Thanks for another excellent article. A topic well worth discussing.

My own experience has been nearly identical to yours regarding the benefits of paleo. I had forgotten the sense of liberation and I'm glad you mentioned it. I'm never hungry and I never snack. (fwiw, I eat a predominantly animal based diet. Lots of fat, moderate protein, very low carb. Maybe one potato every month or so and it lasts about 3 meals. haha)

I have a couple of things to add to the liberation idea, as well as further retorts/fuel/talking points when met with the quizzical incomprehension and, as you say, fear of others when they consider all of your "sacrifices". One thing I will often say to people is that I don't miss (insert non-paleo element, such as bread or pizza) because I don't crave it any longer. In the same way, I don't have to "deny" myself cigarettes because I don't crave them, nor do I miss them. I used to smoke, but after finally quitting 10 years ago, I don't continually crave them. Same with food. Often I'll then say to the person, "Are you denying yourself heroine right now?" No. Because you do not want heroine; you are not craving it, so you cannot be "denying" yourself.

The same sense of freedom and self control that comes from quitting addicting things, such as cigarettes, also follows when finally getting off of sugary and birdseed-based foodstuffs.

@Tim, thanks for your great story
@JS and @Jen, I've had a long bout with epicondylitis that is slowly becoming better and better. I continue vigorous exercise, including heavy lifting, but am able to rehab using some mild protocols that I've slowly accumulated. No ibuprofen. If you wish, I can share them in private emails rather than clutter this corner of cyberspace with the deets.

Thanks for reading.

Juan

@JS
Will do, regarding the elbowitis protocols. Working on it. As regards the frying pans -- well, I feel your pain! I definitely don't want to forever need to "warm up" my arm before picking up my cast iron frying pan painlessly. With lateral epicondylitis it is slightly easier (i.e., less painful) to pick up such things "cold" if you use a supinated (palm up) grip. You may have already tried this.

And, yes, I'd be honoured if you were to use the heroin analogy (rather than the heroine analogy that I suggested).

Unexpected benefits? How about the return of morning wood, and the best sex of my life at 45 years of age with my wife of 16 years?

Seriously.

I shared this exact issue with an older friend of mine who was not exercising, and not eating well. It took him a year to finally read the Primal Blueprint after I gave it to him. From that dietary change, and lifting some heavy weights, 6 months later he's telling me how he didn't realize how he had changed with age...until he changed back!

He didn't share it with me at the time, but when I talked about morning erections, it turns out he hadn't had one in a year or more. That was what finally got through to him. Now, to use his words, he's a teenager again. Mid 50's and just had his testosterone test come back in the high 600s.

Eating is a small but enjoyable part of life. And real food is tremendously enjoyable. But synthetic counterfood (counterfeit food) has rewards as well. If you actually spend 30 minutes a day eating, that's less than 4 hours of total eating time per week. That 4 hours has the potential to make the other 164 totally awesome or totally suck. Even if you have an occasional craving for counterfoods, it's worth ignoring it for the benefit of that 164 hours being much better than just "fine."

Great article.

@JS & Jen W,

pain can come from injury/damage (real threat to survival)
or sometimes it's just the _perceived_ threat by our brain. (this is "overdesign")

understanding it can also help us heal better for real injuries (in addition to minor sprain, sorenss)

stay healthy,

ps. just dawned on me about another n=1 observation. for the last few months, i have never come down once with ailment when people around me have been decimated by flus/colds. i'm sitting next to 2 colleagues who seem to be perpetually sneezing & coughing. a few times i felt mild headache, scratching throat, stuffiness, then i'd be ok in a day or 2. (from someone who used to have MONTH-long cold, wow!)

Does anybody else notice that the drug chart maybe have more than 30% error? Just want to bring that up...

Thank you for this article. I've read all the replies, too, and enjoyed them very much.
I've been paleo/primal/predator for 3 full years now and have never felt better. Xept, I caught a nasty sinus infection due to my braces and dirty house vents...which will cost us $400,- in March to get cleaned out.

"Most people simply don't have the ability to critically evaluate what someone in a position of authority tells them. ”Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” I'm glad you've been able to make such progress despite the doubt." -JS

I'm an art guy J. Questioning people in authority is my primary mode of thought.

That said, the real impetus for our switch over from raw vegan/Conventional 'Mediterranean diet' wisdom was our son who is a type 1 diabetic. His numbers were impossible to control and as you are likely aware the ADA recommends that he stuff his face each day with massive amounts of sugar (in the form of breads and cereals of course). It just didn't make sense to keep drowning someone who can't process sugar with more sugar over and over again every day. A cursory search brought me to Dr. Bernstein which worked incredibly well for the diabetes. Then when I later stumbled across MDA and you it really filled out the 'WHY'. Today my whole family eats like predators, except for the occasional b-day/holiday splurge and my Son's HBA1C is typically below a 7, which is unheard of for kids in their growing years.

Of course, being an art guy is a double edged sword. We are more likely to consider the new and different but are also completely dismissed by the 'normal' as nuts. I readily admit it though, I am a nut... an asthma free, allergy free (mostly, cats still mess me up), happy as hell, on the way to being ripped 35 year old nut.

-Tim