PS! I am linking you to a wiki page about one of my heros, Owsley Stanley, who died at age 76 of a car crash. He was on an all meat diet. Average age of men to develop heart disease in modern times is 65-66.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley

It is silly to make sweeping generalizations about one data point. Enjoy the story anyway.

As far as your question about Paleo, I am not trying to recreate a caveman diet,but instead I am simply trying to eliminate foods that are not natural,such as trans-fats,margarine,dyes,preservatives,artificial flavorings,chemical sweeteners.. Then I try to eliminate foods that make me gain weight and cause arthritis flare-ups,elevated sugar levels,high blood pressure,and those are wheat,potatoes and sugar...When you do this,you are mostly left with meats,fish,vegetables,fruits and nuts...It is a shame that 99% of boxed commercial food is full of these damaging ingredients!!The mainstream population is being slowly poisoned to death,bite by bite,getting sicker,needing more surgeries and medicines to treat this poisoning of the body...
Let me give you an analogy..Let's say you are standing in a grocery aisle,and I walk up to you and show you a blue pill in my hand..I tell you that this pill tastes great and is good for you and will satisfy your hunger,quick and convenient,all you need to do is swallow it..Would you take the pill?? Or would you ask me "What's in it ??","Where did it come from??","Is it safe to use??" I answer you that it is absolutely safe,just trust me,I wouldn't give you something that could harm you...JUST TRUST ME!! Would you take the pill then?? I think most would say "No Way!!" "Unless I know exactly what's in it and it's safe,I'm not trusting it!!!"
However people do this same thing,every single day!!!! Except it's not a pill from a stranger,but some processed food item from a corporation!!
Lets just look at the ingredients in a "Hot Pocket" which is a popular item eaten by millions every day...


Of these ingredients,how many are you knowledgeable of and trust to be in your food??
How many of these items(I don't even like to call them ingredients!)has the Human body evolved enough to consume safely and provide nutrition??
Here's another example...The McRib..

Pretty simple sandwich huh?A pork cutlet,on a bun with barbecue sauce,some pickles & onions right?
Well,not exactly:
McRib Pork Patty:
Pork, water, salt, dextrose, BHA and BHT and propyl gallate and citric acid (preservatives).

McRib Bun:
Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, yeast, high fructose corn syrup, contains 2% or less of the following: yellow corn meal, salt, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, canola oil, soybean oil, dextrose, sugar, calcium sulfate, cultured wheat flour, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium chloride, cellulose gum, diastatic malt, calcium carbonate, soy flour, deactivated dry yeast, dough conditioners (may contain one or more of the following: ascorbic acid, enzymes, sodium stearoyl lactylate, azodicarbonamide, calcium peroxide, guar gum, distilled monoglycerides, DATEM, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, calcium stearoyl lactylate), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin.
CONTAINS: WHEAT AND SOY.

McRib Sauce:
Water, high fructose corn syrup, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, molasses, natural smoke flavor (plant source), food starch-modified, salt, spices, sugar, soybean oil, xanthan gum, onion and garlic powder, sodium benzoate (preservative), caramel color, beet powder, corn oil.

Pickle Slices:
Cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavors (plant source), polysorbate 80, extractives of turmeric (color).

Slivered Onions
***********************************************************
So there you have it..Eat foods with barely pronounceable ingredients ..Or cook up some steak and eggs!!

so.... just a follow-up! Yesterday we had a "health fair" at work. Honestly, I do appreciate all that my employer does for us, they are wonderful. It was sponsored by the insurance company that carries our insurance. I don't carry the insurance. I receive insurance through my husband.

This is how jacked up everything is..... looking at me. I am 5'7" -5'8". I weigh well you all can see! The nurses just look at you- oh, here comes another fatty....

bp- 98/70
glucose- 75 after eating....
cholesterol 102 they did the basic finger prick,

I also have the bone density of a teenager. The nurses made me do the bp test 3 times 2x with the cuff, 1x with the wrist cuff. They wanted to prick me twice (I refused). They wanted to re-do my bone density.

The nurse-"you need to drink more water and eat less salt."
Me- "Why? I don't use salt, and I drink 3L per day, is that enough?" No answer.

Nurse- "You are dehydrated."
Me-"How do you know that?"
Nurse- "your blood pressure is too low."

This reconfirms my theory of today's healthcare system and most of the people that practice medicine AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE HEAVY> It also tells me that I am on the right path. Hang in there everyone, and do what is best for you- if you run into one of these idiots- move on....

All the best- Cindy

It is hard to say what is "healthy". Generally speaking - healthy is normative data of the population. If you are outside of the norms, you are unhealthy.

And to a first order approximation, they are correct. You really have to investigate to determine if you are really healthy.

For the nurse/medical person, you look unhealthy (overweight). The fact that you have good cardio numbers takes further examination. And this applies to the thin people as well. Thin does not mean/guarantee healthy.

In addition, you, I and the nurse would agree that weighing less would be more healthy. Glad you (and I) are working on that.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for all the replies and thoughts about this so far. Don't get me wrong, I am not looking for bad here with the diet, but simply asking a question that I don't really understand.
My ex had a major heart problem and a sudden one at that, no warning angina, and ended up having a triple by-pass at the age of 47. It was a great shock to us both. At the time he was a meat eater, I was a veggy. It turned him into a hostile and angry man after the op....a follow on of the shock I guess. He wasn't particularly overweight and was fit. I suppose this accounts for my fears about heart disease to some extent, so I feel it is a good thing to question theories and 'facts' from people....as Thomas says above. I've never been one for a lot of processed foods generally, not a 'TV dinner' person, though of course I used to eat things like bread etc. I just need to know I am doing the best I can for my body.
The weight loss is fab, I have felt a major improvement in my knee joints too which is possibly the biggest joy for me, as knees take huge stress at work. I believe I am looking healthier....but I can't help asking questions about stuff!!!!
Anyway, I now have a new man 10 years younger than me, and very lean.....he should last better I hope!!!!!

I'm really sorry to hear about your ex- with the heart disease! I remember when my dad had a heart attack at age 29. I was too young to really understand what was going on but remember the confusion and fear surrounding that event. Instead of getting mean, he moved across country and 3000 miles away from my family. I think major illnesses can really change people.

Anyway, happy to hear about your hot new man candy! He sounds like a winner.

The Saami people were hunters and they were very healthy for at least 10,000 years in the Northern part of Norway, Finland... I am a Saami via DNA & I have been Paleo for 4 years out of my 7 1/2 years GF & mostly wheat free for 10 years before that. The Saami only ate grains in very modern times. I am healthier now at 65 than I was at 40 & it shows!!!!

For another book on the real story about heart disease I HIGHLY recommend this book "Dr. Gunther's Diet Evolution" it is written by a heart surgeon.

The other book I recommend is "Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. I hear that he has a new book out & was also on the Good Morning show on TV this morning with the "fat lady" (she is skinny-she just has the real word on fat...). http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_16...praises-of-fat/ here is a link that someone sent to me.

I have not read it yet, but I am going to order "Pandora's Seed" written by Spencer Wells, phd, who works with National Geographic on the Genographic project, to be published in 2012...

The OP's question got me to thinking if I actually know, or know of, anyone who lived for decades on a paleo diet. Suddenly, I remembered my own dear mother.

She was born in 1905. The concept of eating out in a restaurant was completely alien to her. She used to say "you don't know what they put in your food". She never bought anything frozen or in a can in her life. (The exception may have been during WWII - she lived in England). She did eat bread but it was home made, unprocessed, and not made from frankenwheat. She slathered great gobs of butter on it too. She cooked nothing but simple, delicious, cuts of meat with plenty of fat, eggs and bacon for breakfast, fish on Fridays usually fried, fresh green vegetables, heaps of potatoes boiled, mashed, baked, or roasted (rarely french fries) and there was always an apple or two in the house. For most of this time I suspect the meat and butter was grass-fed and the fish was wild-caught because factory farming of animals only became common toward the end of her life. I began nagging her to change her eating habits sometime in the 1970s or 80s when we were told to bow at the altar of low-fat. I told her she would die of a heart attack if she carried on eating that way. And I was right, she did..... when she was 86 years old, after living a robust, illness-free life; oh, and did I mention she gave birth to me at the age of 45 which back in 1949 was very old indeed! At 86 she was still doing her own house cleaning and shopping. Of course, it wasn't really a heart attack, it just stopped due to old age.

So, nothing scientific about this, but I do know someone who lived a very natural diet, if not exactly paleo, and thrived on it for nearly 9 decades.

The perfect comeback would be... "But I'm 45!"

Whofan....good memories! And of course you are right...many lived like that and thrived. Beef dripping and everything!! Simple point too....perhaps as you say more about natural foods os all types than paleo, but I guess we all know the processed stuff is evil..............thanks for your input

HAHAHAHA I will use that one! Thank you.