We love attending nutrition seminars because we always learn something new. This past Sunday, Mark Sisson gave a free lecture on the principles outlined in his book The Primal BluePrint. His approach is very Paleo, and he mentioned a key nutrition fact that I hadn't heard before:
There is no requirement for carbohydrates in nutrition, in fact, if you are eating only proteins and fats, your body will make up to 200 grams of carbs a day.
This goes back to the evolutionary history of our ancestors. Studies of various indigenous people show they had little to no carbs in their diet, yet they were lean, fit and healthy. Sisson later explained the process of creating carbohydrates in the body is called gluconeogenesis – the process by which the body generates glucose from non-carbohydrate sources.
Remember, for 200,000 years humans lived as hunter-gatherers, and weren't always sure where or when their next meal might come. Like Nisson says, our bodies still haven't evolved to adapt to the modern-day of supermarkets, fast food, and high carb diets.
So what do you do about it? It goes back to the same:
- Eat lots of meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, little starch, no sugar.
- Balance your meals 1/3 Protein, 2/3 carbs, sliver of fat (and don't worry too much about if you're eating enough carbs or not.)
- Eat every 2 hours, eat within 1 hour of waking, and 1-2 hours before going to bed.
Once you've done this for a few weeks, you will convert to burning fat as a primary energy source, just like your caveman body was designed to do!
Questions? Post to comments.
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He’s in my favorites. In fact, tomorrow night we’re making his recipe for beef burgundy:)
After doing high protein diets, though, I usually get a craving for something fresh, like an apple or salad with all the good veggies. I always figured this was a body-balancing thing if I wasn’t getting enough carbs. What about the vitamin & mineral sources from good carbs?
Laurie
Although carbs are not required having good carbs in your nutrition lifestyle is certainly beneficial especially for vitamins and minerals. The point that we are trying to stress is that the body can survive without carbs but cannot survive without protein. So when we think about our current carb loaded country (pastas, rice, breads) its no wonder why have an obesity epidemic. I think balance is still key and keep the carbs to a minimum… find your own balance where you feel great!
very informational… educative as well, i read and felt like reading over and over again….good job!