What the Primal blueprint means to me. Law#2 Avoid Poisonous Things

Law#2 Avoid Poisonous things

I made a mistake last time looking at the primal laws. Today's post will focus on what to avoid eating (and drinking) as part of the primal lifestyle. We might all think that we avoid ingesting poisonous things. We know not to drink bleach and that many drugs can be extremely harmful to our health. But is this the whole picture? Is it only things with a 'poisonous' label that we should avoid? Hint - no. We need to expand our view of poisonous slightly to include things that damage us, even slowly. We all agree that smoking is harmful (read: poisonous), but what about the harm caused by excess sugar consumption? (quick answer; increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, and obesity just to name a few of the big ones)

Last time I mentioned some food groups held by conventional wisdom to be essential to a 'healthy diet'. Hopefully we agree by this point that eating similarly to the way we have evolved to is important. You wouldn't expect a lion to survive on tofu and lettuce, just as you wouldn't expect a rabbit to survive on beef steaks. Until recently in our evolutionary history; pesticides, herbicides, many chemical substances, as well as grains, cereals, legumes, processed sugars, artificial sugars, mass produced medications, trans-fats, and many others besides were not eaten by our ancestors. For fans of fast food, or junk food - note that these "foods" meet at least a few of the above categories. Remember, there is no junk food - there's junk, and there's food.

                      

Most of these poisonous things are not massively dangerous in the short term. However, years of ingesting these substances produces weaknesses in the body. Take legumes as an example, they have mechanisms in place to deter animals, including us from eating them. Toxic substances are released, especially if not properly prepared - causing inflammation, with links to autoimmune diseases. Hmm, autoimmune diseases, have I caught your attention type 1 diabetics? Subsequently over the years, the toxicity builds and even assuming that health conditions or complications do not arise, your body is still not functioning at full capacity. 

Human evolution, guess what caused the difference between the last two? I'll give you a hint, this whole post is about it.

What does this mean for me? Well, I have ditched all of the above (at least where possible some 95% of the time), and I don't have a bloated feeling after meals. That 'I feel fit to burst'  feeling my family gets after a meal (which is identical to mine barring my rejection of pasta/potatoes/rice/etc, in favour of slightly more meat and more veg where possible), I don't get. I feel ready to go, like I could happily get work done and get exercising. My meals give me energy rather than make me feel lethargic. Type 1 diabetics pay special attention here. After more than 90% of my meals I do not need to take insulin, as such I do not get the sugar crash shortly afterwards which leaves many type 1's tired and sleepy after a meal. Oh and for those who want to loose weight, by avoiding these substances it is almost guaranteed. Combine Law#2 with law#1 that I discussed in my first post of the series and you get; super tasty meals, every mealtime, that help you keep the muscle on, loose the excess fat and feel awesome. 

Just a reminder

I could talk at length about the things (I don't even call them foods anymore) that we shouldn't be eating. But, I think it is enough to lend these key points and suggest that everyone interested, whether you agree or not to check out marksdailyapple and the primal blueprint. Read the success stories and the amazing recipes on the site and try to tell me that your life is actually better from having any of these poisonous substances in your body.

I double-checked and next time it will definitely be Law#3 Move frequently at a slow pace. See you next time. 

Any comments, suggestions, agrees, disagrees and all that please comment and join the discussion.

Respectfully,

Sam