From Hunt Gather Love’s Melissa McEwen: Top 1 Reasons I’m Not Paleo
The Paleo diet was a tool I used to learn about applying evolutionary biology to modern health problems. It doesn’t define me as a permanent lifestyle that focuses on identity and demonizing so-called “neolithic non-foods” like grains, which distracts from the real enemy, the processed industrial food industry that churns out nutritionless garbage designed to be addictive with no consideration for human, animal, or environmental welfare. I’m not “paleo,” though I eat in a way informed by our evolution as a species.
The folks at the Palo Alto Institute have posted the videos from last month’s New Opportunities at the Intersection of Evolution and Medicine. I have not watched the cancer or infectious disease videos, but did watch the keynote and the videos on behavior and diet.
Alas, I was a bit bummed by the session on diet. As apparently befitting a medical/academic conference, Dr. William Leonard read his talk, What did Humans Evolve to Eat? Evolutionary Perspective on Human Nutritional Health. And it’s my confirmation bias I’m sure, but I was disappointed that after the initial evolutionary concepts, Dr. Leonard concluded that the problem was essentially calories in vs out in about equal parts. (Although I thought it interesting that it pointed out in the panel discussion that some of the missing calories out was related to not having to spend energy to either warm ourselves up or cool ourselves down thanks to our modern environment.)
I thought the keynote on the chasm between evolutionary biology and medicine was quite interesting and fairly accessible to a lay audience. One of the topics he covers is why, after so many millions of years, there are still so many apparent flaws with our bodies. He suggests these factors:
Mismatch: body in a novel environment
Competition with fast evolving organisms
Every trait is a trade-off
Organisms shaped for reproduction, not health
Defenses and suffering
Well worth checking out if you’re under the impression that evolution is just about positive adaptations!
I’m not sure the title matches the talk. But the most compelling part of it for me was his discussion of “experiential avoidance” (~4:10); the idea that our wired instincts to avoid pain can disable us when we go from avoiding external threats (a good thing) to avoiding “threats from within in the form of thoughts, feelings, memories, and bodily sensations.” He didn’t say explicitly, but I could certainly see implications for overeating.
The good news is that their research is showing that mindfulness or other approaches that enable people to accept these painful internal threats are successful. And even better, it doesn’t require years and years of therapy. They are seeing benefits with much shorter interventions.
I’m going to poke around in some of their resources to see what else I can learn (this ACT e-course looks particularly interesting). In the meantime, his talk certainly reinforces my conviction that for many of us, addressing needs to use food as a coping mechanism is critical to longer-term success.
Episode 2 of The Men Who Made Us Fat aired this past Thursday. You can watch part 1 (above) as well as parts 2, 3, and 4. You can also read Zoe Harcombe’s summary.
For a counterpoint, you can read Evelyn’s “rant” over at CarbSanity. Me, I don’t get (or agree with) Evelyn on this one. Her wheelhouse is science, and I think when she gets into history and policy, she’s just another person with an opinion that she’s making forcefully (I see similarities to Woo’s take on CIH between the two).
I do NOT think that nanny statism is the way to go. Frankly, I don’t think our government has the ability to create policy that wouldn’t be squashed like a bug by our food lobby.
ordering carrot cake and ice cream after a steak may never have been a particularly healthy decision, but now it’s a mistake that costs you more than a day’s worth of extra calories. This up-ratcheting of caloric density is the result of specific, deliberate action by food companies. Rather than using food science to make food more flavorful with fewer calories, they’ve used it to manufacture food that is so calorific it practically has a gravitational pull.
I suspect that it’s really going to be a grass roots effort that will help to bring about change. Some food literacy work for sure, but more about putting market pressure on the food industry.
As they say over at He Ain’t Heavy, why aren’t we angrier?
I’ve come to believe, in a nutshell, that everyone just needs to nourish themselves well (with good food and functional movement) and love their body for whatever that self-care enables. … Allow your body to be whatever it is when it’s well cared for.
The Pleasure Trap is a compelling evolutionary theory for why some of us struggle with eating healthfully. In a nutshell, we’re wired to eat more and move less!
There’s a reason the hunters and gathers died out. Nothing against hunter-gatherers, but they were all almost completely wiped out by people who ate cheese and bread.
An interesting read from a popular WAPF-friendly blogger. A bit hyperbolic (especially towards the end), but I’m very sympathetic to the idea that there are some real disadvantages to completely eliminating entire food groups.
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our modern culture -- especially diet. Beth writes about ancestral health, health policy, & mindfulness. And cats! More »
I don't agree with @GaryTaubes much, but seems very plausible to me that what makes you fat may make you sick. #InDefenseOfFood 1 week ago
Wish @MichaelPollan's #InDefenseOfFood didn't start w "being overweight increases your chances of getting" diabetes. #causationvcorrelation 1 week ago
RT @CarbSane: New post on ketones as macronutrient and evoking Hippocrates "Let food be thy medicine" carbsanity.blogspot.com/2016/01/ketone… https://t.co/… 2 weeks ago
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This blog is the story of one woman's journey to understand the rising rates of obesity and apply it in her own efforts to lose weight. The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries.
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our modern culture -- especially diet. Beth writes about ancestral health, health policy, & mindfulness. And cats! 
