There always seem to be themes in my life...a couple of unrelated instances popping up all around one subject in a short time frame. Recently it's been about the Paleo diet. I know it's a fad -- just like Atkins, just like the South Beach Diet -- but this one has some history behind it. I haven't read anything scholarly about it yet, only a couple of articles online. One book recommended to me by a coworker is "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson. That's next on my list to read...

What intrigues me about this diet is that it's roots are grounded in how our ancestors long ago used to eat. Back then, we didn't have the agriculture we have today to make grains and processed food so available. A couple thousand years ago, people were eating plants and meat. The argument is that our bodies were made to function best on what was available in the beginning of the world. Honestly, from a Christian perspective, because the Garden of Eden was perfect and the diet of Adam and Eve was only plants, it makes sense that plants are an essential part of our diet....imagine Adam, Eve, and God kickin' it with a little Caesar's and a can of Coke. :)....maybe not.

After the fall, God required sacrifices and death became a part of life. The priests ate part of the sacrifices according to the command of God, so eating meat became a part of our diet. Fast forward to the Israelites in the desert, God gave them manna when they thought they were going to starve. From what I know, that was a wafer type of food. Jesus broke bread at the last supper, and multiplied bread and fish for the crowds. Obviously bread was a part of the diet in Jesus' time as well.

Putting all this together, we have plants, meat, and wafers, and bread. I think if Jesus is eating bread, it's okay if I eat bread too. What I'm guessing is that the bread back then was not as processed and they didn't eat it as often as we do today. When I think about how I used to eat a couple of years ago, my diet looked like this:

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Sandwich
Dinner: Pizza

Grains, grains, grains. I'm more and more interested in the idea of the Paleo diet, but anything extreme sends up a red flag for me. Annie's Modified Paleo Diet: A Christian Viewpoint on Ancestral Eating...I feel a book coming on....

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