game. If a person eats bread, jam and orange juice for breakfast, there is no salt content in this menu. But it is high on carbohydrates. So blood sugar level increases and hence causing increase in insulin in the blood.

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Insulin causes increase in the Blood pressure in three different ways. 1. Insulin issues command to the kidneys to store more salt. So the kidneys are unable to excrete excess salt from the body. When salt is stored,  proportionate water also has to be stored. So presence of excess water and salt in the body causes an increase in the blood pressure. 2. Insulin causes contraction in the blood vessels in the heart, since Insulin is a growth hormone. Once the blood vessels in the heart contract and become hard, heart has to pump the blood with much greater force. This  phenomenon is called Cardiac Contractility. 3. Insulin influences the nervous system and causes the secretion of a chemical called Cortisol. This is similar to Adrenaline, which causes the increase in the mental pressure. When being in the state of excitement or anger, heart starts pumping more blood, thereby causing an increase in the Blood  pressure. If we need complete cure from Hypertension, what needs to be avoided is not salt,  but carbohydrates (which is present in grains and sugar). When we try to increase the cholesterol in the food and reduce the carbohydrate intake, the blood pressure automatically reduces. Regular practice of this diet will stabilize the blood pressure at normal value and solve the problem of Hypertension. Let us see a few success stories in the next episode.

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Part 5 - What to eat & What to avoid

We read about the origin and basic details about Paleo diet. Let us discuss more on the diet related detailed of Paleo. What to eat and what not to eat …. There are two sub-categories in the Paleo diet : Non-Vegetarian Paleo & Vegetarian Paleo

Vegetarian Paleo diet has been exclusively designed by our Facebook group after a lot of study and research to benefit the vegetarians. Recommended diet for Non vegetarian Paleo :

Breakfast : 100 almonds (either fry them or soak them for 12 hours and then eat with the skin). Eating raw almonds is not recommended

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Folks who need an alternate for almonds can have “Tibetan Butter tea”. Video link for preparation of Tibetan Butter tea is shared below Lunch : 4 eggs should be consumed. Eggs should be eaten completely (both white and yellow parts) Eggs can be cooked and eaten in any desired form – boiled, half-boiled or omelette. Salt, onions, tomatoes may be added to the eggs. Evening snack : One glass milk, 250 grams of paleo vegetables. Vegetables may either be eaten as salad or fried in ghee. Dinner : Fish, Meat of cows, sheep, pigs, chicken, and duck can be eaten to one’s heart fill, unlimited quantity. Meat to be avoided : Fat-free meat should be avoided. Meat should be consumed with full fat content. Meat which is deep fried in oil, sold in fast food joints should be avoided. Usage of additives, preservatives or any kind of chemicals should be strictly avoided. Dried fish (Karuvaadu in tamil) can be consumed in moderate quantity but not every day.

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Eggs should be eaten fully – both white and yellow part. Deeping frying of food should be strictly avoided. Recommended diet for Vegetarian Paleo :

Breakfast / Lunch / Evening snack : 100 almonds / eggs may be taken for these three meals as mentioned above. Dinner : Instead of meat, Paneer dishes (Paneer Manchurian, Paneer Tikka, Paneer  butter masala) m asala) may be consumed. These can be taken upto one’s one’s heart fill – unlimited quantity. (Paneer – cottage cheese) Food to be avoided in Paleo diet : Potatoes, Beans (all legumes), green peas, sprouts, groundnuts, soya, tofu (soya  paneer), soya chunks meal maker, all tubers like sweet potatoes, Jackfruit, Raw  banana. All fruits are to be avoided [except avocado(butter fruit)] If you are wondering, “These are a part of one’s day-to-day life, how can we avoid them?” it is time for us to decide between our health and our wishes.

Food to be included in Paleo diet : Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage, Bitter gourd, Carrot, Beetroot, Tomatoes, Onion, Brinja Brinjall (eggpl (eggplant ant), ), All types types of greens greens,, Drumst Drumstick ick,, Aspara Asparagus gus,, Rhubar Rhubarb, b, Olive, Olive, Celery, Cucumber, Capsicum, Green chillies, Red chillies, Pumpkin, Mushrooms, Coconut, Ginger, Garlic, Coriander, Turmeric, Avocado, Snakegourd. Avoid : Rice, wheat and all other grains should be avoided. Food bought from Bakery and other other fast fast food food joints joints should should also also be avoided. avoided. Deep fried food items items should should be strictly avoided. It is advisable to consume only home cooked food. It is recommended to use ghee, butter, butter, virgin coconut oil for cooking. cooking. Virgin olive oil may be used for salads only.

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These are the dietary guidelines to be followed for Paleo diet. This provides cure from obesity, Hypertension, Diabetes…. Vegetarians who do not wish to consume eggs can eat Paleo vegetables instead. Tibetan Butter Tea :

Yak is a herd animal found in the mountainous regions of Tibet. Tibetans prepare Butter tea using the butter obtained from Yak milk. Butter tea is an ideal breakfast since it sustains hunger for about 4 - 5 hours. This can also be prepared with the regular butter available. Ingredients : Milk – 125 ml Water – 125 ml Butter – 30 gm Sugar – ½ tea spoon Tea powder – 1 ½ tea spoon Mix all the ingredients, boil for a few minutes and delicious Butter tea is ready. Here is the link to the video which demonstrates Butter tea preparation : https://www.youtube.com/watch? https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=EnPLBPYCG4M v=EnPLBPYCG4M Here is a word of caution. Please note that we have considered only ailments like obesity, hypertension and diabetes which coming up with the Paleo diet guidelines. People suffering from other ailments are requested to consult their doctor before following this diet. Also understand that the definition of this diet is based on cholesterol. It is quite  possible that your cholesterol levels may shoot up. But there is no need to worry. worry. Cholesterol is good for our heart & is very essential for our well being. It is very popular belief that Obesity Obesity is the root cause for diseases like Diabetes Diabetes and Hypertension. This is incorrect. In fact, all the three diseases share a common root 42

cause. We have already understood that Insulin is the culprit in all the three cases. Paleo diet helps in keeping keeping Insulin Insulin secretion under under control and hence eliminates eliminates all these three diseases. If you are suffering from Diabetes, while following Paleo diet, your Blood sugar  level may suffer a fall, thus leading to Hypoglycemia. It is hereby advised that such  people monitor their blood sugar levels continuously and adjust the medication level appropriately. For For exam exampl ple, e, assu assume me that that your your fast fastin ing g bloo blood d suga sugarr leve levell is 140, 140, and and afte after  r  consuming breakfast items like idli, dosa (with carbohydrates), it increases to 200. While following paleo diet, the fasting blood sugar level would remain the same 140. The postprandi postprandial al sugar level after consuming consuming Paleo breakfast breakfast would be 142 or  145, with only marginal increase in blood sugar level. Hence if one continues to take take the amount amount of medica medicatio tion, n, it may lead lead to hypogly hypoglycem cemia ia (low blood blood sugar  sugar  levels)

SUCCESS STORY :

Let's read the success story of Ms. Dolly Bala, 54, who lives in Bangalore, India. She followed vegetarian Paleo diet (with eggs) and managed to get cured of her  Hypert Hypertens ension ion proble problems. ms. She also also manage managed d to lose lose 17 kgs weight weight by follow following ing Paleo diet. Let's read about her experience in her own words …. I was very frustrated and had given up on my health problems and increase in body weight. Though I lost some weight through some alternate medication, there were side effects. So I stopped all medication. That’s when the turning point in my life happened. ᪼ I got got to know know abou aboutt the the Tamil amil Face Facebo book ok grou group p “ ஆரகய㾻

&

  நவშ”. நவშ”. I

started reading the posts published by Neander Selvan on how this diet helps in Weight loss and also the need to avoid grains. After reading them, I started getting doubts about how effective it would be for a vegetarian. Vegetarians do not have too much much choice choice when when it comes comes to low carboh carbohydr ydrate ate and high high choles cholester terol ol diet. 43

Since I did not have much to lose, I started following the Paleo diet – much against the wishes of my family members. I started my Paleo diet regime with minimal variety: Eggs, almonds, paneer, & Paleo vegetables. Selvan has advised on avoiding grains (rice, wheat), sugar, starch. It was not difficult for me to avoid sugar in my coffee. But drinking tea without sugar was initially difficult. Later I got used to that too. Selvan advised me against drinking coffee, since it causes an increase in Blood Pressure. It was easy for me to avoid rice because I used to eat rice only twice a week. But giving up chapathis was not so easy. I had been eating one or two chapathis for  several years. Will great determination, I avoided eating them too. I did not face any difficulty. I used to feel hungry initially, but later I got used to that too. I started with vegetables, paneer and almonds. Later I added eggs also to my diet regime. This helped me control hunger. For several years, my regular breakfast was Kelloggs Cornflakes or Oats. I firmly  believed that these would help me in weight reduction. In Paleo diet, we need to avoid both Corn flakes and oats. When I travelled to the USA, I had to eat out. Luckily salads were available, so I could manage easily. I was able to see the benefits (changes) right from the first week. There was a reduction in my weight. My Blood pressure also started stabilizing gradually. At the end of the first month, I got a blood test done. There was lot of improvement seen. I stopped taking Statin tablets, which was for cholesterol reduction. Within a time span of about seven months, I lost ten kgs. weight. At my age, this level of  weight reduction was a boon. Hence, I was able to walk easily. So I started walking 6 kilometres everyday. Let me list down the benefits I reaped from Paleo diet : (Vegetarian paleo diet – with eggs, my age – 57 years) 1. Weight loss of 17 kilos 2. My Blood Pressure level was 140 / 90 – in spite of taking three tablets. Now it has reduced to 110/70. I still continue to take one tablet – because of my

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doctor’s advice to stop the medication gradually. My Blood Pressure level is normal now. 3. My heartbeat was very fast and I was taking medication for that too. Now I have stopped that medication. 4. I was taking Statin tablets for Cholesterol reduction. With the confidence Paleo diet gave me, I stopped taking that medication too. After seeing the  blood test reports, my doctor also gave his consent for stopping the medication. 5. My friends compliment me that my skin has got a new glow. 6. I am able to walk for 6 kilometres now. Earlier walking for even one kilometer was difficult. 7. Earlier I had hormone imbalance. This problem also has been solved now 8. I don’t get tired at all. I feel active all the time during the day 9. I used to get muscle catch earlier. I don’t get it nowadays 10. I used to have some issues with my teeth. Now I am able to eat 100 almonds comfortably. No issues at all. There are many other benefits also. Now Paleo is not only a diet regime – It is a lifestyle.

 Please take a look at Ms. Dolly Bala’s pictures taken before and after following Paleo diet. The  first picture was taken in February 2013 (before Paleo) and the second one was taken in July 2015. The results are here to speak.

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Part 6 - Cholesterol is a good friend

Let us understand more about Cholesterol. Words like fat, saturated fat put a lot of  fear in people’s mind. “Eggs, Red meat, fat obtained from pork, Butter” – When these words are uttered, the only question that comes to one’s mind is : “Wont these lead to heart attack?” If our heart comes to know about our false belief that Red meat and saturated fat are bad for our heart, it would have a hearty laugh!! Our heart is a big piece of red meat along with saturated fat. Our brain is a big ball of cholesterol. The human organ which has stored the maximum amount of cholesterol is our brain. Human  brain has ten times more cholesterol than any other organ in the body. Let us realize that Cholesterol is our good friend who protects us from heart attacks. The role of cholesterol is similar to the role Lord Krishna played to Arjun in the war of Kurukshethra (Indian Epic Mahabaratha). Cholesterol plays a key role in the reproduction of human beings and survival of mankind.

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Cholesterol is a sticky paste kind of substance. It is a myth that cholesterol contains lot of calories. It is an important ingredient in the human body. Let us understand more about this. Hormones play a key role in the human body and ensure that all the functions are executed correctly. The hormone called “Testosterone” is responsible for sperm  production in men and gives men physical strength. This is why men are physically stronger than women. Similarly, “Estrogen” is the hormone which is plays an important role in women during developments of the puberty phase and is essential for fertile production of  eggs. The relationship between these hormones and cholesterol is similar to that between  butter and ghee. Another way of describing this relationship would be to say that “cholesterol is the raw material / source for these hormones”. Shortage of  cholesterol in our body will impact the secretion of these hormones very badly,  bringing the entire metabolism process to a halt. Human body is capable of generating cholesterol by itself. Every cell of the human  body can generate cholesterol by itself. However, the food we eat can also be the cholesterol supplier for our body. Food items like meat, fish, milk and eggs have cholesterol present in them. Please note that none of the vegetables have cholesterol present in them. Cholesterol is very essential for the generation of cell membrane, which provides water proofing to the cells. The presence of cholesterol is very essential for the secretion of hormones like Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Adrenaline, Pregnenolone and also the generation of Vitamin D in our body. This is the reason why human body generates cholesterol. For proper functioning of our body, 2000 mg of cholesterol is needed per day. Our liver is responsible for  generation of cholesterol from the food we eat every day. Generation of cholesterol from the food we eat is not an easy process. It is a 30 step process and this puts considerable load on the liver. Rather than generate

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cholesterol, isn’t it easy to get it directly from the food we eat? This will reduce the load on the liver and so that it can be involved in the digestion of proteins and secretion of Bile acid. The more the cholesterol in our food, the more healthy our liver will be. A suitable analogy would be the usage of Washing machine to wash clothes rather  than wash it manually. There is absolutely no difference between the cholesterol our liver generates and the cholesterol we obtain from the food we eat, directly. If eating food items like red meat, eggs are harmful because they contain cholesterol, then why would our   body generate the same cholesterol? Let us think …. Our body needs 2000 mg of cholesterol every day. If the same can be supplied to our body by eating eight eggs(about 1600 mg cholesterol), then our liver needs to generate only 400 mg cholesterol. So eating food items like meat, eggs is not harmful to us. An average American gets about 400 mg of cholesterol from his daily food. (American

government recommendation is 300 mg) Indian Government

recommendation is only up to 365 mg. These recommendation levels are very absurd. Is it possible to get the required 2000 mg cholesterol only through the food we eat? It may not be possible for many of us. The cholesterol vegetarians get by drinking 2 cups of milk is only 50 mg. If we consume 4 eggs in our diet, we get 800 mg cholesterol. An additional 500 grams of chicken meat would provide 500 mg cholesterol more.  Non-vegetarian food has more cholesterol compared to vegetarian food. This is the reason why vegetarians are more prone to problems like hormonal imbalance and fatty liver.

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LDL (Low density Lipoprotein) plays the role of transporting the cholesterol from the lover to all the cells of the body. HDL (High density Lipoprotein) plays the reverse role of gathering the cholesterol deposited on the cell walls and transporting them to the liver. When you get your lipid profile test done, if the LDL presence is high, the doctor  would tell you that “Bad cholesterol has increased”, causing some worry in your  minds. Though LDL is termed as bad cholesterol, it is not cholesterol at all. It is only a form of protein. Cholesterol is not soluble in water. Hence the liver uses LDL as a carrier to transport cholesterol to all the body cells and internal organs through blood circulation. The transportation of cholesterol to all body cells ensures the secretion of all the essential hormones in our body. LDL acts as carrier to Vitamin A, Vitamin D and antioxidants, which are soluble in cholesterol, and ensures that they reach all the cells in the body. If the presence of cholesterol in the body reduces, it may lead to diseases like Depression, Suicidal tendency, Hormone imbalance, Impotence, Cardiac arrest.

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If every doctor, scientist and dietician knew the importance of cholesterol, why do they warn patients about cholesterol intake? Let us understand this with the help of  an example. We have seen several movies where the “Villain” stabs a person and absconds. The Hero of the film appears in the scene, removes the knife from the wound. An observer, who sees this, concludes that the Hero is the culprit and also complains about the incident to the Police. The Police find the Hero’s fingerprints on the knife conclude the Hero is the criminal and arrest him. Later, the Hero escapes from the prison, finds out who the real culprit is, and then the Villain is punished. Cholesterol getting penalized is also a similar story. The victim is our heart. Cholesterol is the Hero which is wrongly identified as the culprit initially. Now it is time for us to realize who the real culprit is…. Inflammation (Internal injury) is the real culprit. Let’s see how cholesterol is wrongly framed as the culprit for this. During post mortem of a cardiac arrest victim, when they cut open the heart, they saw that there were huge deposits of cholesterol. Cholesterol deposit on the walls of the arteries blocks blood circulation and hence causes cardiac arrest. So doctors immediately blamed the cholesterol as the cause for cardiac arrest. In reality, a layer of cholesterol is deposited on the walls of the arteries as a  protective mechanism. Internal injury called as inflammation occurs on the walls of the arteries. LDL cholesterol layer is needed to protect the arteries from inflammation. Once there is an inflammation, another layer of LDL cholesterol is formed. As more injuries occur, more layers of LDL cholesterol are formed as protective layer. These layers  block blood flow and hence cause cardiac arrest. Hence cholesterol is not the main cause for cardiac arrest. It is our well wisher.  Now let us try to understand what causes these internal injuries.

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Eating food items with Carbohydrates (like rice, sugar, maida) is the main cause for these internal injuries. Using Trans fat for cooking also causes internal injuries. The smoking point of virgin sunflower oil is very low and hence cannot be used for  cooking purposes.

Since the smoking point of the virgin oils is very low, it causes inability to use them for cooking. So these oils are subjected to a process called Hydrogenation. One atom of hydrogen is introduced in the fat of these virgin oils which causes them to become Trans fat. Now these oils are ready for use in cooking as their  smoking point is now high. After consumption of the Trans fat, Liver & our body are unable to handle the digestion of these. This is one of the main causes of Inflammation. In addition to Cardiac arrest, Inflammation causes many other diseases too. These internal injuries affect other internal organs also. Abdomen pain, Back pain (this may lead to the removal of some of the discs), pain in the knee are some of the  possible ailments which Internal injuries may cause. It is unfortunate that many people still (wrongly) believe that Cholesterol is the cause for cardiac arrest and other ailments. Let us be aware of the harmful factors in our diet and avoid them to gain good health.

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Part 7 - Grain grain go away ...

Let us see why grains are harmful to our body. The word “grain” here refers to rice, wheat, ragi, corn and also includes the ones from the Western world like quinoa, oats and barley. It might sound strange to hear that grains are harmful to our body. In the Western world, bread is a common food, including patients. Even in many parts of India, doctors recommend patients to eat idlis as breakfast, since it is considered to be healthy. People suffering from diabetes in Tamil Nadu are advised to eat wheat based food items. Rice is the staple food for people living in Tamil Nadu. They may consume rice based items like idli, dosa in large quantity. But they may consume wheat in lesser quantity. This is the reason behind recommending wheat based diet for  diabetes patients. Similarly for such patients living in North India, rice based diet is recommended since rice is not the staple food for North Indians.

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Though doctors recommend idli, chapathi as health food, we need to realize that they are not good for our health. They cause a lot of harm and become the root cause for many ailments. It is widely known that polished rice and maida are bad for health. So people go in search of dry crop grains like millets. kodo millets, maize and sorghum. Many restaurants have also started serving food items using these dry crop grains. Let me share this disappointing news with you – all these dry crop grains are as harmful to our body as maida is. Let me explain. Humans have been eating food grains only for the past 10,000 years. But the history of human beings being in existence dates back 1.6 million years ago. Of  these 1.6 million years, we have started eating rice, wheat and other grains in the last 10,000 years only. 99.99% of hereditary patterns of humans were formed during the time when we were eating only meat.

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We cannot help wondering if 10,000 years is not long enough for the human genetic patterns to change and include grains in them. But in reality, only few minor changes have happened to the human genetic pattern. Let me explain this with the help of an example. Till about 4.2 million years ago, we were all four-legged animals. Our ancestors using all the four legs were jumping from one tree to another. The reason because of which man started walking on two legs and used his other two legs as hands could be “evolution”. After this, man became a two-legged being.

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Though we became two legged 4.2 million years ago, our genes have not got accustomed to this change. You may find this hard to believe. “Delivering a child” is a very complex procedure according to human beings. It is literally considered as a woman’s “re-birth”. Only because of advanced medical facilities, the number of maternal deaths has reduced. Scientists opine that mankind  becoming two-legged is the main reason for these complications. (Source : http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2006/07/bipedal-body/ackerman-text ) As man started walking on two legs, the woman’s pelvic bones went through a change which causes difficulty in delivering the child. Our ancestors like monkeys, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas do not have this problem since they continue to be four-legged. A chimpanzee delivers its offspring within a few minutes time, without any complication or pain. Immediately, the mother starts feeding the child. There is no need for any hospital or nurse for its delivery. A change which happened 4.2 million years ago, has not been registered in the genetic patterns of mankind. Imagine how many more years it would take for the

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change of “eating grains” to register in the genetic patterns. So, let us be convinced that human genetic patterns still consider meat and vegetables as their food. They have not got used to eating grains. This is the main reason for many of the ailments and diseases mankind is facing today. The main reason why grains are harmful to our body is the carbohydrates they contain. They spike up the insulin level in the blood hence causing the body to switch to fat storage mode rather than fat-burning mode. According to the statistics issued by the Indian Government, an average Indian consumes 166 kilogram of  grains (rice, wheat…) annually. This translates to 400 grams of grains consumption  per day. These levels match with the World level average statistics

of 170

kilograms.

In Western countries like Europe and USA, people consume more meat. Hence the average annual grain consumption is only 120 kilograms. Meat is an important ingredient in every meal of theirs. An average European consumes 100 kilograms of meat and fish annually. On the contrary Indians consume only 7 kilograms of  meat and fish annually.

India is the lowest consumer of meat among all the

countries in the world. Indians rely on pulses for proteins. On an average, an Indian consumes 14 kilograms of pulses whereas that of an European is only 2 kilograms annually.

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Asians / Indians get most of their calories from the grains they eat. Everyday about 400 grams of rice, wheat are consumed by Indians typically in the form of Idli, dosa or chapathi. 400 grams rice contains 112 grams of carbohydrates. Let us understand that eating 400 grams of rice (containing 112 grams of carbohydrates) is just as harmful as eating 112 grams of white sugar. Once the carbohydrates in rice get converted to glucose and mix with blood stream, this glucose is the same as the glucose we get by consuming white sugar. Both result in increasing the insulin flow in our body. Carbohydrates are not the only problem with respect to grains. These grains contain Goitrogens which prevent the secretion of Thyroid. Human body finds it very difficult to digest the proteins contained in dry crop grains like ragi, millets and sorghum. The Goitrogens present in these cause a disease called “Hypothyroidism”. This causes fatigue, obesity and memory loss. It may even lead to huge lumps in the neck as shown in the picture below :

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A few years ago, we would have seen many people residing in villages suffering from Goiter. This is caused by the inflammation of thyroid glands, the reason for  which is Iodine deficiency. Goitrogens present in the dry crop grains prevent the absorption of iodine into the body – hence causing this disease. This disease is common even among the people residing in cities because Goitrogen is present in groundnuts and wheat. Usage of peanut butter is one of the reasons for the occurrence of this disease among the people living in cities. The best possible diet recommended for people suffering from Diabetes is Chapati, which is made out of wheat, which is the most harmful grain. Whole wheat, rice, maida, sugar – all these spike up the sugar level in our blood stream. In Addition to Carbohydrates and Goitrogen, another harmful ingredient present in wheat is “Gluten” a form of protein. Gluten is also present in barley and oats. Research has shown that Gluten is harmful to all organs of the body. We read earlier that the main cause for cardiac arrests is “Inflammation” or  “Internal injuries”. Research has proved that 80% people who die of cardiac arrests were affected by Inflammation. These internal injuries harm the nerves in our heart and large intestine and cause diseases like indigestion, damage of the stomach wall, stomach ache finally leading to ulcer. The diseases caused by Inflammation are innumerable. Diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease are caused by Inflammation – the reason for which is the consumption of Gluten.

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High blood sugar level causes great damage to the brain. Research has proved that high blood sugar level is the main cause for diseases like Alzheimer's. Eating food that is rich in carbohydrates for all the three meals a day is dangerous and may cause great damage to the functionality of the brain. Scientists compared the skeletal remains of the people (who lived about 10,000 years ago) who ate only meat with those of the people who had started eating grains also. The average height of the people who had started eating grains reduced  by half a feet, size of the brain reduced and the teeth were damaged. The teeth of   people who ate only meat were strong and healthy and no cavities were found. The cavemen did not brush their teeth using a variety of toothpastes.

Once man started eating grains, problems like weak teeth and cavities were on the raise. When we chew the food containing grains, the carbohydrates spread all over  the teeth and damage the enamel of the tooth. They all cause cavities in the teeth thereby damaging them.

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 Popular Swedish Model Ellinor Bjurstrom with Psoriasis. Gluten also causes Autoimmune diseases like Psoriasis which cause blisters on the skin. Red patches are formed on the skin and it spreads more on scratching and is very painful. The main cause for Psoriasis is our body does not want to accept the proteins  present in the grains. Immediately our immunity system starts action on our body itself thus causing more damage. A good analogy would be to think that the security guard of the house falsely thinks that the house has been burgled and starts shooting the house. This causes internal injuries and blisters all over the body and

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leads to Psoriasis. People spend a lot of money, get different types of medication and apply ointments. But these do not cure this problem at all. Many people think diseases like Psoriasis are incurable. If eating grains are stopped, this disease can be cured. For many of the present day diseases, the root cause lies in the consumption of grains. So, it is very apt to name these grains as “dangerous and deadly”.

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Part 8 - Diabetes is curable

Indian medicine Ayurveda literature has named Diabetes as “Madhumegam” . The term “madhu” means “honey”. Since the urine of the diabetes patients tasted sweet, the disease got this name. Detection of diabetes was done by tasting the urine of  the patient. This method was discovered by the Indians and widely used till the  beginning of 20 th century. Since the glucose level in the blood is very high, the kidneys are unable to flush it out. So it mixes with the urine. One of the salient symptoms of people suffering from diabetes is persistent hunger – all the time. The main causes for diabetes are sugar and carbohydrates. This fact may not be known to the patient's, Indian Diabetes Association and American Diabetes Association. In 1913, a doctor by name Frederick Allen had stated that ancient Indian doctors were aware of this and it was indeed a fact. The ancient Indian doctors were not aware of the presence of carbohydrates. They were not aware of its abundant presence in grains like rice. Hence they must have done extensive research on the diet of people suffering from diabetes.

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In the beginning of 20th century, books and medical journals written for diabetes  patients had clearly mentioned this fact that grains, pulses, sweets, food items with carbohydrates like bread and fruits need to be strictly avoided. Recommended food was meat, fish, eggs and vegetables. During those days, patients were not advised to eat chapatis. Please find below the link for the journal : https://archive.org/stream/diabeticcookeryr00oppeiala#page/n0/mode/2up

Insulin was discovered in the beginning of the 20 th century. It was also discovered that Insulin is the hormone which can manage blood sugar levels. It was also known in the beginning of 20 th century that eating food that is high in carbohydrates causes a spike in blood sugar level. Doctors of those days knew well that administering insulin and stopping carbohydrate intake – both have the same effect. Their treatment for diabetes was  based on this philosophy. One question that immediately comes to our mind is : Why has this knowledge not been passed on to the next generation doctors? There is a common belief among people now that Diabetes is incurable. Medical Organizations and doctors have been spreading the same message across all their   patients. What is the best way to be profitable while running a pharmaceutical company? The first step is to convince the patient that the disease cannot be cured; it can only  be controlled with the help of the medicine. Patient should be alive, yet the disease should not be cured. This is the business model which will earn the pharmaceutical companies great profit. Diabetes and Hypertension patients are the cash-cows for  major pharmaceutical companies. There are two types of Diabetes – Type 1, which is present from the patient’s birth. This cannot be cured with the help of diet. Type – 2, which is the most common one, is caused because of diet, can be cured with the help of change in food habits. We have seen instances where some

᪼

members of the tamil facebook group “ ஆரகய㾻

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&

நவშ”

facebook group have seen great improvement within a few weeks itself. They have stopped the medication they have been taken for several years. Their fasting (before food), postprandial (after food) and A1C sugar levels have been restored to near normal values.

Diet recommended for Diabetes patients in our Facebook group : Non Vegetarian diet :

Morning breakfast : 4 eggs Lunch : Cauliflower rice and 250 grams of Paleo vegetables Evening snack : Salad of Paleo vegetables and one cup full fat milk Dinner : Unlimited quantity of meat (Mutton, chicken, fish)

Vegetarian diet (with eggs) :

Morning breakfast : 100 almonds or butter tea Lunch : Cauliflower rice and 250 grams of Paleo vegetables

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Evening snack : Salad of Paleo vegetables and one cup full fat milk Dinner : 4 eggs Vegetarian diet (without eggs) :

Morning breakfast : 100 almonds or butter tea Lunch : Cauliflower rice and 250 grams of Paleo vegetables Evening snack : Salad of Paleo vegetables and one cup full fat milk Dinner : Dishes made out of Paneer,

prepared from full fat milk, like Paneer 

Manchurian, Paneer tikka or Palak paneer may be consumed. IMPORTANT NOTE : Vitamin D is very essential for curing Type 2 diabetes. Hence people suffering from Diabetes should expose themselves to sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes between 11 am and 1 pm. It is advisable to wear a cap as a protective head gear. Take care to ensure that sunlight falls on the body. Vegan diet (without milk and eggs) :

Sorry, wrong number. What is Cauliflower rice?

Since eating rice is prohibited, cauliflower rice may be consumed along with vegetable gravy. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, grate in a mixer or grater till it gets cut into small pieces to the size of rice granules. Now steam these cauliflower  rice granules for a few minutes and cauliflower rice is ready. This is very tasty when eaten with vegetable gravy. Since the carbohydrates present in this is very less, it does not lead to increase in blood sugar level. Lets come to the most important question : How does Paleo diet cure diabetes? It is very well known that eating food with carbohydrates is the main cause of Type 2 diabetes. If one continues to eat such food, how can the disease be cured?

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As soon as one eats food containing carbohydrates like Idli, Dosa or chapathi,  blood sugar level spikes up. An example : If the fasting sugar level of a person is 200, (recommended level is less than 100) and he consumes five idlis, his blood sugar level will increase to 280. He needs to take insulin injection to reduce it. After taking the injection, his  blood sugar level would reduce to 220 or 230. If he consumes rice as lunch, the  blood sugar level would again spike up to 280 or 300. Once again, insulin injection needs to be administered to bring down the blood sugar level. Let us now see what happens after the patient moves over to Paleo diet : Blood sugar level before breakfast is : 200. The person consumes 4 eggs cooked in ghee as his breakfast. His appetite is fully satisfied. His blood sugar level will not spike up because eggs do not have carbohydrates. His body is still in starvation mode only. After a couple of hours, his blood sugar level will drop to 180 or 170. His lunch would be cauliflower rice or 100 almonds. Let’s assume he consumes  paleo food for dinner also.

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His blood sugar level would keep dropping since he is not consuming carbohydrates in any form. Gradually his medication level for diabetes would be reduced and later his blood sugar level would stabilize to normal levels. Many medical journals have opined that Paleo diet can be recommended for  Diabetes patients to reduce blood sugar levels. Any new concept is well researched upon, discussed and debated before they are published in Medical journals. Later  these concepts are incorporated in Medical education books to be practiced by doctors all over. In the year 2011, Professor Busetto, wrote an Research paper in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews. In that he mentions that though low cholesterol food has been recommended for diabetes patients, high protein, low carbohydrate diet like Paleo is also effective in weight reduction and blood sugar level reduction. It is also beneficial to one’s heart he adds on. (Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21309052)

In the year 2008, Professor Eric Westman’s research paper was published in the London based Medical journal called “Nutrition and Metabolism”. A study was conducted to compare low carbohydrate based paleo diet and slightly high carbohydrate based low glycemic index diet.

Dr. Eric Westman

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All the 49 people who participated in this study had high blood sugar and were obese too. Paleo diet was recommended to one half of them and low glycemic index diet to the other half. Results : After six months, it was noticed that patients who followed Paleo diet saw 1.5 point reduction in HBA1C. They also lost 11 kilograms body weight. HDL cholesterol (which is called as good cholesterol) values increased by 5.6 points. Hence the inference that Paleo diet is the most suitable diet for Diabetes patients was drawn. (Link : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/) A Research paper was published in the “Journal of American College Nutrition”. A study was conducted on the impact of Paleo diet on 14 diabetes patients who were also obese. The effect caused by insulin injections on their health, blood sugar level and impact on their heart was studied. This study was conducted in 2013 under the leadership of Dr. Krebs.

Dr. Ernst T. Krebs All the 14 patients followed Paleo diet meticulously. Results : 1. All of them lost ten kilograms of body weight 2. HBA1C had reduced by 11 points 3. There was a considerable reduction in the blood sugar level 4. Blood pressure had reduced by ten points 68

5. HDL had increased by 10 points 6. HDL : Triglycerides ratio showed considerable decrease 7. Improvement was seen in their cardiac activity Link : :http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24015695 Research has time and again proven that Paleo diet is beneficial to Diabetes  patients. This diet has helped in the reduction of blood sugar and it has a positive impact on the heart Though this is being discussed and debated in many medical forums, this has not  been incorporated in Medical text books for doctors to practice. The only reason for this could be : It would prove their earlier recommendation that low cholesterol diet is beneficial would be proven false. Many fast food manufacturers have been making their products based on the “low cholesterol” mantra. Companies manufacturing corn flakes, oats would also be impacted. This could the only reason why paleo diet is not being officially recognized as a healthy diet and recommended diet for diabetes. Despite these hindrances, paleo diet has been making a great impact in the West. This awareness has to spread in India also. Social media is a very effective mechanism to spread this awareness. The myth that Type 2 diabetes is incurable should be broken. We need to work  towards liberating people from this dreadful disease.

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Part 9 - Diabetes and Nephropathy

We have now understood that type – 2 Diabetes is curable through Paleo diet. But the irony is millions of Indians who are suffering from this disease do not even know about this diet regime. People lack awareness that diet is one of the main causes for this disease. Heredity, lack of physical exercise, excessive eating are some of the causes which are blamed for this disease. Patients are mislead to  believe that Diabetes is incurable and it can only be managed with the help of  Insulin drugs. What lies behind this misconception are : Wrong understanding about the disease and its causes, Political games which are being played by drug manufacturers. Typically physical exercise (like regular walking) and diet comprising of chapathi are recommended for Diabetes patients. Some people also include dry crop grains like ragi, maize, corn in their diet with the hope that the disease will be under  control. Seeing no improvement, they console themselves by blaming heredity and seeing many people at the age of 40 getting this disease. It has not yet been proved scientifically that Type – 2 Diabetes is hereditarily transmitted. The main cause for this disease is only diet and not how our previous generation was. It is a coincidence that we also eat the same type of food that they were eating and hence we get the same disease. We need to understand that “the same diet being followed across generations causes the disease – making it look  like the disease is transmitted hereditarily”. We need to understand this very clearly. Let classify the genes in our body as “good ones” and “bad ones” for the sake of  our understanding. The good genes get activated when we eat healthy food and the  bad ones get triggered into action when we eat no-so-healthy food. Our health quotient and the diseases we get are directly linked to the food we eat and have nothing to do with our heredity.

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Paleo diet offers relief from Type 2 diabetes and the other diseases caused by Type 2 diabetes. Kidney and eyes are two body organs which are prone to be affected by Type 2 diabetes. The disease where kidneys are being affected by Type 2 diabetes is called Diabetic  Nephropathy.

If the blood sugar levels are not kept under control, it is likely to affect the Nervous system, Arteries, Kidney, Heart, eyes of the patient. When the blood sugar level is consistently high, it damages the kidneys by affecting their functionality. The  Nervous system being affected is called Diabetic Neuropathy and eyes being affected is called Diabetic Retinopathy. A study was conducted on the relationship between Paleo diet and Diabetic  Nephropathy by Medical Professor Jorgen Nielsen and his team. The results were  published in the Medical Journal “Nutritional Metabolism” in the year 2006.

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Swedish Professor Jorgen Vesti Nielsen

Prof. Nelsen states the following : The link between HBA1C levels and Diabetic Nephropathy is being proven. Unfortunately even patients with high blood sugar level are being recommended diet with carbohydrates. Because of this, their blood sugar level further increases, leading to hyperglycemia (very high blood sugar levels), they become obese and these impact the functioning of the kidneys. As a part of this study, we helped a Type 2 diabetes patient, who was suffering for  six years, get cured of his Nephropathy by following Paleo diet. The patient was 60 years of age and he was affected by Type 2 diabetes since 1989. His family members were also affected by Obesity and Type 2 diabetes. He was affected by Diabetic Nephropathy in the mid 1990s. Though he went through advanced laser  treatment, no improvement was seen. During this phase, his body weight ranged between 85 and 89 kilograms. He was following regular diet with carbohydrates. When he consumed lesser calories his weight reduced, and when the calorific value of the food increased, his weight increased.

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The albumin content in his urine increased. This is a dangerous indication that the kidney might stop functioning. The doctors became alert and started administering Insulin injections to him. As soon as insulin was administered, HBA1C values temporarily dropped, but his body weight started increasing. Once his bodyweight touched 90 kilograms, his blood pressure increased from 125/90 to 145/90. The albumin values skyrocketed from 116 to a dangerous 2000 (Reference level 55). His Blood pressure also shot up to 160/90. In 2004, changes were made to his diet. Everyday 90 grams of carbohydrates was reduced from his food. He was given vegetables, proteins and high cholesterol food. His food composition was : 20% cholesterol, 50% cholesterol, 30% proteins. Amazing transformation started happening. Insulin administration through injection stopped. With the help of Paleo diet, he reduced 10 kilograms weight. HBA1C level dropped from 8.5 to 6.5. There was tremendous improvement in the functioning of his kidneys. After two and half years, his kidney started functioning normally and he is fine now. Professor Jorgen Nielsen concludes that Paleo diet should be recommended for   patients with diseases like High blood sugar, Diabetic Nephropathy, Obesity Link : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1523335/

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Let us understand more about HBA1C tests. The food we eat is converted to glucose and mixed with the bloodstream. Liver also generates glucose. The glucose is mixed with blood so as to provide energy to the cells. Our blood contains Red  blood corpuscles (RBC). The glucose sticks to these RBC cells & stays for 8 to 12 weeks. Hence by testing the RBCs, we can find out the glucose level in one’s  blood. One of the esteemed Medical journals by name “Annals of Medicine” conducted a research to compare Paleo diet and diet comprising of Carbohydrate and low cholesterol. This research was headed by Medical Professor Lena Jonasson. Patients suffering from diabetes are prone to internal injuries called as “Inflammation”. This research brought out a few facts like, the impact low cholesterol diet has is only on a person’s weight reduction – it does not cure inflammation, it does not reduce the blood sugar levels. On the contrary, while following Paleo diet, all three  benefits were seen : Weight reduction, Reduction in blood sugar levels and curing of Inflammation. Link : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025600/ These Research papers prove well that Paleo diet just doesn’t cure people of  Diabetes but it also cures diseases caused by Diabetes like Diabetic Nephropathy and helps in reducing body weight. It also revives kidneys which are almost about to stop functioning because of type 2 diabetes and obesity. With all these benefits, it is unfair and unnecessary to fear whether Paleo diet is harmful to the heart. Many a times, research studies have proved that Paleo diet is  beneficial to mankind in many ways. It is equally meaningless to recommend carbohydrate based diet for people suffering from type 2 diabetes and diseases caused by this. Let us understand more about Type 1 diabetes. Medical science does not have clear cut answer for the cause of this disease. People suffering from this disease are affected right from their young age. Their 

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 bodies are not able to digest carbohydrates and hence they have to take insulin injections right at a very young age. Paleo diet helps managing Type 1 diabetes. Since this problem persists from one’s  birth, it is not possible to cure this. However Paleo diet is able to control the blood sugar level in a person’s body thereby reducing the amount of medication(insulin) the person needs to take. Paleo diet also prevents diseases like inflammation and nephropathy which are caused by diabetes. Senior member Sivaraman Jagadeesan of Tamil Facebook group “ ஆர᪼கய㾻 நவშ”

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shares his experience on how he has been managing Type 1 diabetes with

the help of Paleo diet. Let’s read about his experience in his own words …

“ I have been taking insulin injections for the past 29 years to manage my Type 1 diabetes related problems. In 1986, while I was 12 th standard, it was detected that I  have Type 1 diabetes. I was dogged by fatigue and I found it difficult even to walk.  I went through continuous weight loss and when I was admitted to the hospital, my weight was 37 kilos. During the two months that I stayed in the hospital, I took five injections every day and my body weight went up to 39 kilos. With the guidance from a friend of ours, we approached “Diabetic Research Center” in Ramnagar, Coimbatore. Dr. Munirathnam Chetty, was a kind hearted,  service oriented person and I owe my existence to him. The food items, their  75

ingredients and calorific value were displayed in there. He created lot of awareness about Diabetes. They also explained that people suffering from this disease need to take injections throughout their life. They also taught us how to administer these injections ourselves in the thigh and stomach region. I never ate sweets, yet I  would take 70 units insulin in the morning and 60 units in the evening every day.  After a month’s treatment my weight increased to 55 kilos.  I also learnt which food items caused increase in blood sugar levels, and how the intake of insulin reduced blood sugar levels. I always carried a 50 gram sugar   packet with me, just in case the blood sugar level dropped suddenly.  I continued my education, got married and had children.  During those days, the insulin drug was prepared from Pancreas of cows. Human insulin was brought into practice from the year 1998 by the Americans. This was manufactured in the laboratory. From the year 2000, I used to get my blood tested  once in three months and lived with the help of insulin and regular exercise. In the  year 2006, Insulin pen was introduced. (Insulin pens are disposable form of Insulin injections). My weight reached 70 kilos and continued to be in the same range for   few years. I managed to keep my blood sugar level under control.  In 2014, I came to know about this Tamil Facebook group “ (Health and Wellbeing)

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” 

and got to know more about Paleo diet. Initially it seemed like a

totally wrong diet but after continuous reading and better understanding, I was convinced about this low carbohydrate high cholesterol diet and its benefits. One fine Sunday morning I also started following Paleo diet. In the morning I took  regular dose of insulin injection, 70 units and took 100 almonds for breakfast. My  fasting blood sugar level was 145. The calorific value of 100 almonds is 700 calories which is equivalent to eating 5 idlis along with chutney and sambhar. This breakfast should hold me for about 4 hours (till my next meal) In about 30 minutes,  I started experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) and I  checked my blood sugar level, it showed 64. So I ate some chocolates and helped  increase my blood sugar level. I should have reduced my insulin intake when  starting on Paleo diet. I consulted Neander Selvan to get my doubts clarified.

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