When we are “out there” or even in preparation for our cruising adventure, the last thing we need is for our joints to be aching, our tickers to be tick-tocking rather than tick-tick-ticking and our minds to be fuzzy. Besides exercising, taking a good look at the food we eat is one way to eliminate many if not most of these annoying things that make us feel older than we really are. If we pay attention, we become more in tune with which foods increase our energy and which foods cause us to feel lethargic or cause stomach upset.
One way is to change our ‘diet’ or nutritional intake is to begin eating like a caveman. Literally. Back in the day of the caveman, during the Paleolithic time, the human body was much as it is today. The people of this time were hunter-gatherers; they survived on the meat they killed and the fruits, vegetables, nuts and mushrooms they gathered. The cavemen (and women) were healthy, lean and strong. It wasn’t until civilization introduced dairy products, grains, sugars and processed foods that health problems became the norm. By eliminating these items, within 30 days a significant change can be noticed. The science behind the “Paleo diet” is sound, offering us a healthy alternative to our eating choices.
What this means is going back to the way we (AARP qualifiers) or our parents and grandparents ate when younger. There were local fruits and vegetables, meats from the local farm and fresh fish (depending on where we lived). There were not a lot of chemicals or pesticides in our foods, so basically, everything we ate was organic, local and unprocessed. Meals were created from what we had seasonally, from scratch, a simpler and healthier time.
Today’s diet includes mostly processed foods full of chemicals, antibiotics and unknown ingredients. The marketing for many “health” products is genius, leading us to believe that the granola bar we just picked up is actually good for us. This is where reading labels become important.
As cruisers, we have a desire to enjoy life… to it’s fullest. This means pain free, energetic and clear minded. Once we can get closer to our food sources and begin the process of removing the toxins from our bodies, we move closer to this goal.
Eating like a caveman, quite frankly is a challenge at first. There is A LOT of label reading, some withdrawals as we wean ourselves from breads, pastas, sugars, legumes and all processed foods, all of which have become the staples in the modern day diet. However, the results are worth it: weight loss, normalizing blood pressure, less inflammation in the joints and muscles, few insulin spikes and an overall feeling of wellness. All of this leading to a happier, healthier and longer life!
One of our favorite caveman meals is tacos, replacing the taco shell with (butter) lettuce. Delicious, satisfying and healthy!
Caveman Tacos
- Burger (organic, grass fed if possible)
- Butter Lettuce (or romaine if not available)
- Coconut Oil (just enough to coat bottom of skillet)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh peppers (red, yellow, green, jalepeño)
- Seasonings to taste (we like chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, cajun seasoning, red pepper) we discovered that our favorite taco seasoning purchased at the store was full of chemicals!
Cook all together. Spoon into double lettuce leaves, top with salsa (read your labels, Pace is good) and enjoy! Be sure to have a napkin or ten handy, as these can get messy!
Eat like a caveman and cruise on!
Peace, Love, Laughter & Pirate Yogis!
Kim Hess
Healthy Cruising GuidesTM
SV Ave de Paso
Florida Keys
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For more information on the Paleo Diet check out http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/
There are numerous other sites, blogs and apps out there with tons of information that can assist you on your journey to eating like a caveman.
Ok….I was ambivalent about commenting, but I've decided to because of some of the statements in this article. There is no proof that "cavemen" were anymore healthy than any of us. They typically died in their 30's and probably would not have lived much past their 40's due to disease and parasitical infections.
HOWEVER, I do agree that not eating processed food is a wise and healthy move for anyone. Fresh fruit and vegetables (including nuts and legumes) are the way to go, along with a reasonable intake of low fat meat and olive oil. I would agree that staying away from high pesticide foods (grapes, apples, strawberrys and a couple of others) is the way to go and makes sense buying organic, but otherwise, the reality is that there isn't much difference between organic and other produce.
Personally, I would highly recommend the Mediterranean Diet over a Paleo Diet, for the same reasons as the author of this article. I do agree that processed foods – with their high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients, and other questionable processing processes – are to be avoided at all times. Besides, with the Med DIet, you get to drink wine!
I've been really getting into the paleo thing, checking out this Palio Cookbooks review really tempted me to take the plunge, so I did, and have never looked back!
I've heard a lot of support for the "caveman diet" over the past few years, but didn't cavemen only live to be about 20 years old if they were lucky?
Sounds like a troll post to me.
If not, do some more research. Including looking what age "cavemen" actually live to. Average life span can be significantly skewed by the high infant mortality of the time. But once you made it past that they had very long life spans compared to the average life span statistics given.
I would agree that staying away from high pesticide foods (grapes, apples, strawberrys and a couple of others) is the way to go and makes sense buying organic
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