Breakfast at noon?

I was out quite last last night (until 2 AM), so I'm now eating my paleolithic friendly breakfast at 12:30 pm. I know, it's lame, but hey, it was a rough couple of months. I deserve a day off.

A good question was posed to me last night - Why not small amounts of caffeine that you find in green tea, white tea, etc.? It's a good question, and it deserves a good answer.

The answer, according to a true raw paleo would be that anything that requires heat would not be paleo. Raw paleos eat raw meats, raw eggs and all their veggies and fruits totally raw. A raw paleo would not drink tea by any means; acient man did not drink tea. (A scientist last night actually told me that the antioxidents in tomatoes are most potent in cooked form, by the way. Something to do with fat solubility. But that's just a side note.)

My answer is, at this point, I am simplyfying my diet. I will keep eliminating things and trying different foods until I reach a point where I feel better. Many people who go on the paleo diet do so to simply lose weight. I can lose about 6 pounds before I would be categorically underweight, so this is not my goal by any means. It's not about adhering to a strict diet that someone else created; it's about finding a diet that works for me. This nutirional regime is all about finding a way of life that allows me to stay relatively medicine-free.

Another reason I am choosing to stay completely away from caffeiene is that tea, coffee, sodas - these are all natural diuretics (something that deplets your body of hydration). While I am increasing my fruits and veggie intake, I am also increasing my protein intake. Albeit it is mostly lean fish and lean meats, I am slightly cocerned about my kidney function with an increase in meat consumption. That being said, I am drinking about 3 liters of water per day, in addition to my funky all natural juice. I've never had problems with my kidneys, but I think it's best to play it safe with my hydration efforts. :-)

Once these headaches and my problems with my right toes go away, I will be all for "experiementing" with teas. I am bringing things back to a baseline level, getting better, and then slowly re-evaluating what I will or will not ingest. I personally LOVE a good pu-erh tea, and I know the health benefits of drinking high quality teas.

Ultimately, I think my diet will be based on paleolithic nutrition, with some influences from Middle Eastern, Asain and Mediterranean diets. I don't think I will stop drinking organic milk, and I don't think I will give up soybeans, either. I doubt I will never again eat carbs (though I think I will lean towards complex, organic carbs). I doubt I will never again drink a cup of tea.

But this is why this is an experiment. I'm hypothesizing what will work, trying it out, and recording my findings here.

Now, back to my breakfast! I had a glass of half water/half funky grape juice that I actually totally love now and an organic banana. I'll probably finish the rest of that smoked salmon. Since I have the rest of the day to myself, I will run a few errands, and get cracking on that paleo-friendly bread that I've been meaning to try now for awhile.

Keep the questions coming, it's good for me to have to reason why I am doing what I am doing. I enjoy the challenge, always.