Welcome to the 9/1/17 edition of 5-Shot Friday, which is usually a curated handful of health and wellness topics that I hope you find actionable and thought provoking. But periodically, I’ll find a resource that deserves attention all by itself.
This is one of them.
Wired To Eat is Robb Wolf’s newest book, and if his name doesn’t ring a bell, it will once you realize he’s the founder of the Paleo diet movement. His book The Paleo Solution is one of the go-to books for new CrossFit athletes adopting the Paleo eating style: low carb, high in veggies and proteins plus healthy fats, and an avoidance of processed foods and food types that Paleolithic man did not have access to.
In Wired To Eat, Wolff explains that this is less about copying Grok the caveman, than about avoiding foods with harmful effects on our bodies, which can be found in usually “healthy” foods like whole grains and tomatoes. Certain plants are especially rich in naturally occurring substances that helped them avoid being destroyed by insects and other predators – mild toxins that can cause inflammation in human bodies, with effects as far ranging as abdominal discomfort to joint pain and cardiovascular disease.
But the beauty of Wired lies in its tackling of a bigger problem, arguably the biggest regarding diet and food choices in the Western World: why is it that many of us just cannot stop gorging on the delicious stuff, and struggle with chronic health problems and obesity as a result? And Wolff’s explanation is the best that I’ve read so far, with the most sensible approach to fixing.
The Problem, short version: we are hardwired to chow down everything that’s not nailed down, and to be as lazy as we possibly can.
Those ancestors who weren’t wired this way – who ate like birds and ran around needlessly, burning every calorie they ate and then some -- didn’t survive for long. They died off with the first famine or unexpected herd animal migration, and didn’t become anyone’s ancestors.
We are descended, each and every one of us, from Paleolithic couch potatoes.
If they could store extra calories, they were more likely to survive the startlingly frequent famine, sickness, and injury challenges and have offspring more likely to do the same.
These days it is natural to want to eat tasty food (signal: high protein, fat, and nutrients in the wild, including the rare cache of honey or sweet fruit); it was a gift from Heaven back in the day. And expending just enough energy and no more is just as natural a tendency: to do just barely what is needed conserved hard-to-find nutrition for staying alive and dealing with Life’s curve balls.
Of course, the modern era has a very different definition of what constitutes a sensible hoarding of calories and “just enough” expenditure of physical effort. We can feed a family of 5 with a drive to McDonald’s, and “work” by typing on a keyboard all day long. But our inner drives and instincts are the same as Grok the caveman’s. Paleolithic couch potato food Hoovers.
Wolff pulls no punches with his call to action, he doesn’t sugar coat anything, he has no product to sell. The solution requires nothing less than realizing how we’re wired, and then training ourselves to choose a deliberately healthier alternative, since our modern circumstances are so different from our ancestors’, and following the same impulses no longer fits our current surroundings.
He promotes a basic diet that is simple in concept and execution, yet has more than enough room for essential variety. It’s tasty enough, yet minimizes flavorgasms that trigger massive binge eating. And once the basic diet is dialed in, he promotes an individualization period – a week of carbohydrate eating and testing, to customize your food choices to your particular metabolism and biochemistry. Some folks can eat handfuls of starch with each meal, others will gain weight just thinking the word “pasta”; his 7-day carb testing period helps you determine what you can safely eat and what you are hardwired, individual for your body, to avoid.
I’m working through the book myself, but have already started giving it out to my patients.
Highest recommendation. If you’d like to get more 5-Shot Fridays, please subscribe to my email list for automatic updates delivered to your inbox (I will never share or abuse it). And if you enjoyed this week’s edition, I’d appreciate a share. [feedburner_form]
Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
Share Your Valuable Thought