Transitioning From SCD to Paleo/Primal

So my fellow bloggers and blog-lovers, the time seems to have come where I can now comfortably transition to another "diet"/lifestyle. This comes at nearly my two year mark since starting the specific carb diet. The change will be a small one, and I really have been slowly working on this for quite some time now. I've decided to go Paleo. Well, mostly Paleo. In fact I am changing my website name to "SaltedPaleo.com." I revealed this on my Facebook page a couple of days ago. The name is significant for several reasons. Hardcore Paleo followers are aware that salt is limited, if not completely restricted, in the strictest sense of the diet. However, I love salt. And through all of my research I found that without it our cells cannot absorb the very nutrients we work so hard to feed ourselves. I have always craved salt and I know eating the right kind (not table salt!) is absolutely essential. Besides my obvious love of the chemical compound, SaltedPaleo.com also represents that I am reasonable when it comes to diet and "legals/illegals." I started out my journey to health doing SCD and now am transitioning to Paleo. I feel no need though to completely deprive myself of some foods and that are not allowed on one diet or the other. For example peanuts are SCD but not Paleo and cacao nibs are Paleo but not SCD. I eat both. I will not be eating grains or sugar by any means, but we all have to make decisions based on what our own bodies can handle. If you are new to SCD this is not advisable, please do not assume that you can eat illegals right away, because you can't and expect to get better. After two years however, I can tell which foods make me feel ill and when I am pushing myself too hard. The Paleo/Primal diet is more conducive in my mind to long term wellness and sustainability. I feel like the specific carb diet takes you to a point of being healed and then just kind of leaves you at your own whim to figure out where to go from there. Paleo is a lifestyle. It recognizes that fitness is also a vital part to well being. While I do not believe in evolution, I do think the reasons for abstaining from grains and soy, etc, are well founded on logic. The misnomer about grains being good for humans to eat really comes from an analysis of their nutritional structure in a raw state- which is pointless because they are never eaten raw. Meats, on the other hand are nutritionally full of what humans need to keep our bodies functioning well. And the thought process of eating what and how people would have pre-modern civilization for the most part makes complete sense to me as well. Being Paleo is also quickly becoming widespread, which means lots and lots of support. There are cookbooks coming out everyday, it seems, and there are many websites and blogs. Plus it's easier to say "I'm Paleo" than "I am on  this crazy diet called SCD- no not STD-" and explain what in the world that means. As I said, I will not be exclusive to one means over the other, and I owe how far I have come to the specific carbohydrate diet and Elaine Gottschall I am not putting this diet down in any sense. I will still be eating very small amounts of homemade yogurt for the probiotic benefits, as well as occasional hard cheeses and butter. Dairy is not Paleo but this is my choice. Consuming less fruit and honey is Paleo, as well as limiting nut and seed amounts. Most of my recipes will still be SCD legal, I will try to make the distinction clear when I post them. We are all built the same, but our bodies function so differently, we have to make our own choices on how to treat our problems and infirmities.Whatever your dietary lifestyle preference, I hope you are happy and healthy as well!

To learn more about Paleo click here.