It isn't hard to look around and see that something is wrong. Something is seriously WRONG. I'm at a book store right now, and out of the 10 people within my sight, there is only 1 of them that isn't overweight. I'm not saying this to be a jerk or because I secretely look up to Ben Stiller's character in the movie Dodgeball, I'm saying this to be REAL. I'm a sincere person, and I really care about people. To be honest, I'm a little pissed off that it has come to this point. I'm mad. I don't feel that people were meant to live this way. People weren't meant to feel lousy about themselves. People weren't met to have no energy. People weren't meant to live life battling ailments and prescriptions that cause even more ailments. People weren't meant to be unathletic and sluggish. We ARE ALL ATHLETES. We were meant to live active lives. We were meant to have an abundance of energy and physical vitality. I'm passionate because I SEE the matrix behind this. Most people don't. They've accepted the norm. They've lost hope. They've given up. They have NO STANDARDS and so they inner rationalize and never take action to change.


Okay enough of my rant, and onto the subject at hand; caveman diet and why it works. The caveman diet has a SOLID foundation. Like I said, it's a philosophy around eating. It's based on emerging evolutionary understandings and studies. It gives us a clear picture, and cuts out the confusion when it comes to what we should be eating.

Here are the basics behind WHY it works:

1. It balances the omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acid ratio
2. It gives you the proper amino acids to build and maintain muscle
3. It keeps your insulin levels LOW and naturally regulated



1. It balances the omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acid ratio

Essential fatty acids play a part in many metabolic processes, and there is evidence to suggest that low levels of essential fatty acids, or the wrong balance of types among the essential fatty acids, may be a factor in a number of illnesses, including osteoporosis. These are the ESSENTIAL fatty acids (essential meaning your body can't produce them, they must be consumed).

Estimates vary, but experts generally characterize Western diets as anywhere between 10-30 parts omega-6 to 1 part omega-3 (10-30:1). Omega-6 fatty acids found in corn and other grains as well grain-fed livestock, are crucial when BALANCED with the right amount of Omega 3's. What's the ratio we should be getting? A minimum of 4:1 and some say 1:1. Certainly a radical change from the ratio MOST people are currently getting. If you lived 10,000 years ago, and you hunted and gathered for your food, your essential fatty acid's would naturally have been balanced.

What you're missing out on when they're not balanced:
Basically it spurs inflammation. Here's a list of disease that studies have linked to imbalanced omega ratios:
-heart attacks
-thrombotic stroke
-arrhythmia
-arthritis
-osteoporosis
-inflammation
-mood disorders including panic and depression
-cancer

How this benefits you:
It it simply giving your body the right fuel. You will avoid the death list above ^. You're more likely to experience positive results in your fitness, health, and emotional levels. Your hormones balance out and you keep your bodies inflammation responses in check.

What ACTION you can take:
Start eating more food that contains omega 3's. Fish, flaxseeds, omega eggs (chickens that were fed flax seeds), grass fed meats.

Supplement with FISH OIL or Cod Liver Oil. Sprinkle flax seeds over your dishes (enhances taste and texture anyways).

2. It gives you the proper essential amino acids

Amino acids are used to repair and maintain tissue in the body, including muscle. If you're not getting enough, you're simply not going to optimize your health and fitness. Experts from the Medical Research Council at the University of College London estimate that, while the typical Western diet today is composed of 49% carbs, 35% fats and 16% protein, the diet of traditional hunter-gatherer populations included twice the protein intake.

How this benefits you:
I try to get at least 1 gram per pound of body weight per day (195). Sure, I can survive on less, but I’m all about maintaining and building my lean mass. You can only do that with protein. If you're serious about losing weight, you MUST build your metabolism by increasing the amount of your metabolic tissue (muscle). If you're a lady reading, this doesn't mean 'bulking up,' it means toning your muscles and building their strength and power. Consuming protein is the giving your body the materials to make this happen.

What you're missing out on when you don't get the proper amino acids
It will be next to impossible to build your body, build your metabolism and make any changes. Also, because there are essential amino acids that our bodies DON'T manufacture on their own, we must get them through eating. When you follow the caveman diet, this naturally occurs.

What ACTION you can take:
Start to eat good sources of protein! Try to get organic and naturally raised animal products. Eggs, meats, fish would have been any caveman's primary source.

3. It keeps your insulin levels LOW and naturally regulated
photo and quotesource
If we go back 10,000 or more years, we find that our ancestors had very little access to sugar – or any carbohydrates for that matter. There was some fruit here and there, a few berries, roots and shoots, but most of their carbohydrate fuel was locked inside a very fibrous matrix. In fact, some paleo-anthropologists suggest that our ancestors consumed, on average, only about 80 grams of carbohydrate a day. Compare that to the 350-600 grams a day in the typical American diet today.


All carbohydrates eventually get converted to glucose. This is a good thing, in the right PROPORTIONS. While glucose is a fuel, it is actually quite toxic in excess amounts unless it is being burned inside your cells, so the body has evolved an elegant way of getting it out of the bloodstream quickly and storing it in those cells. How does your body do this? Insulin response. When you pollute your body with excess amounts of carbs, insulin comes to the rescue. It's job is to get the glucose (the end result of what carbs get processed into) out of the blood stream. Where does this excess glucose get stored? FAT. The more I've researched and learned about insulin and carbs, the more convinced I am that they are certainly the major cause behind obesity, fat gain, type II diabetes (obviously), inflammation response, and a host of other negative effects.

How this benefits you:
When you eat like a caveman, you get the PROPER amount and PROPER source of carbohydrates. Proper amount 50 to 150 grams per day coming from VEGGIES and certain fruits.

What you're missing out on when your insulin levels are out of control:
Well you're definitely on your way to diabetes. You'll feel sluggish. Your body will continuously storing more fat. Everything in your body goes DOWN HILL.

What ACTION you can take:
Start eating the right amount, and right sources of carbs. Cut out processed sugar first and foremost. Cut the pop, candy, and cookies. Then focus on cutting out bread, pasta, crackers, things of this nature. Start eating A LOT of veggies and fruits. You'll feel better, look better, perform better. Remember this saying: nothing tastes as good as vitality feels. You'll find this out if you give it a try.


Final note:

I've listed 3 major areas that when handled will transform the way you feel and look. However the list is virtually endless. The more I've lasered in my focus into the area of health and proper nutrition, the more I'm blown away by the implications of living right vs. not living right. It really is the difference behind living a life you were MEANT to live, and not.

So with that said here's a quick list of additional 'side effects' of the caveman diet. It forces you to avoid a lot of modern poisons found in modern foods. You just don't eat the artificial stuff when you're eating with the caveman philosophy in mind. You don't get the transfats. You don't poison yourself with excess glucose. It increases your antioxidant, vitamin, and mineral intake. We all know the importance of that. It naturally regulates your hormones. It keeps your bodies inflammation response LOW and naturally where it should be (a lot more on this later). Your body burns off the excess fat naturally and healthfully. The system as a whole runs like it is supposed to. You optimize your energy and vitality overall. Your fitness and athleticism gets resurrected.


or


It's up to you.

Tomorrow I'll be giving the WHAT TO DO of the caveman diet. Yes that means SPECIFICS that you can follow. Thanks for reading.

Sam