Andy Lewis

Thanks to Thad for lighting a fire under my ass about this. I know I'm horrible about writing on this blasted website but i guess it's time to stop procrastinating and help everybody out.

So a few nuggets in no particular order:

1. So you like nuts? Do not eat peanuts because they have atherogenic properties. Don't know what atherosclerosis is? Look it up. Do not eat cashews because they come from the same family as peanuts. When eating nuts eat those that are lower in the ratio of omega 6:omega 3. Although you are allowed to eat all other nuts, the types with the best ratio are: walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans and pine nuts.

2. Grains have anti nutrients? What? I thought they were good for you?! Not only did paleolithic era "humans" not eat grains, but they had no knowledge of how to process them either. Key word here process = BAD! In nature, grains have defensive mechanisms to keep predators from eating them. Hint, we are the predators among other creepy crawlies. Below is a little background on the grain.

* 3 things make up a grain
o Bran-outer portion that contains vitamins and nutrients. Has anti nutrients and is gut-irritating
o Kernel-where you get the caloric content, ex white rice
o Germ-plant embryo, fairly dense with fatty acids

* Grains are a reproductive source, so they have many control mechanisms to prevent predation and abnormal germination
o Main anti nutrient is Phytic acid (basic name is phytates)
o Another anti nutrient is gluten which is a protein (called lectins) attack micro villi in intestine leading to diminished absorption of fats, minerals and many vitamins
o Dairy also has high concentrations of grain lectins, while dairy from grass-fed dairy shows little or none

3. Dairy? But i need my calcium!? WTF mate... "Dairy products are one of the greatest sources of artery-clogging saturated fats in the American diet, and cheeses produce the highest acidic loads of any foods." Dairy lowers the pH of your blood. For you non-science people that means that your blood is more acidic. What does this do? Acidity in blood, among other things causes you to recover more slowly. So much for that perfect post-workout meal, witht he mst perfect timing after that perfect workout huh? Your blood wants to be more basic (higher pH, around 7) so what does the body do to get rid of this acid floating around your circulatory system? First off, calium is sluffed off from your bones so that it can make your blood pH more basic. Osteoporosis anyone? Sounds fun! Of course this process (Osteoporosis) may take many decades but, it can affect you down the road. Another way the body rids itself of acid is by breaking down muscle fibers to help decrease the acidic balance. Dang, so im not only losing bone mineral mass but im also losing the awesome muscle i gained while doing my crossfit workouts? Technically, you are pissing everything away. All this calcium that is sluffed off is leaving your body through urination. Do yourself a favor, eat alkaline foods (foods that have a net basic reaction in the blood) Vegetables and fruits are the keys to success in this instance.

4. Calcium, AGAIN?! I know im beating a dead horse by now, but in the case you forgot calcium is important for bone mineral health and many other physiological reasons. So how do you get calcium if you are not eating dairy? Eat more vegetables and fruits to take place of dairy/grains! Wow, that was easy!

5. So im confused on how much im supposed to eat because i hear both the information about Barry Spears' Zone and Cordain's Paleo diet at the same time! I'll break this one down barney-style because most people seem like they have lost more than a few brain cells recently. If you are 100% Paleo Diet or that is your intention, that amount you eat at meals is the amount necessary to make you feel satisfied. What does satisfied mean? It's when your tummy says that you really don't need anything else to eat. This does NOT mean that you stuff your face until your are in pain, that is satisfied exaggerated to the extent of hyperbole. Chill out, eat slow, chew each bite until it is broken down, and do not inhale (even President Clinton said this, so it must be true!). If you are looking at tweaking your performance while on the Paleo diet, then this is where you may want to start including the Zone blocks into your dining experiences. This is where people get confused because they often hear blocks synonymous with paleo. Timing, nutient density, grams, blocks, supplements, phase 1-5, recovery, muscle fatigue, fats, carbohydrates (low and high glycemic load/index), and proteins among many others are all key words that are possible avenues of approach when thinking of tweaking your performance. It can get highly technical so i'll leave that out for now.