No, not my life. Ex-vegan Kevin Holbrook's life. I received an email from Kevin last week:
Hi John,
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to the paleo diet. I was suffering unbearably at times, and doctors couldn't help. By chance, I saw you on Colbert and since then my life has transformed well beyond the diet. Not only did the suffering stop, but I felt better than I did even before the suffering when I was a Division I athlete.
The last six months especially, I've shaped my life aggressively to fit a more natural model. I'm still developing this model, and just a few days ago started a blog about it. Anyway, the first post was my little way of thanking you. Thought you might like to see it:
THANK YOU,
Kevin Holbrook
Awesome. How can you not love this stuff? Here is
his full testimonial, which I've taken the liberty to bold.
After a year's worth of doctor visits, a thousand dollars down the drain, and unnecessary and invasive testing, I was feeling worse than ever, in such pain and discomfort that I could not bring myself to exercise or sleep, which further worsened the problem. Doctors of all sorts advised me to eat plenty of fiber, naming whole grain breads and beans as the best sources. Now I can only laugh about it.
I didn't know at the time, but I'm highly sensitive to the gluten in whole grain breads and the lectins in certain plants like tomatoes and beans.
I had all but given up hope when I heard John Durant of
Hunter-gatherer.com pitch the paleo diet on the Colbert Report. He compared us to animals in the zoo and explained how they thrive on their natural diet. Humans are animals too, he argued, and should therefore eat their natural diet. I was sold immediately and did some follow up research to get the details before starting. It made perfect evolutionary sense.
So I chose the strictest form of the paleo diet: no grains, no legumes, no dairy, no nightshades, no alcohol, low lectins, no processed food. In two days, I was a new man. The pain and discomfort was gone for the first time since I could remember. I woke with renewed vitality, yearning to get outside and play.
I see the discovery of this philosophy as nothing short of personal salvation, and I owe much to the many voices who have developed the philosophy into what it is now. My determination to advance the boundaries of the paleolithic philosophy are rooted in my own story of misguided science and the wrongs of conventional wisdom. I only hope that I can help others find true health and happiness the natural way.
Let's just say that when I was a management consultant, no one attributed their personal salvation to my presentations. And I was good at it too!
Kevin is a good example of someone whose core benefit wasn't weight loss. He was already athletic (Division 1 athlete) and was trying to eat right (whole grains, beans). Who knows how many millions of people have chronic inflammation, digestive problems, or minor auto-immune diseases that are going undiagnosed? Or worse, exactly misdiagnosed.
Comments
I love that so many people
I love that so many people remember their first "paleo" moment so viscerally. I saw the Colbert bit when it first aired, and thought it was brilliant, but my first exposure was in Joe Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible on September 17, 2008. It was only mentioned briefly in whatever edition I was reading, but the concept was so parsimonious that I immediately knew it was a starting point for serious insight. I guess it's been over two years now and the rabbit hole keeps getting deeper.
Kevin's not the only one. The
Kevin's not the only one. The Colbert Report was the first I'd heard of this way of eating and exercising too. Can't believe all these years I've had bone/teeth/digestive problems that could have been avoided by the simple idea of eating like our ancestors. I blame the establishment.
Me too!!! Changed my life!
Me too!!! Changed my life!
john- you are having a
john- you are having a uniquely narcissistic moment.
Shout it from the rooftops,
Shout it from the rooftops, baby!
Awesome. I love how Paleo
Awesome. I love how Paleo can change your life even if you are already physically fit. I was already in (what I thought was) good shape when I started doing Paleo. Looking back at old photos, I have to laugh at the inflammation. I had a flat stomach, but my face looked like the Michelin man. Paleo gave me that tight jawline I never had before. I'm a new man. Thanks John.
Awesome. I love how Paleo
Awesome. I love how Paleo can change your life even if you are already physically fit. I was already in (what I thought was) good shape when I started doing Paleo. Looking back at old photos, I have to laugh at the inflammation. I had a flat stomach, but my face looked like the Michelin man. Paleo gave me that tight jawline I never had before. I'm a new man. Thanks John.
So John, what's Step One in
So John, what's Step One in learning about the points this blog is meant to make? Or more specifically, what's step one to learning how to eat in a way that doesn't spark inflammation and auto-immune diseases? What's the best book to read?
The best book to read is Robb
The best book to read is Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution. On the NYT best-seller list right now.
Not John, but just chiming
Not John, but just chiming in...From my experience, read everything, so start anywhere. I started eating paleo style after not too long a stint of research solely on the internet. Start drastic with no sugars of any kind (or grains) just vegetables and meat my friend. No dairy then add it in later and see what happens. Raw nuts. Don't overdo fruit. Think berries. Good quality meat if you can. I ate raw veg for a week to sort of wean myself off processed shit then added in the raw eggs and lots of good meat and I'm just rollin' with it. It really is that simple, like Bruce Lee said "It's not about the daily increase, it's about the daily decrease; hack away at the un-essential." Think like a human mamminal and get yourself filled with dark leafy greens and the fat of a wild animal that may potentially be able to tear you apart. Sound good? I sort of discovered John's stuff right as I was finding out about all kinds of Paleo stuff mostly from blogs which are linked on this site, so it's all been part of a huge inspiration coming from many sources to eat the best foods one can procure and be the strongest and most stable human animal you can be. I have seen dramatic increases in strength and energy, feel more confident and comfortable and am able to accomplish much more interesting things in a day than I used to, mostly thanks to eating real raw plants, tons more fat than I used to (and have leaned up? sold) in the form of bacon grease used to cook most everything that is actually (barely) cooked. Hard boiled eggs with the shells? Gotta find a birds nest near a thermal spring, that'd be it. I exercise more and differently because I want to and I enjoy it more than most other things I might have to accomplish. So, thanks John for having this blog as a gateway into the great resource for health and humanity all this information has been in my experience so far. But as for books I'd like to get a copy of Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution, read some reviews, sounds like a good read and does a good job clearing up the biochemistry involved, maybe that would be a good place to start.