UN Says These Should Be Part of Your Diet

The fact is you’re already eating bugs, so approach this with an open mind. Oh you’re not eating insects? There are bug parts in nearly all canned and jarred foods. In fact, acceptable levels are established for insect eggs, larvae, and parts — they’re everywhere.

In peanut butter, there’s an average of 10 or more insect fragments per ounce. In ground thyme there are about 3,000 bits of bug per ounce.

Now, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says, we should be eating more than the random bits that sneak their way into our food supply. Here’s the full report.

Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider adding insects to your healthy diet, how they might actually catch on, and a word of caution before you go hunter-gatherer on the backyard bug population. Read More

Facing Jail Over Milk

In the United States, you can buy a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and a 2 liter Coca-Cola for the purpose of devouring them in one sitting, if you want. Hell, if you want to print your food, or buy a month’s supply of vitamin goop, you can do that, too. If you’re in an especially debaucherous mood, you can even wash it all down with a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and a fifth of whiskey.

As far as I know, that’s legal in all 50 states. As it ought to be, if you ask me. Personally, I’d choose to avoid those. Except the whiskey, once in a while. But the point is…if we don’t have the choice to do these things what does that make us? Read More

The Unfortunate Future of Food

Let’s face it. Going all the way to the grocery store to pick up a basket full of Oreos, Macaroni & Cheese, Hot Pockets, and Coca-Cola is too damn hard.

It involves actual physical movement, and there are options.

Or, at least, there will be.

3D Printed Foods

Quartz.com is reporting plans to start using 3D printer technology to print consumable foods. The big promises are pizza on Mars and an end to world hunger. Unfortunately, pizza on Mars will probably happen first.

Anjan Contractor just received a $125,000 grant from NASA to build a prototype of his food synthesizer. Contractor says he:

“…sees a day when every kitchen has a 3D printer, and the earth’s 12 billion people feed themselves customized, nutritionally-appropriate meals synthesized one layer at a time, from cartridges of powder and oils they buy at the corner grocery store.” Read More

On Paleo Reenactment

It was back in the mid 1990s — when I was young and overweight — that I first discovered the Paleo Diet.

Back then, it was called Neanderthin. At least it was for me. That was the title of Ray Audette’s book, which I read with much enthusiasm. I also read Boyd Eaton’s Paleolithic Prescription as well as the Drs. Eades’ Protein Power.

All three are excellent books, but Audette’s Neanderthin resonated with me the most. I lost my original copy of the book somewhere along the years, so I was delighted to discover that the Kindle edition is available for just 7 bucks.

Now, I’m looking forward to reading it again.

Audette tells the story of man’s transformation from hunter-gatherer to agriculturalist to industrialist —  a journey from natural to technological. Along the way, he does a convincing job of blaming that transformation for modern ill-health and obesity.

In fact, two things from his book stand out in my mind to this day, and they both illustrate this point. Read More

Latest in Paleo 69: Escaping Conventional Wisdom

Quick Description

In this episode, we start off with some comedy from John Pinette, and then we are motivated by some of our healthy elders. First, Fit Old Dudes Rock — complete with life tips from Jack LaLanne. Then, 105-year old Pearl, tells us her secret to longevity. We discuss Consumer Reports recent examination of store-bought turkey. Finally, we explore the idea of conventional wisdom in non-health related areas of our lives. After the Bell, it’s 2013′s TED Prize Winner.

Listen on iTunes Download MP3 Read More

No More Salt Shakers in Mexican Restaurants

Michael A. Smith of the CriticalMAS blog, shares with us (via the Latest in Paleo Facebook page) the news that Mexico City wants salt shakers removed from restaurant tables (CBS News).

In Mexico, they love their salt.

They put it on everything from their tequila and beer glasses to fruit and even candy. Have you ever tried mango (fresh, dried, or candied) with chili salt? If you have, you may understand why. Salt, of course, enhances the natural flavors of most foods. Read More

Advice from 105-year Old: Eat Bacon

Pearl Cantrell is 105 years old. She was born in 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States.

Back then, the average life expectancy was just 47 years. This was a time when only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub inside and even fewer had telephones. The average worker made only a couple of hundred dollars a year*, but it stretched pretty far since eggs were only 14 cents a dozen and coffee set one back a mere 15 cents a pound.

To what does Pearl credit her longevity? Read More

Why Some People Must Escape

All four of my daughters are smart. The government thinks at least one them is gifted.

They’re not training her to be a spy or anything — it just means her intelligence tests are consistently in the top 3%, nationally.

Once a week she leaves her Montessori classroom and buses to a different school campus with other gifted children. There, they get a chance to work together on projects that require higher-level and faster thinking than normal classroom work. They can move quickly, because that’s what these kids do…they learn fast.

To the left of the gifted classroom, is a room where the autistic children meet. On the right, is the room for children with Down Syndrome. Having a sufficiently high IQ is a special need.  Read More