Some of you know I started a quest when I turned 60 3 years ago to figure out our ideal diet and of course to also get to my ideal body weight which I figured to be 130 to 135 for my height. Up until my 40s I weighed under 125 and was 117 when I got married at 28. All my life I have had an interest in nutrition so really it was a renewed dedication to finding the truth. The question is, did I? I think so and some day I am going to write a paper on my findings, but I will give you a hint right now because I believe this one revaluation will help many who are striving to lose weight, improve their health and cure diet induced diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Here it goes and it is quite simple. Americans eat too much protein and too much protein causes a host of problems in the body. When you hear of diets like the Atkins, which has been replaced by the modern Paleo diet, many people start consuming even more animal protein. And if you eliminate too many carbohydrates and healthy fats, you are going to make those calories up some where and most of the time people reach for more protein to make up those calories. In the short term, low carbohydrate diets can improve ones symptoms, such as high blood sugar but be aware you are NOT CURING the problem! Return to eating carbs and the problem of high blood sugar returns.

I made the mistake of eating too high of a protein diet for many years because I believed carbohydrates were the problem. It has taken me a long time to figure out what I was doing wrong because I considered protein harmless for so long and it is not!!! I am convinced 100% now that eating a mostly plant based diet with very moderate animal protein is way sufficient to meet our needs. But also understand the type of carbohydrates you choose is extremely important. They can not be processed, refined carbohydrates. You need ample vegetables and healthy starches to meet your carbohydrate needs. For most people, dropping the inflammatory foods, such as gluten containing grains (all grains contain some form of gluten, but grains like rice or quinoa contain very little in a different form than wheat, barley, rye, etc.) and refined sugars, along with pasteurized processed commercial dairy products will greatly improve their health and contribute to weight loss. casual informal wedding wears dressed in summer

Fruit is another good choice, but may need to be limited until the liver is functioning well again because the liver converts fructose to glucose which is what our cells burn. Realize that a high protein diet is detrimental and don't be fooled into going Paleo and thinking you can eat all the meat and eggs you want. Paleo recommends eliminating dairy and grains, but be aware many people start eating too much muscle meat and that is detrimental to your health in many ways. You need to make up the dairy and grain calories with vegetables, fruit and starches as well as healthy fats like coconut, olive oil and ghee and plant fats like avocado.

So my conclusion is figure out your protein needs and be sure to count the protein contained in all foods, not just animal foods, to meet your needs. The recommended amount of protein for the average person, realizing your activity level and weight training will increase the need slightly is .75 grams per kilo of body weight. The article will help you with calculations.