Making Paleo Your Own

Today, many experts claim to know exactly what you should be eating to achieve optimal health.  We, at Paleovalley, have a slightly different approach...

Although we do provide many time-tested and researched-based dietary recommendations, we also believe there is more than one perfect diet. For this reason, our goal is to keep you inspired and actively engaged throughout your entire health journey. In other words, we want you to take our guidelines and dive into your own body, mind and palette. It is only then that you will discover your "perfect diet." 

We aren’t reticent pushovers, either. Instead, our approach is born of experience and research. What we've learned is that sustainable weight loss and wellness are most often achieved by those who are actively engaged and invested in their own process at every point along this discovery journey. Wandering through this process mindlessly may still yield health benefits, but your full potential may not be met. Achieving radiant health requires that you tune in.

Tuning in is important because we are all like snowflakes. No two of us are identical. In 1956, Roger Williams coined the term “biochemical individuality” to describe this phenomenon. His research taught us that we are all very metabolically, physically, and emotionally unique. In fact, he found that our inherent uniqueness is noticeable down to the very size and shape of our internal organs.

According to Williams this incredible variability yields very individual nutritional needs. These needs also vary based on a number of other criteria including: health status and history, food sensitivities/intolerances, activity level, age, sex, metabolism, lifestyle, stress level and genetics. Due to this complex interaction of many variables, one man’s perfect diet, could be another man’s poison.

Eggs are a great example. While they are a paleo approved and incredibly nutrient dense food for most, they are also one of the most common dietary allergens. Therefore, if you have an egg allergy, you may feel worse than ever on a paleo diet. Does that mean the paleo diet is harmful? Nope. It simply means that you have a unique nutritional need that must be elucidated and addressed before the paleo diet can help your health reach new heights.

The work of Dr. Weston Price also clarifies for us that one perfect diet does not exist.  Price was a dentist who set off on a worldwide expedition to study 14 unindustrialized cultures. It was his hope that studying the diets in these cultures would allow him to find the "perfect diet" which might rid his clients of the rampant tooth decay they were experiencing. Much to his surprise, the perfect diet did not exist.

Price found that although many of the cultures had amazing dental health, bone structure, and freedom from disease, no two diets were the same. In fact, each culture had a unique diet that varied according to climate, location and availability. Sound familiar?

Every thriving culture consumed:

• Whole foods 
• Animal products (no vegetarian cultures)
• Seasonal foods
• Local foods
• Most ate fermented foods
• High intakes of vitamin A and D
• Raw foods
• Properly prepared nuts, seeds and even some grains (very different from the grains we know today)
• A fat content of 30-80%
• Bone broths
• Balanced ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids
• "Sacred" foods

These guidelines are the basic tenets for our strategy at Paleovalley. It is our hope that you apply these principles and remember to experiment with your own body! Begin to notice how you feel 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours after a meal. Journal your findings. Are you tired? Energized? Happy? Irritable? Making connections between what you eat and how you feel is one of the most important tools for radiant health.

Remember that your perfect diet will vary daily based on your current health status, age, sex, activity level, stress level, and emotional state among other variables. This is why we need you in the driver’s seat! Use our wisdom, research and experience and make it your own. Forget the days of being told what to do and become an active participant in the road back to wellness! 

It is truly the ONLY way to feel fabulous forever.

Here’s to tuning in, toning up & flourishing health!

Happy Paleo-ing,

Autumn Smith MSHN