[ExI] Paleo/Primal health [Was: Re: Technology, specialization, and diebacks...Re: I love the world. =)]

[Max More]

Natasha asked:

>Max, after you respond to Amara, would you please advise me how I 
>can maintain and even gain weight on the paleo diet?  And, how do 
>you see the issues of how food is grown / raised, that is very 
>different from  "organic" foods?  (kiss)

It seems to easy for people who are considerably overweight to slim 
down at a rate of one to two pounds per week. It seems to a natural 
result of the relatively low intake of carbs on a paleo diet. 
However, even while losing body fat, it's easy to maintain lean body 
mass (muscle and bone). The paleo diet is not a weight loss diet, 
although it can certainly be used for that purpose.

You may have formed a slightly misleading impression from me, because 
I have been (and for another few weeks will) aim to lose body fat 
while on paleo. I'm aiming to reduce it from my starting level (which 
was perfectly healthy) down to a very lean 8%. That's for purely 
aesthetic reasons and isn't at all necessary for health purposes.

In pursuit of that goal, I modified the regular paleo diet (in so far 
as there is an accepted standard) to be considerably lower in carbs. 
By keeping carbs under 50 g/day, I should be in ketosis with 
accelerated fat burning. I could probably increase that to between 50 
and 100 g and still do well. The more standard paleo/primal diet 
would have you consuming around 100 to 150 g of carbs, all from 
vegetables and fruits. (This is compared to the 300+ g (often much 
higher) of carbs in the average American diet.)

So, if you want to maintain and even gain weight (so long as it's not 
mostly fat), you would simply eat more, especially more (healthy) 
fats, with their higher concentration of calories. I imagine it's 
*possible* to put on lots of body fat on a paleo diet, but it would 
be quite a difficult task. If you mean that you want to maintain and 
gain muscle while perhaps also adding a few pounds of fat (for 
aesthetic reasons)... well, I don't know. You would have to try it. 
You might also pose the question on one of the helpful paleo forums. 
Especially good is Mark Sisson's:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com

Almost missed the second question: As you know, I have a low opinion 
of the "organic" label. However, it can sometimes convey useful 
information and point to superior nutritional sources. I'm not at all 
convinced of the need or value in buying "organic" fruit or 
vegetables. The organic label might be useful for eggs, since these 
may (*may*) come from a source that gives them higher levels of omega-3s.

The organic label when applied to animal foods usually means that it 
comes from a grass-fed source, which it seems produces a more healthy 
balance of fatty acids. I thought the same was true of fish, if 
organic implies wild rather than farmed, but an analysis by Loren 
Cordain suggests otherwise. He says that farmed fish are changing to 
more closely resemble wild fish. Wild caught fish still have slightly 
better fatty acid ratios, but not by a lot. At the same time, farmed 
fish have more of the fatty acids in total, so you can get just as 
much or more of the omega-3s from farmed fish.

So, given the vagueness of "organic", currently (I'm open to new 
information obviously) it seems more useful and appealing with regard 
to meat and eggs and not so much for fruit, vegetables, or fish.

Max