By Tony Federico

Raw milk is nothing new.  From the first domesticated herd of Aurochs (the ancestor of modern cattle) that emerged in the Middle East approximately 10,000 years ago, humans have benefited from both the meat and milk provided by cows.  However, the process of pasteurization is a relatively recent invention.  In the late 1800s the acceptance of “Germ Theory” by the scientific community revealed the existence, and health consequences, of bacteria and other micro-organisms.  Now, the vast majority of milk sold in the United States is pasteurized, but there is a growing movement to bring back raw milk.

Advocates say that raw milk is healthier than “cooked” milk and that it is safe to drink, especially when cows are raised on pasture.  Opponents of raw milk say that there is no scientific evidence to back up the health claims of raw milk and that it is unsafe to drink.  Both sides are fervent in their beliefs, and the issue has even seen SWAT-Team raids on raw-milk producers and buying clubs.  For Mary McGonigle-Martin, however, the issue is deeply personal.

We sat down with Mary to discuss her story and to find out more about her take on the raw milk debate.

For those who haven’t read your article “Raw Milk – A Mother’s Story”, could you share why you are speaking out against raw milk?

I had been trying to figure out a diet for my son, Chris, who was diagnosed with ADD (non-hyperactive Attention Deficit Disorder) when he was in kindergarten.  We changed things and saw some improvement, but it still wasn’t all gone.  One of the things that always stood out to me was that dairy was indicated in the literature as a big offender for kids with ADD.  

There were reports that claimed that if you removed dairy, a lot of the ADD symptoms would improve, but my son basically ate only wheat and dairy!  He was and is, a very picky eater, so I couldn’t imagine taking dairy out of his diet.  I was able to swap many of his favorite wheat products for gluten-free versions, but I left the dairy.  He would have things like yogurt, cheese, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and organic pasteurized milk.  Anything with cheese!

When he was in 2nd grade, our health food store began carrying raw milk.  I live in California, so you could buy it right at the store.  I just walked in one day, and they had large signs advertising the milk along with information that recommended it for digestive problems, lactose intolerance, asthma, and allergies.  I was not new to raw milk; in my late teens/early twenties, I drank raw milk and ate raw cheese because I had read that it was better for you.  Like now, the idea was that pasteurizing the milk killed the good things in the milk.  Back then, Altadena Dairy sold it, but there was an outbreak and it was off the shelves.  Well 20 years later, it was back.

Chris was experiencing a lot of congestion all the time and I was convinced that it was from consuming dairy products.  I thought, “Wow, maybe that (raw milk) would be the solution”.  Back then I shopped every week on Friday, so I bought a quart of milk to see if he liked it.  The next week I bought another quart, and on the third week I went ahead and bought a ½ gallon.  That was the one that was contaminated with a pathogen.

How serious was Chris’s food poisoning?

He literally almost died.  The thing he escaped was it affecting his brain as well.  For a few days after drinking the milk he was just lethargic and we just thought he had a bug, but then the diarrhea and vomiting started, and then blood showed up.  We decided to take him to the emergency room because he was in a lot of pain.  He was having bowel movements every 15-30 minutes for 5 days straight.  From there, he developed hemolytic-uremic-syndrome which is a red blood cell disorder.

Chris was infected with E.Coli 0157:H7 and when the bacteria dies off, it releases shiga toxin.  It is this toxin that damages the body, and in particular, it attacks cells in the pancreas, kidneys, and brain.  The red blood cells start dying and they clog the kidneys which leads to acute kidney failure.  Then, as the red blood cells continue to die, the pancreas can become affected.  

Chris did not eat for two months, he could not digest anything.  He was in the hospital on a ventilator and he had seizures.  When his kidneys stopped working, he filled up with fluid and couldn’t breath and had congestive heart failure, and had chest tubes to drain the fluid out.  Chris was on dialysis for 18 days, on a ventilator for 9 days.  Most kids die in the first week because the shiga toxins are being released and you don’t know where they are going to attack.  

How is your son now?

For someone who was as ill as he was, a miracle happened for him.  Marler & Clark, the attorneys that represented us, have had lots of similar cases involving food-borne illness, and they have not had a case as severe as Chris’s with such a good outcome.  We were blessed for some reason.  There was another little girl who drank the same raw milk as Chris and who was in the same children’s hospital.  She now has stage-1 kidney disease and in her lifetime she will need a kidney transplant.

So you had a lawsuit against the dairy who sold the raw milk?

The way the liability laws are written in California is very strict, so the health food store where we bought the milk as well as the store where the other family bought the milk as well as the dairy were involved in the suit.  I can’t discuss any details, but we did win a settlement.
 
How did you start sharing your story?

Bill Marler, the attorney that represented us has a lot to do with giving me the opportunity to share my story.  He developed the website RealRawMilkFacts.com after we attended a vetrinary conference in in 2009.  They had speakers who discussed the pros and cons of raw milk, and we wanted to put something out there that would counter the misinformation that is being put out about raw milk.  I’m a member of the “working group” for the site that includes a mix of people in public health and academia as well as raw milk supporters.

There are raw milk drinkers involved in RealRawMilkFacts.com?

Yes, because it is really about disseminating correct information, not polarizing this this as a “black & white” issue.  The site is about presenting information about pasteurization as well as raw milk, so it is basically a clearinghouse for information on the subject.  There are videos on there from families who have been represented by Bill Marler.  There are 5 families profiled, including my own.  Three of the cases involve children and two involve adult victims.

Some people may suspect that you are involved with the conventional dairy industry, could you speak to that concern?

I am not paid by anybody.  I am not affiliated with anyone in the dairy industry paying me to come out and share my story.  What motivates me is the misinformation that is put out by the leaders in the raw milk movement.  Particularly the Weston A. Price (WAP) foundation.  They are a group that feels very strongly about access to raw milk, and in 1999, when the WAP was founded, they made it their goal to have raw milk access in every state without regulation.  

It is a very grassroots organization and there are chapters in each state.  It’s an eclectic group, with people that have been ill, people who have changed their diet, maybe families who have had sick children like us.  There is a set of information, like “The Untold Story of Milk” that is spread around like it is the truth, but there is a lot of misinformation.

That misinformation motivates me because we’re living in a day and age where there are a lot of scary pathogens out there.  When someone is producing raw milk, milking their cows twice a day, it is very likely that fecal matter can get into the supply.  Raw milk is a high risk food because the pathogens in the fecal matter could kill you.

Are you aware of any statistics regarding food poisoning from raw dairy consumption?

We all know that statistics can be twisted any way we want, so “statistics” is a very loaded word.  First of all, how many raw dairy drinkers are there?  We don’t know how many people are consuming raw milk, but we know that is a low percentage of the population, especially compared to other foods.  Let’s just say 1-3% of Americans are drinking raw milk, so it’s a low percentage of people consuming it, but if we are still having serious outbreaks, I say we have a problem.  This is a food that is being promoted as a healing food to be consumed by infants, children, and pregnant women.

So you’re saying that the relatively low number of raw milk drinkers versus the number of outbreaks makes this a more serious issue than foodborne illness from other crops/foods such as melons, spinach or meat?

Right.  If you look at the outbreaks that are happening out there, leafy greens, meat, chicken, when you’re dealing with that, how many people are out there consuming it?  It’s mass produced food.  Compare that to the small number of people who are producing and drinking raw milk, and when you have an outbreak, how many people are getting sick?  

Right now, there are cases going on in Missouri and these kids are in the hospital with kidney failure because they consumed a food that they thought was healthy.  Nobody is out there eating a hamburger thinking that it is going to cure them of a disease.

Do you think that part of the problem is the aura of healthfulness that is given to raw milk?  Do you think that this prevents people from making straightforward “costs vs benefits” analysis?

Raw milk is treated like a magic food.  We would never say, “Oh, I’m going to eat my chicken raw because it’s natural.”  We don’t encourage that, but somehow, with milk, we’re quick to believe that raw is better.  I’m not talking about the homogenization, ultrapasteurization, CAFOs, and all that.  I support farms that are loving their animals, feeding them grass, but you can still cook that milk to prevent the pathogens from being there, just like you would cook your meat.

In your opinion, are there any benefits from raw dairy that are absent from pasteurized products?

There are people out there that drink raw milk and experience an improvement in their health, their symptoms go away.  My question is, is it because they are drinking raw milk, or, is it because they are no longer drinking store-bought homogenized pasteurized milk?  We don’t know if the improvements are from drinking the milk raw, or from some other factor.  If I bought raw milk, brought it home, and pasteurized it myself, would I still see the same benefits?

So the complex nature of milk (varying hormone levels, types of casein, etc.) make it difficult to pin down the benefits of raw milk?

When somebody starts following WAP, they are changing their complete diet!  How can they say it’s the raw milk when they are also not eating processed food anymore.  I don’t know anyone who didn’t change anything about their diet and just started drinking raw milk.  The majority of them have also altered their diet in other healthy ways too.

There isn’t anything, there is no health benefit that raw milk can give you that outweighs the pathogens that might be in milk.  There are many cultures that don’t eat milk products and are very healthy.

Did you ever experiment with home pasteurization?

I never tried that because we eventually had my son tested for food sensitivities and he tested positive for the casein in milk.  What that means is when he digests milk, his brain recognizes it as an opiate and it puts him in a fog.  We’ve now removed all dairy from his diet and he is doing much better.

You proposed a warning label for raw milk, how did you decide on this solution?

I feel like a warning label would level the playing field.  There is a lot of misinformation out there about raw milk and people say things like “if you know your farmer the milk is safe,” “raw milk kills pathogens”, “grass fed cows don’t harbor pathogens”, but they don’t talk about the pathogens that can be found in raw milk.  Having a label on the bottle allows you to make an informed decision.  You are not making an informed decision when you only have the WAP side of the story.

Your whole story started from a desire to help your son’s health, and specifically his ADD symptoms, through diet, how is he doing right now?

I say he’s about 90% improved.  He gets all A’s in school and hasn’t been sick or missed a day of school this year, for the first time ever.  He even does all his homework on his own.  When he was in elementary school I had to work really closely with the teachers to get his assignments.  He is in 7th grade now, and I haven’t even shared with his teachers that he has ADD.  I don’t know if he even has “ADD” anymore.

Could you describe his current diet and how well you’re able to have him stick with it?  

Since he was in kindergarten, when he ate foods that disagreed with him, my way of handling it would be to say, “See what happened?  You ate that and this is how you feel now.”  The blessing in disguise is that he is such a picky eater, so it was easy for me to change him over to foods that were “mimics” of his favorites.  For example, he’ll still have his hot dog, but now it will be an applegate farms all-natural hot dog.

For breakfast, I’ll typically make him either gluten-free pancakes or eggs with gluten free bread.  We juice every day, so he gets a lot of his vegetables by drinking them, although he does eat a salad every day.  I do a lot of cooking at home and make gluten-free cupcakes and things like that if he wants a treat.  He doesn’t eat fast food.  Wherever we go, I bring his food.  He loves what he does eat, so he doesn’t “cheat”.  The whole family eats all organic and juices everyday, and we don’t do any dairy, so we’re all on board.  

If there is one thing that you could say to a parent considering giving raw milk to their family or child, what would that be?

When you do your research, you need to know about all the pathogens that can show up in raw milk.  You need to know every illness that these pathogens can cause.  Like with my son, e.coli infection can lead to brain damage and other very serious things.  Once you know those pathogens, and you then decide whether or not to purchase raw milk, you are now making an informed decision.

Tony runs the popular site, Fitness in an Evolutionary Direction, founded the Orlando Paleo Diet Meetup Group and is an American College of Sports Medicine certified Health & Fitness Specialist. He holds a Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from the University of Florida and has been a full-time Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Coach and Exercise Instructor (Yoga, Tai Chi and Boxing) since 2005. He broke from the conventional wisdom when a client gave him a copy of “The Paleo Diet” and after an initial 30-day trial, he never turned back. Tapping into a wide range of resources, from Economics to Epigenetics and beyond, his holistic approach to exercise and diet has allowed him the opportunity to help transform the lives of hundreds of people.

This week we are excited to partner with Pure Indian Foods for our Random Giveaway!  We encourage you to check out more information about their delicious products, get some recipe ideas and find out what makes their ghee so amazing by visiting their website.  You can also show them some love and support by liking them on Facebook!

What The Winner Gets

• (2) 14 oz. jars of Pure Indian Foods Grass-Fed Organic Ghee
• (1) Assorted Sampler Pack (which includes (1) 1.1 oz. jar of the following Pure Indian Foods Spiced Ghees – Digestive, Garlic, Herbes de Provence, Indian Dessert, Italian and Niter Kibbeh)
• (1) jar of Pure Indian Foods Virgin, Organic Coconut Oil

Special Conditions

This giveaway is only open to individuals in the United States

How To Enter

*This giveaway is closed*
We’ve sent an email to the winner.  Thanks to everyone for entering and checking out Pure Indian Foods!  Watch for more great giveaways soon!

More About Pure Indian Foods

Pure Indian Foods is a small family owned business that makes the best organic ghee from free-range cows. 

• To get the most fat-soluble vitamins and CLA into their ghee, they only use the milk they get during the spring and fall, when the cows are out to pasture eating the best, green grass possible.
• They produce their ghee from non-homogenized milk.
• The only ingredient in their ghee is butter from cow’s milk.
• Pure Indian Foods ghee is made fresh in small batches, right here in the US.

 Good luck!

Steve Cooksey has been getting a lot of attention lately, and not all of it has been good.  He started his blog, DiabetesWarrior.net, after successfully curing his diabetes with a low-carb Paleolithic diet, and wanted to help other people to do the same.  However, Steve lives in North Carolina, a state where it is considered a misdemeanor offense to “practice dietetics or nutrition” without being a registered Dietitian.   We decided to go right to the source and to talk with Steve about his case and how it has affected his mission of spreading the word about Paleo.

For those who may not know your story, could you share why you started your blog?

After several years of being chronically sick and obese I finally I went to the doctor.  They sent me to the hospital and that’s when I got my diabetes diagnosis.  To make a long story short, upon exiting the hospital I started a journey to find the best diet that I could to treat my diabetes.  I was thinking “I can do this”, I wasn’t going to just give up, I was going to do the right thing.

The doctor recommended a low glycemic book, which was a good starting point for me.  I noticed that as I ate less carbs, I needed less drugs and insulin.  I began to look around on the internet and found Mark’s Daily Apple.  It really opened my eyes and I had my “nutritional epiphany.”

I found that the diabetes community as a whole ridiculed me, I was banned from Facebook groups and websites.  I was just sharing my story and would speak out when I saw the American Diabetes Association page promoting the crap they push.  I ended up getting banned, which was very frustrating.

So the blog grew out of this frustration?

Yes, I said, “Screw this, I’m going to do a blog!”  That’s when I started PaleoWarrior.com, but I soon found that everything I posted applied to diabetics.  So, in May of 2010 I started Diabetes-Warrior.net because I wanted to focus on my passion and to just make it diabetes specific.  

How was Diabetes-Warrior.net doing prior to the incident with the NCBD?  

I was very happy with the progress, every month had a higher number of visitors. I was proud of what I had accomplished because if people really do this (follow a Paleo diet) their numbers improve, their cholesterol, their blood sugar, so it was pretty gratifying and I really enjoyed it.  

One of the criticisms that I received, and it’s not an accurate description of my website, was that it was for profit.  If you look at my website, I give out free advice, answer emails, go on chats, it’s totally free.  The support packages I offered were only really there for people who looked at my information and thought, “Oh my god, there is no way that I can do this!” So it was a very insignificant income stream for me.  

How did the coaching packages work?

People could call me or email me if they were having a weak moment and I’d be their coach.  One person described it as an AA kind of situation where I would be your partner to motivate you and guide you through any tough moments you might have.

There was a story on your case that described a situation at a diabetes seminar that may have led to your site being investigated by the NCBD.  Could you describe what happened? http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8992

I was going to “take it to the streets”.  My plan was to go to a nutritional seminar conducted by a diabetes director from a local hospital and I wasn’t planning on saying anything at first, but she asked for us to share our questions comments, so I did.  She said something that I hear all the time, and it really irritated me, it was that, “Diabetics can eat whatever they want.”  It’s ridiculous, immoral, unethical, and really makes me mad because of the pain and suffering it causes.  When she said that, I raised my hand and spoke up and it went from there.

What was the nature of your question/comment?  

After a couple heated exchanges with the her, and some of the audience members as well, I kind of cooled it a little bit.  At the end of the meeting, I handed out a couple business cards and the next day, I received an email from a lady and trying to convince me to follow a vegan lifestyle.  I tried to be polite and said, “No thank you.” I’m happy, I’m over 50 and in the best shape of my life, and I’m insulin and drug free, but she tried to convince me nonetheless.  She became pretty irate.  The director from the NCBD told me that it was not the Diabetes Educator that turned me in, it was somebody in the audience, and while I don’t know for sure, I’m pretty sure that it was the lady trying to convince me to go vegan.

How was the NCBD complaint communicated to you?

I received a phone call from the director of the NCBD and she informed me that my website was being investigated.  She was very kind, and offered me some suggestions for what I could do to address their concerns.  I was told that I could take down the diabetes support packages,  increase the prominence of the disclaimer page, and change places where I advised people because she said that was illegal.  

Was the Q&A page an issue of concern?

Yeah, that one was a biggie, but there were others.  Even something where I say, “This is my this is my diabetic-friendly meal plan”, I can’t say that, because I am giving “nutritional advice” to a group, in this case, diabetics.  I could say, “This is my meal plan, this is what I do, this is what I did.” but I can’t suggest that to you.  So, I could go back through and change every place in my website where I do that, but I don’t think that I should have to.

At this point, where do things stand?  On the NCBD website, they posted that they had withdrawn their complaint. http://www.ncbdn.org/file_a_complaint/recent_press_inquiry/

Essentially, they are saying that I am in compliance with state law and that they have withdrawn the original complaint.  In my opinion, the state has restricted my free speech.  I can’t say, “You are diabetic and I think you should eat less than 30 grams of carbs per day until your blood sugar is normalized.”  I’m not allowed to say that.  Now, your doctor is most likely not going to say that, your diabetes educator is not going to say that, somebody needs to say that.  

Did the NCBD discriminate between free advice and for-profit advice?

The state does not care if I am charging or not.  All of the advice referred to in the NCBD review was free.  People were emailing me, and I was answering questions for free.  Over and over again, they said, “No Steve this is ‘assessing a medical problem’. No Steve, this is providing ‘nutritional guidance’. No Steve, this is ‘giving nutritional advice’.”   

At this time, are you no longer under investigation?

I wouldn’t phrase it that way, I’m not a nutritionist, but I’m also not an attorney!  The article said that the current complaint has been closed, but it also states that they will continue to monitor the situation.  

If they found something else that they took issue with, could they reopen the investigation and pursue further charges?

Absolutely.  

Are you pursuing legal action of your own?

I am in compliance, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with it.  I feel like my rights have been restricted and I’m going to do everything that I can to fight this.  I don’t want to comment on anything specifically, but i am exploring all my options.

Reflecting upon this situation, would you have done anything differently?

That’s a great question, because this really gets me fired up.  One of the reasons I got so mad at the ADA was because my grandmother died from diabetes complications.  She always struggled with eating a low fat reduced calorie meal plan and I saw her suffer.  I know that the ADA is aware that the Paleo diet is the best for diabetes.   My question is, did they know about this 30 years ago? Have they been punishing diabetics with a high-carb grain-based diet knowing that it is damaging to diabetics?

When I started out, there was one lady in particular, she was 55 years old and she had been on diabetes drugs for about 30 years.  I helped her to become drug and insulin free.  She had to go back into the hospital to have knee surgery and she came out of the hospital back on drugs and insulin.  That is going on everyday.  Once a week I talk to someone who has a sad story about a relative or a friend.  The pain and suffering is tremendous.  There are approximately 26 million diabetics in the US alone.  Approximately 250-300 million worldwide. There is a lot of pain and suffering out there and there are people profiting from it.  

No, I wouldn’t do anything different.  I haven’t really thought about it, but I certainly wouldn’t take a less confrontational approach.  I’m proud of myself and it’s gratifying to know that I’ve helped people.

Do you think that the same interests that are profiting from diabetes treatment are also controlling what can be said about diabetes in terms of diet?

The vast majority of diabetes educators say, “Carb up and shoot up.”  They tell diabetics to eat carbs.  They tell a diabetic to eat more carbs.that cause them to use more drugs and/or insulin and it causes their blood sugar levels to spike and then crash.  Those people are profiting because if diabetics ate like me, they wouldn’t be paying for that terrible advice.

On top of it diabetes educators and the ADA all receive funds from Big Food and Big Pharma.   Some people will look at that and say that the money is not influencing our diabetes protocol or our nutritional guidelines and I personally find that very naive.

At this point, is there anything that you would like to say to anyone who has perhaps had a similar experience as you and may want to share what they’ve learned through a blog?

When people take on a lifestyle change of this magnitude, they’re going to face a lot of pressures.  Their family and friends are going to disagree with them, so they’re going to get a lot of pressure to stop.  One of the things that helped me was starting a blog.  There are several free blogging platforms where you can go and start a blog and proclaim it.  You can say, “I am going to do this, I am going to post what I eat, and I am going to do this every day, and I want my family and friends to support me.”  

The other thing that was key for me was to find a reason.  I yo-yo’d my entire life with regards to diet.  The thing that really helped me to maintain it this time is that I had a reason.  I tell people that I don’t cheat on my meal plan.  I have diabetic insulin pens in the refrigerator door and I know that if I fail, I have that waiting for me.  The thing is, find your reason, find your why, your purpose.  My reason was that I didn’t want to use insulin and drugs like my grandmother. I knew how that struggle ended.  I tell people, no matter what it is, you want to see your grandkids grow up, you want to grow old with your spouse, find what will hold you through your struggles.

Tony runs the popular site, Fitness in an Evolutionary Direction, founded the Orlando Paleo Diet Meetup Group and is an American College of Sports Medicine certified Health & Fitness Specialist. He holds a Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from the University of Florida and has been a full-time Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Coach and Exercise Instructor (Yoga, Tai Chi and Boxing) since 2005. He broke from the conventional wisdom when a client gave him a copy of “The Paleo Diet” and after an initial 30-day trial, he never turned back. Tapping into a wide range of resources, from Economics to Epigenetics and beyond, his holistic approach to exercise and diet has allowed him the opportunity to help transform the lives of hundreds of people.

This dinner, put together by Primal Chef and the Western Washington Paleo Enthusiasts will feature Sarah Fragoso and Dr. Tim Gerstmar, ND as guest speakers.  Stephan Guyenet of Whole Health Source and Cindy from Cindy’s Table will also be attending.

In addition to the great speakers and amazing food, you’ll also have the opportunity to win a great door prize and possibly get your hands on a signed copy of Sarah’s book, Everyday Paleo.  The best part?  Profits from this event will go towards producing more great episodes of The Primal Chef.

Click here for more information on the event, the menu and to sign up to attend (tickets are $45/person).

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a special, 12-minute director’s cut, of The Primal Chef – Episode 1.

For this week’s Random Giveaway, we are extremely excited to partner with The Squatty Potty to give away not one, but two of these amazing little stools!  Look for a review of this great product in an upcoming issue of Paleo magazine (spoiler alert – it works incredibly well!)

What’s The Big Deal?

Being a relatively new development, toilets have us sitting, with our hips and knees at right angles, like we’re sitting in a chair.  While this is generally a very comfortable position, it may not be the best for us when “doing our business”, as sitting can cause us to “bind up” and make it more difficult for us in the bathroom.

Simply put, the squat position is the natural way to achieve easier and more complete elimination.  The Squatty Potty makes this more comfortable for you by giving you a stable platform to elevate your feet and legs, allowing greater hip flexion and straightening out the anorectal angle (the angle formed by the junction of the rectum and the anus).

Benefits of Squatting

• Avoid constipation
• End hemorrhoids
• Prevent colon disease
• Pelvic floor issues
• More effective elimination

How The Squatty Potty Can Benefit You

• By unkinking your rectum, taking you from a continent mode to elimination mode
• By helping to heal and prevent hemorrhoids
• By allowing for easier elimination and efficiency to empty the bowel
• By helping to reduce episodes of constipation and help those who suffer from chronic constipation
• By reducing gas and bloating, making you feel lighter and healthier

We encourage you to check out some of the medical studies on body position when in the bathroom, as well as testimonials from customers and those in the medical field!  And, while not a requirement for entering this giveaway, it’s always nice to show some love and “like” their Facebook page!

What The Winner Gets

Two winners will each get an amazing Squatty Potty stool (that will have you wondering how you ever lived without it!)

Special Conditions

This giveaway is only open to individuals in the United States

How To Enter 

*This giveaway is closed*
We’ve sent an email to the winners, Shellie and Keith.  Thanks to everyone for entering and checking out the Squatty Potty!  Watch for more great giveaways soon!

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

By Adam Farrah 

“As great as Paleo is, I didn’t see MAJOR improvement in my health and digestion until I got the stress and negative people and bullshit out of my life.”

I made that comment in passing to someone on Facebook regarding the Paleo Diet and my own healing journey. I was kind of surprised to see that quote making its way around Facebook for the rest of the day and into the next. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way…

I learned something very profound about recovery from chronic digestive illness over the six or seven years I struggled with it. Lifestyle is as important as diet.

I see lifestyle as the great under-explored “missing link” in the treatment of and recovery from digestive illness and virtually every other reversible chronic condition. Further, I believe the Paleo concept applies just as well to lifestyle as it does to food.

The modern world is very complex. We’re constantly at odds with our genes – genes that thrive on simplicity, instant gratification and the meeting of basic needs like food, safety, companionship and shelter – when we attempt to live in a world that is highly complex and technical and rewards higher-order thinking, delayed gratification and encompasses myriad “superficial” cues and highly advanced social behaviors and hierarchies.

As much as our food has changed in the last 20,000 years – and changed exponentially in the last 50-100 years – our lifestyles have changed just as much, just as rapidly and just as profoundly.

I Used to be a “Modern” Man…

Before I get too far into my possibly hippie, New Agey or airy fairy ideas about healing and lifestyle, I need to qualify them with a very important fact. I was once a successful scientist in the biotech field. I have a B.S. in Chemistry Cum Laude from The University of Connecticut and I was once a complete technophile, geek and absolutely enamored with all things modern, advanced and of the intellect and science.

Not only was I considering going to medical school at one time, I was (still am in many ways) a big fan of Ayn Rand. I believed that the intellect was man’s highest state and had no need for “nonsense” like feelings, spirituality, recreation or any other silliness. I was a scientist, the body was a machine with pathways we could manipulate with our incredible scientific intelligence and chemistry and that was that.

I’m making sure I state my old beliefs clearly so you know where I came from. I came from the modern world and was entirely consumed by it. I had to learn – through very hard and painful first-hand experience – how destructive unchecked stress and modern technology can be to the mind, body and spirit. Beyond that, I had to learn how easily the modern, stress-ruled world discards and abandons people like me who drive themselves to exhaustion in selfless support of that system once they inevitably break down from stress and fatigue and fall into chronic illness.

If I had read an article like this one 12 years ago, I would have scoffed, had another cup of coffee and gotten back to crunching my pharmacology data in Excel. This is why I make sure you know where I once was and how I once thought – when you’re in it you can’t see it – I needed to have my life and health completely collapse to learn the truth and I believe my current thinking is that much more valid due to having arrived at it through experience and from the opposite end of the belief spectrum.

Modern life is utterly incompatible with human health on many levels. I believe that we’ve reached a point where we – as the human species – must evolve beyond the reductionist, over-intellectualized and “mechanical” models of medicine, psychology, work, life, nutrition, etc. and move to a higher state of understanding that embraces deeper, less tangible and higher levels of consciousness.

Just as we now realize that there’s more to medical treatment than “managing” symptoms with drugs that interrupt the disease pathway in the body and leave the cause of the problem completely unresolved, we need to realize that simply removing a dietary factor like gluten, grain, dairy, GMOs or sugar is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to true health and healing.

Lifestyle is HUGE – and HUGELY Underrated

I don’t know if it’s just our culture or what, but there’s this huge fixation on “diet” and food and, in my opinion, a massive under-appreciation of lifestyle and more nebulous and difficult to define topics. For example, if you’re not sleeping well because your job is massively stressful and unsuited to who you are at a very deep level, “health” is going to be hard to achieve with diet – no matter how great the diet or perfect the implementation. If you’re ignoring the larger scheme of things and your energy is constantly “leaking” due to a stressful life situation, healing will be difficult or impossible to achieve fully.

My own journey to health was halted for several years – despite a strictly Paleo diet – because I was still working in the same negative environment, interacting with the same types of negative people and thinking the same toxic thoughts. It wasn’t until I got crystal clear on my vision for my life and stripped away years of marketing messages, social conditioning and other modern, superficial nonsense that I was able to situate myself in a way that would support healing.

Back in 2006, I was doing relatively well on a diet most would consider either extremely healthy or highly Spartan and restrictive depending on their philosophical orientation. I was living on organic whole chickens, clean bacon, eggs, organic vegetables, grassfed beef, fruit and goat yogurt and my own homemade kefir from raw grassfed cow milk. I was also using all the usual recommended supplements like Vitamin D, fish oil, coconut oil, etc.

I was “hanging in” back in 2006, but I wasn’t fully healthy and – worse – I wasn’t really improving in a linear way. Healing from a digestive illness is slow going for the most part, but this wasn’t slow – it was stuck.

So, what was the issue? Was I just not Paleo enough? Did I need some “magic” supplement or probiotic that cost $300 a bottle?

No. The major issue was lifestyle.

In virtually every area of self-improvement and healing, it’s very human to want to change “just a little” and get big results. The truth of the matter is usually that you need to change A LOT to break free of illness or whatever else is dragging you down.

Is “Paleo” closer to our true nature?

If the path to happiness, health and success is finding our “True Nature” as human beings and individuals, I’d argue that a Paleo lifestyle is a lot closer to that than eating a breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s while driving 90 miles an hour down the highway to a job you hate – while talking on a cell phone and posting a Facebook status about the jerk in the left lane who was only going the speed limit.

I’d like to propose that most of us are actually more stressed and more out of touch with just how stressed we are – and how that stress is making us sick – than we really realize. The more I’ve slowed my life down, connected to my deeper nature and learned to listen to my body, the more I can feel the effects of stress and modern living on my mind and body. I’ve also gained a lot of insight and awareness into the stress others carry and engage in – even when they themselves would likely say their lives aren’t very stressful. Most of us – myself included at one time – have a “learned numbness” to the stress in our lives and of our modern culture.

For example, if I don’t shut the computer down 4-5 hours before bedtime, I sleep very poorly and wake up exhausted. I never used to notice this until my life slowed down enough that I wasn’t on the computer until 10 or 11pm. Once I got out of that habit, the effects of returning to it were immediately apparent.

Another example that was very surprising to me came last year when my girlfriend Michelle and I went to a wedding in Pennsylvania. We went by train (NEVER again, as far as I’m concerned…) and we ended up in Penn Station in New York City. All the noise and activity was profoundly tiring, stressful and anxiety provoking to me.

Now, modern medicine would likely diagnose me with Agoraphobia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder and hand me a prescription for Xanax to “fix” my broken brain that can’t handle something as “benign” as a massive, manmade enclosed space full of stressed out people rushing everywhere and noise and electrical pollution and stimulation. To that, I would say that that environment is entirely unnatural and entirely foreign to our nature as humans – it’s normal and healthy to feel stressed and uncomfortable in a setting like that.

As an aside, I also noticed that virtually ALL the “food” available to people in the train stations and cities were grain-based, highly processed convenience foods designed for a quick energy hit. That, and there were tons of coffee and caffeine products everywhere. There was absolutely no place and no time for anything slow, relaxed or Paleo anywhere…

A picture I snapped at Penn Station in New York City on a trip to Pennsylvania for a wedding. This was an exhausting, high stress and energetically overwhelming environment to me…

Contrast the Penn Station pic above with this one of me training in the backyard of our small beach cottage in Old Saybrook, CT. Slow, quiet, low-tech and happy…

There’s an “Energy” to Everything

Below is a picture of me from sometime in 2006. I was working for a failing company that was full of difficult, negative and, in some cases, nasty people. The labs weren’t properly ventilated with fume hoods so, even though I was out of the lab and sitting at a desk, I was still exposed to a lot of environmental pollution. (Incidentally, one of this company’s “Core Values” was “Safety.” They even had an abstract “Safety” image on the wall in the lunch room with the other “Core Value” images. Except that they never added adequate ventilation to the labs despite a number of complaints from the chemists who had to work in them day in and day out. So much for the “Core Values” of a corporation…)

The point is, I was spending 40-plus hours a week in a highly negative environment. It was a place where virtually everyone was miserable and stressed, underpaid and abused by the company in one way or another. Looking back, I also remember that most everyone had one or more health problems. It was working at this company that I developed Ulcerative Colitis and fell into chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety and an apathy about life that took me YEARS to overcome.

Looking back from a wiser and more spiritual perspective, I realize that I was immersed in a massively negative energy and environment. It might sound all metaphysical and abstract, but I truly believe that the miserable environment I was in led to ill health on a physical, emotional and spiritual level for me.

(The full story of this period of my life – as well as my long climb out of stress and illness to a life I actually wanted to live – is in my blog post “My Personal Journey to Paleo.”)

If You’re in a Negative Environment or Have Negative Relationships – GET OUT

I believe there are some very deep “Alarm Systems” inside of us that are there to warn us of danger and compel us to action that leads us away from that danger. And, very often it’s exactly these early warnings from deep inside that we ignore or rationalize. Further, most modern institutions promote, condone and reward ignoring these very same alarms.

Even worse, many of our natural, innate warning signs are considered “mental illness” and labeled as such by modern psychology. Was the fact that I was depressed and anxious in the corporate environment I described above a sign of mental illness or was it a very natural human reaction to a toxic and negative environment that was – on many levels – a threat to my health and survival?

One of the most important learnings for me in the past 10 years – and of my life in general – is the understanding that feelings are important and exist to keep us on track and moving toward life and survival and away from things that threaten life and survival. You can learn a lot about life, relationships, people, jobs and – most importantly yourself – by learning to simply listen to your feelings and the other signals your body sends and truly hear what they’re trying to tell you.

I’d propose that if, for example, a person makes you incredibly anxious, you might want to ask yourself “why” as opposed to just popping a Xanax because you think you have an “Anxiety Disorder.” Or if, for example, you eat a pound of pasta for lunch and then have terrible heartburn and want to fall asleep at 2pm, it might be that your body is telling you something about the suitability of your last meal to your physiology as opposed to an indication that you have “Acid Reflux Disease” and “Recurrent Hypersomnia.”

Fast Forward to 2012…

Today, I’m far removed from the nightmare I was caught in back in those earlier years. The fact that I’m happy, healthy, thriving, doing work I love and have a great woman like Michelle in my life is proof enough to me that a Paleo approach to diet and lifestyle is the way to health.

Me and my friend Carrie – wearing, what else, a Strong is the New Skinny shirt – at CrossFit Relentless in West Hartford, CT. I’m happy, healthy, tan and surrounded by great people now…Me training with UFC star Jason Lambert at an MMA seminar last year.

The Paradox of the Internet Age Caveman

I’ll start by saying I LOVE what has happened in the world in the last ten years. The internet and social media revolutions have made so much possible that was never possible before. As just a simple example from my own life, the internet made it possible for me to not only make a living writing about things that I’m passionate about, but also to connect and network with others who are passionate about the same things. The opportunities and connectivity – and the possibilities for the future – offered by the internet are absolutely inspiring to me and I’m happy to be alive during this incredible time in history.

On the other side of things, we have more choices, more distractions, more interruptions and more information than at any other time in history and these things are far, far beyond anything our primitive physiology can handle. I believe that all this “noise” has driven our baseline stress and stress hormone levels much higher than they were ten or twenty years ago and this has been a major factor in the proliferation of chronic, inflammatory and digestive illness and disturbance not to mention mental Illnesses like depression and anxiety.

So, the paradox is really that we have not only unlimited opportunity to simplify and streamline our lives and pursue our passions in a lucrative way using the incredible leverage of technology, we also have an unprecedented pressure to fall into a “black hole” of constant motion, stimulation, choices, information and stress that can literally destroy us mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

What I’m proposing for us – those who value our health and realize that Paleo and Primitive principles are the ultimate gage for evaluating the value or danger of nutrition or lifestyle factors – is to use the leverage technology gives us and minimize or eliminate the negative effects of that very same technology.

You MUST Design Your Life on EVERY Level

When it comes to finding true health, I think there’s a need for most individuals to institute drastic and sweeping change in their lives. Not everyone has the stomach for this (no pun intended). Change is difficult and uncomfortable and there are peer group, familial, social and societal challenges that come up when someone is implementing changes in his or her life that are outside the norms of the culture they belong to.

I wrote (ranted?) about this topic in a popular blog post in 2011 called “I’ll Never Be Good Enough.” That post has resonated with many people because of the extreme resistance they’ve felt when making positive, Paleo diet and lifestyle changes from family and peers.

Your Peer Group Influences You More Than You Think

In self-help there’s a statistic that you’ll always make an income within plus or minus 10% of your closest friends. I’ll actually expand on this idea and say that your health, your happiness, your athletic performance and virtually any other metric you want to examine will be pretty damn close to that of those closest to you.

Think long and hard about the people you choose to spend the majority of your time with. If they aren’t living lives similar to the life you want for yourself, you have some difficult choices to make…

Everything is Changing … FAST

The other night on the news – one of the rare occasions I happened to have the news on – there was a story about the US Postal Service being in deep financial trouble. This is just one more example of an old, established, trusted institution becoming a casualty of the Internet Age, the New Economy and the flat, connected world that’s here to stay. While I’m not sure we really need a Postal Service anymore – I can damage and lose my own mail much more efficiently and with lower overhead and I have UPS and email. But the rapid loss of such “apple pie” institutions can be stressful for us as a culture and can create a lot of uncertainty.

Even if you aren’t particularly worried about what’s going on in the world or the economy or whatever, the fact that the people around you are freaking out will have an effect on you – consciously or unconsciously.

You can learn a lot from cats…

Something interesting that happened when I moved back to our summer home in Old Saybrook is that my cats started to thrive. And I mean THRIVE. When I lived in my old house, there was too much traffic on the road to let the cats outside. (Come to think of it, the constant stream of traffic past the house probably wasn’t too healthy for ME either from a stress perspective.)

Once I moved to the beach cottage in Old Saybrook I was able to let the cats out because we live in a very quiet, slow neighborhood, on a dead end road. So, the cats went from being inside all the time to having a big yard and entire neighborhood to explore, their own kitty door to come and go as they please and all the birds and rodents they could ever care to hunt – and hunt they do…

I’ll never forget the summer day that Michelle and I watched one of the cats, Thila, drag a small bird under the back deck still flapping and squawking – and proceed to eat the entire thing – feathers, bones and all.

I also have a pair of cats, Homer and Marge. Marge was a severely anxious and shy cat who literally lived in the basement of my old house. You never saw her other than when she snuck upstairs for a drink of water and darted back to the basement in terror. Since she’s been in her new environment she’s social and affectionate and much calmer. Her eyes have a completely different look to them. She’s still a little skittish, but nothing like she was.

My cat, Tiger, the first summer I was back here in Old Saybrook.

As an aside, I found Tiger, above, in the parking lot of the CrossFit Affiliate I used to own that was a few hundred feet from the town transfer station. He was a stray who had obviously had a home at one time or another. Tiger is in one of the cats’ favorite spots on top of the trellis in our yard. I don’t think you could get a more “natural” environment for modern, domesticated cats…

Every single one of my animals is happier, healthier and more active since they’ve had a quieter, lower-tech and natural environment to explore.  (BTW, we’ve since removed the birdfeeder so fewer birds are attracted into the “lions’” den…)

My cat Thila. Spring through Fall she brings a few small animals a week home to show me – and the ones I see are likely the ones she hasn’t eaten…

The Taming of The Human Animal

In Ori Hoffmekler’s “The Warrior Diet,” Ori draws parallels between the breaking and domesticating of animals to the breaking and domesticating of man. In this early part of the 21^st Century, it’s still common for us to be “caged” in cubicles, fed grains (Don’t offices ALWAYS have donuts and grain-based garbage around?) and not allowed to “hunt” in a natural way (as in, sit at your desk and be docile). My experience with corporations is also that there’s always the threat of “intellectual violence” against those who don’t go along with the system or are too individualistic. Certainly floggings and beatings on a physical level are highly illegal, but I’ve witnessed more “intellectual floggings” in a corporate environment than I care to think about. It’s all about taming the human animal in a socially acceptable and “modern” way.

And, again, the “experts” tell us that to be healthy we need more technology in the form of pills, “super-foods” and advanced mechanical devices for exercise to be “healthy.” The modern world is full of opportunities – and in some cases the compulsion by force – for us to lose our connection to our truest and deepest nature as highly evolved and intelligent beings – predators and hunters – who need to run, fight, play and feel the earth under our feet and connect to a greater spirituality and energy than ourselves.

Some Practical Advice

With all the above laid out, here are some practical ways I believe you can start to de-stress and “Paleofy” your life and create a better environment for the recovery of your health on every level.

Control your training volume and intensity

Training volume and intensity is a major factor in stress related illness. Many people train too often and too intensely to recover health and stimulate healing from a digestive illness. I certainly did for years before I knew better. Don’t let your ego drive your training and learn to listen to your body. Keep workouts brief and intense and periodize or cycle that intensity. Most people would do a lot better on a lot less training than their ego would be comfortable with.

Control your overall stress levels

Here again is the stress issue. If you have a digestive illness you must control your stress – “control” as in get rid of as much as possible. End negative relationships, leave negative, unfulfilling or oppressive employment, pursue your passions and rest as much as possible. Don’t psyche yourself out thinking that you don’t have a choice in how you live. We all have choices. Many people confuse having hard choices with having no choices. Leaving my big house, corporate career, negative relationships and a load of negative beliefs behind was very, very hard, but I had a choice. I spent years thinking I had no choice but that wasn’t the case – I was just refusing to make the hard choices that would lead to what I really wanted.

Find a “Mind Quieting Practice” like Yoga, Qi Gong or Meditation

I can’t say enough for what yoga has done for me. I started yoga back in 2007 and got serious about it in 2010. Interestingly, 2010 is also when I started to connect with who I truly am and what I truly wanted for myself. From there, rapid and sweeping change began. I’ll never know how much of a role yoga played in that period of my life, but I suspect it was a big one. For me, yoga is the best fit because the movement helps me stay focused and keep returning to my focus on the breath. I have a hard time with traditional meditation because my mind is just too busy when I’m that still. By the way, I’ve done almost all my yoga learning from DVDs and only this past year started attending yoga classes here and there. You can get a lot of mileage out of a few good yoga DVDs. I recommend “Yoga for Dummies” with Sara Ivanhoe and also Sara’s excellent DVD “Yoga on the Edge.”

Use “Guided” Meditations

Like I said above, meditation in its “pure” form is something I’ve always struggled with – preferring more “active” forms of meditation like yoga. I’ve also had great luck with the guided meditations by a guy who calls himself “Hypnotica” and works with musician Denver Clay. This stuff isn’t for everyone – Hypnotica has a distinctly “male” vibe and some of his work is targeted to men only – but I think a lot of his work is suitable for everyone and highly valuable. Try his “Yoga Nidra” meditation for a highly relaxing, hour long meditation and his “Attractor Factor” for a short meditation to help you focus on your goals and energetic healing. Either of those mediations are suitable for men or women. There are plenty of guided meditations out there on CD or iTunes. I think good ones can be a bit elusive at times, but there are plenty out there for you to try and experiment with.

Fix Your Sleep

Don’t wake up to an alarm. If you MUST use an alarm, there are “Zen” alarm clocks advertised in many health and yoga magazines that chime softly and slowly at first and become more intense over the course of several minutes. This is likely preferable to being jolted awake by an electrical buzzer. Also, try to figure out what kinds of foods, eating times and before-bed routines work best for you and give you the most restful, deep and uninterrupted sleep.

Conclusion…

My goal in this article was to introduce you to some concepts you might not have otherwise been exposed to. I had to take a very eclectic approach to my healing and recovery from digestive illness and it took me a long time and a lot of experimentation to learn that dietary changes needed to be integrated with major lifestyle changes. Your lifestyle has played as much (or more) of a role in making you sick as your diet and diet alone can’t heal chronic digestive illness in most cases. This is far from an exhaustive examination of lifestyle factors required for healing, but hopefully it’s pointed you in the right direction for further research and experimentation.

Further Reading…

• The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
• Linchpin by Seth Godin
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Why You’re Dumb, Sick and Broke by Randy Gage
• Undoing Perpetual Stress by Richard O’Connor
• Caffeine Blues by Stephen Cherniske
• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky
• Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson
• Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith
• The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler (Note: Hofmekler is definitely not a Paleo proponent. I recommend his book because his ideas about fasting and human history have a lot of value and are very interesting. My current diet follows a “Warrior Diet pattern”, but uses only Paleo foods.)

Adam Farrah is a popular Blogger, Social Media personality and author of the eBook “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link.” He lives in Old Saybrook, CT with his dog, 5 cats and a Boa Constrictor named Dagny. He trains mainly in Kettlebell Sport and Mixed Martial Arts and holds multiple CrossFit and Kettlebell certifications. 

Adam is currently working on a book about Paleo Lifestyle principles that includes and expands upon many of the topics in this article. You can find him on his main blog Practical Paleolithic and on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Miguel Kristaly enjoying time outside in the Austin area

 By Tony Federico

The “Practice” of Paleo F(x)
Part 1: The “Healthnut” from Miami FL

“A functional look at Paleo or Primal Living: Paleo with a focus on ancestral momentum – moving from theory to practice.”

-from PaleoFX.com

The crowd assembled at Paleo F(x) ‘12 was not typical for a “fitness” convention.  Young and old, big and small, people of all shapes and sizes gathered to hear the leading voices of the Ancestral Health community speak on a variety of topics.

In the sense that Paleo F(x) was centered around the theme of “moving from theory to practice”, one could say that the presenters and panelists represented the “theory” while the people in the audience represented the “practice.”  But, who were they?  Why did they willingly sacrifice time and treasure to attend?  In this series, we will seek to uncover their story, to learn more about the “practice” of Paleo F(x).

Miguel Kristaly, The “Healthnut” from Miami FL

Although he came from a football background, Miguel had been bitten by the endurance bug.  Logging long distances and even longer hours, he built his fitness regimen around the skills of swimming, biking, and running so that he could compete in triathlons and other endurance events.  

It was with the intention of improving his triathlon performance that he took the advice of a friend and looked up the Miami CrossFit affiliate, “I Am Crossfit”.

“After the initial free intro class, I was hooked! It was challenging, explosive, fast, and core engaging. It was exactly what I needed at the exact moment.”

Over the course of his athletic life, Miguel had adopted the conventional wisdom’s recommendations for performance nutrition.  Thinking that he needed lots of carbs to fuel his activities, he ate large amounts of pasta, bread, rice, and potatoes.  This all changed when he began discussing nutrition with the other CrossFitters, before he knew it, he was quickly unlearning everything he thought he knew.

“After being introduced to Paleo nutrition by CrossFit, I immediately began my journey. At the request of another friend, I began to listen to Sean Croxton’s podcasts, where I learned of people like Mark Sisson (who I completely related to because of his endurance background), Robb Wolf, and Chris Kresser. Everything finally started to make sense so I decided to put it to the test and began to experiment with Paleo.”

Ill suited for moderation, Miguel quickly ditched his ever-present food cooler (and the six meals inside it) and became a “fat burning beast” with tons of energy and a calmer appetite .   He didn’t stop there, however.  Three months after joining I Am Crossfit he launched The Healthnut on Wheels, a food truck that brought fresh whole foods directly to customers hungry for a healthy alternative.  The business received a boost  when Miami hosted the Summer Crush CrossFit Games.

“They invited me to come with the food truck and I decided to offer a Paleo menu. Well, it was a huge success and we sold out! Since then, we have had Paleo meals as the #1 item on our menu.”

In attending Paleo F(x), Miguel hoped to bring his understanding of Paleo to the next level.  Due to the fact that he advertises “Paleo” meals on his food truck’s menu, he often gets questions from customers and he wanted to find better ways to educate them about the Paleo lifestyle.

“I try not to use the word “diet” too much in explaining Paleo to curious customers. I feel the word “diet” scares people. I believe Paleo is a lifestyle which involves what we eat but also incorporates, how we move, sleep, manage stress, hydrate, stretch, work, play, etc.  It really is a way of life.  The logo on my food truck and business cards is ‘EATING HEALTHY IS NOT A DIET….IT’S A WAY OF LIFE’!”

Over the course of the two day event, he found that his personal and professional perspective had been strengthened.  His is now planning on expanding his Paleo menu options by offering the meals on a daily basis and, possibly due to the Paleo F(x) cooking demos, offering new Paleo-friendly options as well.

“The truck was not planned out to be a Paleo truck but has definitely evolved to be one. I sell other items that are not Paleo such as burgers, but my beef is all Grass-fed from US-Wellness Meats. The truck has been hugely successful and we just had another event yesterday where we sold out of all paleo dishes.”

If you ever find yourself in South Florida, be sure to look Miguel up.  You can find out where he is delivering his mobile Paleo meals by checking out his “Health Nut on Wheels” Facebook page.

“When people approach our menu and see “Paleo Meal”, they either know it and order right away or are curious and ask about it. This is the best because we get to expose someone new to the Paleo nutrition world and to educate them on this simple and effective way to live.  I’m proud to say this way of life is PALEO!”

Tony runs the popular site, Fitness in an Evolutionary Direction, founded the Orlando Paleo Diet Meetup Group and is an American College of Sports Medicine certified Health & Fitness Specialist. He holds a Bachelors degree in Exercise Science from the University of Florida and has been a full-time Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Coach and Exercise Instructor (Yoga, Tai Chi and Boxing) since 2005. He broke from the conventional wisdom when a client gave him a copy of “The Paleo Diet” and after an initial 30-day trial, he never turned back. Tapping into a wide range of resources, from Economics to Epigenetics and beyond, his holistic approach to exercise and diet has allowed him the opportunity to help transform the lives of hundreds of people.