This is just a quick primer I threw together. Please point out any mistakes in it. I'm system.root on gmail.
Definitions:
- Paleo - Short for paleolithic diet, paleo is a lifestyle based on the idea that humans evolved eating meat, fat, fruits, and vegetables without grains or legumes
- Ketosis - Ketosis is a state of metabolism characterized by higher than "normal" ketones in the blood.
- Crossfit - A workout plan based on the idea that humans didn't evolve sitting at an office desk all day. It can be summed up as "Move heavy stuff"
- Carbohydrate - abbreviated carb, it is a macronutrient containing 4 calories per gram
- Amino Acid - Building blocks of protein. 13 are essential for making a complete protein.
- Protein - Macronutrient containing 4 calories per gram. Made of amino acids.
- Fat - Macronutrient containing 9 calories per gram.
- Macronutrient - Class of essential nutrients.
- Omega 3 fatty acids - Commonly called Omega 3. An anti-inflamatory fat found in meat fat.
Paleo: Let's go back 100,000 years ago. Bear with me if you're a young earth creationist. Back then, there was Grok. Grok killed animals and ate them when he could. Otherwise, he would find food and eat it. Food was fruit and vegetables, nuts and berries, and meat. Grok grew strong from moving heavy stuff and cows ate grass and everything was great. Fastforward to about 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. Some crazy human figured out how to save grass seeds from some of the wild grasses they would occasionally eat. Then they started growing it and keeping the best seeds. This was the agricultural revolution. It's when humans started eating grass in mass. Fastforward to now. We have wheat and corn everywhere. We have so much wheat and corn that we feed it to our cattle. And everything is not great. Remember in Grok's day, cows ate grass. It turns out there are a lot of benefits from grass fed meat. Like omega 3 fatty acids and Conjugated Linoic Acid (CLA). Grain fed cattle are high in Omega 6 and low on Omega 3.
Paleo vs Atkins: When I first tell people about paleo, they ask if it's like Atkins. Paleo is usually low carb diet, though some carbs are allowed. One difference between paleo and Atkins is the main energy source. Atkins doesn't specify, so it was heavy on meat. Paleo encourages fat as an energy source. Grass fed animal fat! The big difference is paleo cares about what you DO eat rather than what you DONT eat.
Ketosis: Ketosis is a metabolic state where your brain runs on ketones instead of glucose and muscles run on fatty acids rather than glycogen. A person becomes ketotic after following a low carb diet for some time. Adaptation to this state comes after a month and removes the flu-like symptoms that some people get when going into ketosis. MCT oil while going into ketosis may prevent these symptoms and I have never had them.
Paleo and Ketosis Paleo and ketosis go together like a well made simile. Paleo is already low carb and high fat, ketosis should be low carb and high fat.
Pro low carb: Low carb diets are anti-inflammatory, producing less oxidative stress during exercise and more rapid recovery. Comparatively unlimited fuel source (40000 calories from 10% body fat vs 2000 calories from carb based glycogen storage) Fat oxidation produces ketones and free fatty acids. After adaptation, muscles burn free fatty acids and produce ketones. The brain burns ketones as a replacement for glucose (the brain runs on glucose in the carb adapted person) Higher peak rate of fat oxidation (burning) than carb adapted could ever achieve. Improved insulin sensitivity (can aid in faster recovery after working out) Less lactic acid produced from anaerobic activity. Prevents protein oxidation and increases circulating essential amino acids (critical for building and repairing tissues, organs, and cells) Less CO2 produced per calorie burned (your exercise becomes more efficient and it gets easier to breathe by about 20-30% after adaptation) Less exercise induced inflammation, immunosuppression, gastro-intestinal distress, insulin resistance, muscle damage, and soreness.
Anti High carb: Diets high in carbs bias your metabolism towards carbs and inhibit fat mobilization and utilization. This is through reduced insulin sensitivity. Brain runs on glucose, muscles and brain compete for glucose. With limited supply, when muscles are out of their limited glycogen, the body uses glucose stores to produce it, limiting the glucose available to the brain, limiting mental capacity. Carbohydrates inhibit fat oxidation and use for several days after consumption (I'm sure there's some threshold since you eat up to 50g of carbs in keto-adapted state, but I haven't read it yet) Pro carb: cheap, easy, quickly digested easily turned into glycogen no adaptation period since almost everyone is adapted already the agricultural revolution is how the earth can support this many people. Without abundant carbs, humans would be more limited in population
Risks: Keto-acidosis - ketones are acidic and in your blood. Too many and you get terribly sick/start hyperventilating even at rest. Ironically, a keto adapted person has better controlled blood pH, even though ketones are acidic. Addition to Paleo:
Most of the carbs allowed on paleo are slow carbs and starches. I haven't read much on slow vs fast digesting carbs and their effect on insulin, but I think the fast ones cause a more drastic spike in insulin. High levels of insulin signal the muscles to start replenishing glycogen and inhibits fat oxidation. Slow carbs should make this effect less drastic. There needs to be more research done on insulin spiking because it has only become popular in the last 30-40 years of sports nutrition and the consequences may not be fully understood.
Volek and Phinney book "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance"