Raw and Raw-Fermented Paleo Tubers

Before cooking there was fermenting. Human beings and pre-human ancestors have been eating raw Paleo starchy foods for many millions of years. This is something that most so-called "Paleo" dieters are not aware of. Most are also not aware of the fact that some traditional people bury their roots and tubers to ferment them, so as to make them more tasty and digestible. If someone tells you that a food must be cooked to be made edible, check into whether it can be made edible via fermenting (or bletting in the case of some fruits) before assuming they are correct. Here is some info on the topic:

RAW YAMS

> Raw Yam?, http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/omnivorous-raw-paleo/raw-yam/25/

African Species of Yam (Dioscorea) that are Edible Raw (these are not available in American supermarkets):
> Dioscorea bulbifera - the "air potato"/"potato yam" (native to Africa and Asia; apparently only certain varieties are edible raw per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yam_(vegetable); http://tiny.cc/t89pow)
> Dioscorea transversa - Long Yam or Parsnip Yam (native to Australia):
Women Hunters - Ray Mears Extreme Survival - BBC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwklPPEDbWM#

> Dioscorea batata (opposita; nagaimo; Chinese yam; yamaimo) - Mountain Yam (native to China; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yam_(vegetable))

> Gbodo: Nigerian fermented and dried or parboiled yam
-> Effect of local preservatives on quality of traditional dry-yam slices 'gbodo' and its products, http://www.idosi.org/wjas/wjas2(3)/6.pdf

OTHER TUBERS EDIBLE RAW (FERMENTED) OR BRIEFLY COOKED

> Biochemical changes in micro-fungi fermented cassava flour produced from low- and medium-cyanide variety of cassava tubers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18087867

Studies on bio-deterioration, aflatoxin contamination and food values of fermented, dried and stored ipomoea batatas [sweet potato] chips
http://www.sciencepub.net/nature/ns1011/018_11118ns1011_123_128.pdf

Tubers as Fallback Foods and Their Impact on Hadza
Hunter-Gatherers
Frank W. Marlowe* and Julia C. Berbesque
http://www.bioanth.cam.ac.uk/fwm23/tubers_and_fallback_foods_21040_ftp.pdf

Paleo Goes Mainstream

Well, it's happening. Both the Washington Post and New York Times have reported on Paleo diets in short order. The Paleo diet is making the radar, becoming known to the media elites and the masses. This could have both bad and good consequences. I'm hoping for more of the latter.

Below is a link and a couple of excerpts from the NYT article, which is much better than the Post article, though it unfortunately pokes a little fun at raw Paleo (but it's amazing that it even mentioned it):

The New Age Cavemen and the City

...."Several identify themselves as libertarians." [I noted this interesting connection in a post at the RawPaleoForum. Granted, the fact that prominent early adopters and near-adopters like Art De Vany, Michael Eades, Nassim Taleb and Kurt Harris appear to be libertarian-oriented probably skews the current, still-early numbers.]

An Upper East Side physician, Grant Macaulay, said he has recommended the diet to hundreds of his patients, and sends them to Barnes & Noble to buy a copy of Mr. Cordain’s “Paleo Diet.” [It's good to see more and more physicians recommending various versions of it.]

Water Consumption Important for Carnivores

In addition to fat, water is very important for carnivores, including humans eating a carnivorous diet. Inuits still eating a meat/seafood-heavy diet reportedly drink large quantities of water:

[The Inuit drink] large quantities of water (5 to 6 litres per day), characteristic of the protein-rich diet that triggers renal elimination of the products of catabolism. Jeremy MacClancy, Consuming the Inedible: Neglected Dimensions, p. 123

There's also the example of wolves and other carnivores who drink copious amounts of water after feasting on flesh. This vid is not of an actual wolf, but you get the idea: Josie Wales Wolfdog Wolf Dog drinking Water

Five to six liters is about 10.5 to 12.5 pints of water a day. That sounds excessive to me, so if anyone has any information on how much water the Inuit drank, I'd appreciate it.

I drink mostly mineral water myself, as some studies indicate it provides additional benefits and I figure Stone Age water was probably more mineral-rich than most of today's tap or bottled water.

Atkins Beats Ornish, Ornish Spinning

The results of a study that compared the Atkins, Zone, Ornish and Yale/LEARN diets are out and the Atkins diet beat out the others in terms of weight loss (though not by much) and--more importantly--health statistics. While I'm no fan of the Atkins diet (it includes lots of unhealthy dairy products), it is certainly closer to the optimal science-based diet (an ancestral/Paleo/biologically appropriate diet) than the Ornish diet, which was largely inspired by Ornish's conversion to Hinduism rather than science [if the reports are correct at "Sri Swami Satchidananda, founder of Integral Yoga," http://www.swamisatchidananda.org/docs2/health.htm and "A Matter of Lifestyle," Frontline magazine of India, http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1606/16060920.htm]. It didn't take long for the gurus of the losing diets to start spinning the results. Dr. Dean Ornish in particular tried to re-interpret the results in a more favorable light, but his words only further undermined his cause.

Ornish said, "It's a lot easier to follow a diet that tells you to eat bacon and brie than to eat predominantly fruits and vegetables." That's hardly a criticism, since a diet that's easier to follow is more likely to be maintained, and thus more likely to be successful in the long term. Given that the Atkins dieters lost a bit more weight than the Ornish dieters and had better health statistics, the fact that the Atkins diet is also "easier to follow" is a definite plus.

Professor Kelly Brownell of Yale University said the study "shows that nothing works very well." It's amazing that Brownell admits here that his LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships and Nutrition) diet doesn't work very well and is no better than the other major diets, despite also including an exercise program. If he believes that, then why is he still promoting LEARN?

Zone diet creator Dr. Barry Sears said the study "had a good concept and incredibly pathetic execution." Could the fact that the dieters who tried to follow his soy-promoting diet lost the least weight have anything to do with his response?

These sour-grape comments contrast sharply with those of some prominent scientists. Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health said, "This is the best study so far to compare popular diets," pointing to the size of the study population, the duration (a year) and the small number of subjects who dropped out. The study's findings "are pretty much in line with what all the other studies have shown comparing Atkins and low-fat diets," according to Bonnie Brehm, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing.

It seems the diet guru's definition of a good study is one in which his diet comes out on top.

Here's a link to the study report:

Gardner CD et al, "Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial." JAMA. 2007 Mar 7;297(9):969-77.

American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Cold Pizza for Children's Breakfast

In their brochure, "What's to Eat? Healthy Foods for Hungry Children" (subscription required), the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for a "good start" to "carry a child through an active morning" the odd "breakfast idea" of leftover spaghetti or pizza, served hot or cold. Even before I learned about the Paleo diet I knew that cold pizza was nowhere near a health food, and had never heard of it being recommended as a good breakfast food for children.

Not surprisingly, the AAP receives funding from such corporate sources as the Sugar Association and the International Food Information Council (the public relations arm of the food and beverage industries, including the Sugar Association, the National Soft Drink Association, makers of food additives, McDonald’s Corporation, Kraft Foods, M&M/Mars, etc.).

As I remember it, it used to be that pretty much everyone recognized that cold pizza or spaghetti made from refined grains was not health food or a good way to get energy for the day and certainly not breakfast food. The thinking behind cereal for breakfast is that whole grains provide fiber and are therefore healthy (bogus of course--but the standard view). I'm not sure what the AAP's thinking behind refined-grain pizza and spaghetti is. Maybe this is part of the carb-loading insanity--or maybe they were just guided by the modern food industry that funds them.

A Brief Paleo Diet Meal Plan

It's best if you can go "cold turkey" on modern foods and go right to eating a completely Paleo/ancestral diet for the first four months, or at least four weeks, so that you can see the difference an ancestral diet makes. Even if you go completely Paleo you will likely inadvertently eat some modern foods at times, since so many store-bought and restaurant foods contain modern ingredients, and you may find that you have sensitivity reactions to some of the modern foods when you mistakenly eat them or reintroduce them after avoiding them for a few weeks or more. These reactions should dissipate over time for most people, but they are instructive about the ill effects of modern foods.

Our ancestors didn't eat dramatically different foods at different times of the day. Sandwiches did not become lunchtime staples in America until the 1900's when bakeries started pre-slicing bread and cold breakfast cereal did not become popular until the twentieth century. Our Paleolithic ancestors cooked the fruits of the day's hunt and generally continued to eat them at each meal until they were gone, along with the fruits, vegetables and nuts that were gathered. When the meat or fish was too plentiful to be eaten in a few meals they dried, smoked or froze it (when the weather was sufficiently cold) to preserve it. To eat more like our ancestors you should try to follow the same principals, cooking meat and fish for dinner and finishing up leftovers at breakfast or lunch, drying, refrigerating or freezing any surplus.

Breakfast

Instead of the typical breakfast foods of cold cereal with milk, toast, bagel, muffin, donut, bacon or sausage for breakfast, an ancestral breakfast will typically include some combination of leftover or fresh meat, fruit, nuts or seeds. Breakfast is best suited to foods which are easy to prepare and digest quickly, so vegetables are less emphasized with this meal, but they can still play a role if you are creative (for example, veggies can be included in omelets). Eggs are common in the breakfast of both the Standard American Diet and the ancestral diet, but some ancestral diet advocates, like Loren Cordain, suggest limiting the intake of eggs because of concerns about weight gain and blood cholesterol levels. Choose omega-3 enriched eggs and think of the extra expense as an investment in your health.

Sample breakfast (your actual meals may differ depending on your needs, your appetite and your preferences):
Bowl of diced apple, shredded carrots, raisins and walnuts
Cold or reheated lean pork chop leftovers
Tea

Lunch

Instead of the typical sandwich or burger in a bun, an ancestral lunch will tend to more resemble a light dinner.

Sample lunch:
Ground beef and red sauce on spaghetti squash
Tossed green salad with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice
Melon and strawberry slices
Water with lime wedge

Dinner

Dinner is the American meal that most resembles the ancestral way of eating. Try to forego modern components like bread, pasta, milk, margarine and butter.

Sample dinner:
Lean beefsteak
Steamed broccoli
Buttercup squash
Pitted, diced Medjool dates mixed with slivered almonds
Mineral water

Snacks

Ancestral snacks include fresh fruit, homemade beef jerky and dried salmon strips with no added salt, raw vegetables like carrots and broccoli, cold chicken breast and other leftover meats, sardines, unsalted or lightly salted nuts and seeds, dried fruit, trail mix, hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, homemade vegetable juice, and fruit smoothies (blended frozen fruit or fresh fruit and ice).

For more Paleo menus and ideas read The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. and NeanderThin by Ray Audette and see "The Paleolithic Eating Support List's Recipe Collection" and
"A Sample of Paleo Recipes".

There is controversy over how much animal fat, particularly saturated fat, to include in a Paleo diet, with Ray Audette advocating far more than Loren Cordain. The issue is too complex to get into here, but suffice it to say that you would include more animal fat in your Paleo meals than the sample meals here if you side with Audette. I find I can eat more animal fat than these meals contain without negatively affecting my LDL cholesterol levels, but I kept these sample meals relatively lean for those concerned with saturated fat (though there is more fat than the low-fat diet faddists would advocate).

Acne Cure

Loren Cordain, Ph.D. has just published an ebook titled The Dietary Cure for Acne. Cordain reviews the four known proximate causes of acne (pore blockage, excess oil production, bacterial infection and inflammation) and explains the underlying cause behind all of them: the modern diet. Cordain's ebook reveals how high glycemic foods increase oil production, and how dietary lectins prevent skin cells from sloughing off properly.

I personally have found a Paleo diet to nearly, though not yet completely, eliminate my chronic cystic acne. It is no longer significant enough to be noticeable to others.

ADD/ADHD Linked to Diet

The accumulating evidence is making it ever more difficult for anyone to deny a likely link between ADD/ADHD and diet. The holidays are an especially difficult time for parents of children with ADD/ADHD, because there are so many tempting and reactive modern foods available at this time of year: candy, cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, bread, stuffing and so on.

A study published in the May 2005 issue of the journal Pediatrics found that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)--which has substantial overlap with ADHD, dyslexia and autism--had dramatic improvement in their ADHD-related symptoms after taking essential fatty acid supplements for three months. The symptoms that improved included hyperactivity, restless and impulsive behaviors, inattention, opposition, cognitive problems, and anxiety, and their performance on spelling and reading tests also improved, with no adverse side effects. Essential fatty acids like omega 3 fatty acids formed a much larger part of the Paleolithic diet than today's standard American diet (SAD).

A 1999 review of studies found that most of the evidence pointed to a link between ADD and diet and that the food industry was ignoring the growing body of evidence:

Studies Show that Diet May Trigger Adverse Behavior in Children
HHS urged to Recommend Dietary Changes as Initial Treatment

WASHINGTON - In a [1999] review of two dozen scientific studies, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) contends that food dyes and certain foods can adversely affect children's behavior. CSPI, in a 32-page report titled "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior," charges that federal agencies, professional organizations, and the food industry ignore the growing evidence that diet affects behavior.

The report cites 17 controlled studies that found that diet adversely affects some children's behavior, sometimes dramatically. Most of the studies focused on artificial colors, while some also examined the effects of milk, corn, and other common foods. The percentage of children who were affected by diet and the magnitude of the effect varied widely among the studies. Six other studies did not detect any behavioral effect of diet.

"It makes a lot more sense to try modifying a child's diet before treating him or her with a stimulant drug," said Dr. Marvin Boris, a pediatrician in Woodbury, New York, whose 1994 study found that diet affected the behavior of two-thirds of his subjects. [...]

Researchers have also found that 79% of hyperactive children improved when suspect foods (foods that included sugars, artificial colorings and flavorings and foods that seemed to cause allergic reactions--including dairy products, soy products, chocolate, wheat, oranges, eggs, legumes, mushrooms, and yeast containing foods) were eliminated from their diets, and that their symptoms worsened again when the foods were reintroduced. (March 9, 1985 issue of the British Medical Journal, Lancet).

As with autism and so many other modern illnesses and syndromes, accumulating evidence strongly suggests a link between ADD/ADHD and diet. This could help explain the recent rapid increase in ADD/ADHD cases, which coincides with increases in obesity, type 2 diabetes and other disorders and diseases of civilization. The Paleolithic/evolutionary model of nutrition could help explain a host of chronic modern illnesses.

Unfortunately, there aren't many large industries that would fund Paleolithic nutrition research the way there are for research seeking to demonstrate the benefits of modern foods like whole grains and low-fat dairy. There isn't a lot of profit to drive Paleo research, so humanity will likely have to suffer a lot longer before these findings become widely known and more thoroughly researched.

The Autism - Diet Connection

The links: Autism – Autoimmune Disease – Connective Tissue Disorders – GI Disorders - Diet

In addition to the recent [controversial] links made between thimerosal (a mercury preservative commonly used in a number of childhood vaccines) and autism, there have also been links made between diet and autism, though not all studies support the connection. The evidence is sufficiently strong to make a dietary approach worth trying by parents, under the supervision of a doctor or nutritionist [open to ancestral diets], and worthy of further investigation by scientists.

Autism is an autoimmune disease (see Autoimmune Disease Research Foundation, A Theory of Autoimmune Disease, and Autoimmune Diseases, IMMUNOSCIENCES LAB., INC.). Many independent sources have found a link between autoimmune disease and diet. For example, the NeanderThin program, created by author Ray Audette, “is based on the authors’ research into the connection between autoimmune disease … and agricultural foods.” Dr. Loren Cordain of Colorado State University has also researched this connection. He states the following in his book, The Paleo Diet:

Many environmental agents have been suspected in the development of autoimmune diseases. But only one of these types has proved capable of causing a disease. Cereal grains—such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats—are responsible for celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. In celiac disease, the immune system attacks and destroys cells in the intestine, leading to diarrhea and many nutritional problems. In dermatitis herpetiformis, the skin is attacked.

Withdrawal of all gluten-containing cereals causes complete remission of both diseases. Cereal grains, dairy products, and legumes are suspected in other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Autism has many symptoms and characteristics in common with connective tissue disorders. There is a strong connection between connective tissue disorders, diet and nutritional deficiencies, which is explored in depth at Sandy Simmon’s Web site (www.ctds.info). Symptoms that are associated with both autism and connective tissue disorders include (but are not restricted to): allergies, anxiety, arrhythmia, asthma, attention deficit disorder, autistic-like behaviors, bowel symptoms, eye disorders, food intolerances and allergies, hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, mood instability, muscle pain, obsessive-compulsive disorder, repetitive language, sleep difficulties, and strong food preferences and aversions. One connective tissue disorder, fragile x, is found in 10% of autism cases.


Research has linked autism to gastrointestinal disorders. A University of Maryland study strongly made the link:

UM DOCTORS FIND FIRST CLEAR LINK BETWEEN AUTISM AND GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDER
1999 Releases - University of Maryland Medical News
Originally Released: December 12, 1999
BMJ 2002;325:419-421 ( 24 August 1999 )

Children with autism have a much higher rate of gastrointestinal disorders than other children, according to a study conducted by doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. The study, led by Karoly Horvath, M.D., Ph.D, further suggests that gastrointestinal disorders may contribute to some of the behavioral problems associated with autistic children and may be caused by low levels of the hormone secretin in the body.

…. Fifty-eight percent of the examined children with autism suffered from chronic diarrhea caused by malabsorption of carbohydrates. ….

Numerous studies have linked autism to diet. Here are links and excerpts from just some of them:

Nutr Neurosci. 2002 Sep;5(4):251-61.
A randomised, controlled study of dietary intervention in autistic syndromes.
Knivsberg AM, Reichelt KL, Hoien T, Nodland M.

The development for the group of children on diet was significantly better than for the controls.

Panminerva Med. 1995 Sep;37(3):137-41.
Food allergy and infantile autism.
Lucarelli S, Frediani T, Zingoni AM, Ferruzzi F, Giardini O, Quintieri F, Barbato M, D'Eufemia P, Cardi E.

“The aim of the present study has been to verify the efficacy of a cow's milk free diet (or other foods which gave a positive result after a skin test) in 36 autistic patients. We also looked for immunological signs of food allergy in autistic patients on a free choice diet. We noticed a marked improvement in the behavioural symptoms of patients after a period of 8 weeks on an elimination diet and we found high levels of IgA antigen specific antibodies for casein, lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin and IgG and IgM for casein. The levels of these antibodies were significantly higher than those of a control group which consisted of 20 healthy children. Our results lead us to hypothesise a relationship between food allergy and infantile autism as has already been suggested for other disturbances of the central nervous system.”

Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2002 Apr;6(2):175-83.
Biochemical aspects in autism spectrum disorders: updating the opioid-excess theory and presenting new opportunities for biomedical intervention.
Shattock P, Whiteley P.

“One area of interest … is the opioid-excess theory of autism. The main premise of this theory is that autism is the result of a metabolic disorder. Peptides with opioid activity derived from dietary sources, in particular foods that contain gluten and casein, pass through an abnormally permeable intestinal membrane and enter the central nervous system (CNS) to exert an effect on neurotransmission, as well as producing other physiologically-based symptoms. Numerous parents and professionals worldwide have found that removal of these exogenously derived compounds through exclusion diets can produce some amelioration in autistic and related behaviours. There is a surprisingly long history of research accompanying these ideas. The aim of this paper is to review the accompanying evidence in support of this theory and present new directions of intervention as a result of it.”

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004(2):CD003498.
Gluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder.
Millward C, Ferriter M, Calver S, Connell-Jones G.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that peptides from gluten and casein may have a role in the origins of autism and that the physiology and psychology of autism might be explained by excessive opioid activity linked to these peptides. Research has reported abnormal levels of peptides in the urine and cerebrospinal fluid of persons with autism. If this is the case, diets free of gluten and /or casein should reduce the symptoms associated with autism. ….

MAIN RESULTS: The one trial included reported results on four outcomes. Unsurprisingly in such a small-scale study, the results for three of these outcomes (cognitive skills, linguistic ability and motor ability) had wide confidence intervals that spanned the line of nil effect. However, the fourth outcome, reduction in autistic traits, reported a significant beneficial treatment effect for the combined gluten- and casein- free diet.

Food allergy and infantile autism.
Authors: Lucarelli S , Frediani T , Zingoni AM , Ferruzzi F , Giardini O , Quintieri F Barbato M, D'Eufemia P , Cardi E
Department of Paediatrics, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
Panminerva Med 1995 Sep;37(3):137-41

“Researchers at Johnson & Johnson have found a very toxic compound in the urine of children with autism - dermorphin. Dermorphin is only found one other place in nature - the poison of the Amazonian Poison Dart Frog! It is 10 million times more potent and toxic than morphine (Alan Friedman, PhD at J&J). Other researchers have confirmed it is essentially always present in children with autism that receive even tiny amounts of casein or gluten.”

The rate of autism in the population in America has been rising, indicating an environmental factor(s) in causation. Even though thimerosal is being phased out, autism rates have been rising, suggesting that there is another factor(s) involved.

Autism's Surge Mystifies
By Anita Manning, USA TODAY
May 18, 2004, p. 8D

Autism, once a rare and mysterious disorder, is no longer so rare. A generation ago, only two to four of every 10,000 children were labeled autistic. Today, it's more like 60 per 10,000 by some estimates.

But no one knows why. Experts cite a much greater awareness of autism and related conditions, grouped as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and a broader definition that has allowed children who might otherwise have been overlooked to receive a diagnosis. But they also say there has been an actual increase, and the reasons for that are not entirely clear — though there are plenty of theories.

....

"We know there are genetic factors," Hollander says, but something else may also be involved. "It is possible there are environmental factors" that trigger the genes.

Several possibilities have been investigated, from junk-food diets, which are high in fatty acids that could interfere with the coating of nerve cells in the brain, to a drug used to induce labor in pregnant women. But no environmental link has been found.

…