nutritional resource

Nutrition is a key aspect of endurance sports and is discussed in detail by two leading experts in the field, Cordain and Friel. Following the techniques described in this book will resort in better recovery, overall improved health, and improved performance. Based upon Dr. Cordain's Paleo diet, the authors present strategies for proper nutrition and refueling that is revised for the specific demands of endurance training. Highly recommended for any endurance athlete with dedication to improve their lifestyle surrounding their sport. The plan is easy to follow after some adjustments and becomes a way of life!

Rating:


Flimsy Evidence, but It Sells Books

I'm not one to promote one diet over another, but by way of disclosure I am a vegan (which means I don't consume any animal products) and a competive (though amateur) cyclist. I am also an anthropologist. My main problem with the Paleo Diet books is that they are based in part on flimsy ethnographic and physical anthropological data. Studies of the diets of contemporary foragers (who used to be called "hunters and gatherers") are flawed in their methodologies and result in widely disparate data. They also do not take into consideration the history of most foragers as colonized subjects whose lifeways (including subsistence strategies) have been substantially altered by their domination by neighboring peoples or by the state-level societies in which they have lived for sometimes hundreds of years. In some cases carnivory may be a recent strategy as a result of resource scarcity, and not a time-honored practive dating to our hominid ancestors. We can't assume much about early hominid diet from contemporary forager diets. Moreover, contemporary human populations have occupied specific ecological niches that are distinct from our paleolithic ancestors; no one would expect the Inuit, for example, to have developed a vegan diet since their environment would make that a huge challenge. Likewise, other populations in different environments will have developed distinct strategies for meeting basic nutritional needs. In addition, evidence of carnivory exists in the hominid record; but this does not tell us the degree to which it was important in the diet. Plant-based diets don't leave a lot of physical traces (dentition patterns are one indication of diet). Meat eating may have been the result of scarcity and not preference; it may have aided population genetic fitness (via selection) but not overall health. So behind the "data" there are a lot of contradictions. How this in the end translates into increased athletic performance is another story. If you want to justify your diet on pseudo-science, fine. I would rather justify it on based on results. If this sort of diet (mislabelled "paleo") works, great. If not, try something else. But don't be fooled by the labels.

Rating:


A natural diet with the athlete in mind

This book changed the way I look at nutrition. I have always been active and eaten a decent diet, but I knew I was too heavy on sugars and carbs in general. When I got into triathlons, I got Joe Friel's The Triathlete's Training Bible, and it turned me onto the Paleo Diet.

Since both authors have advanced degrees (Loren Cordain has a PhD in Exercise Physiology and Friel a M.S. in Exercise Science), it is heavy on science. The authors base their claims on numerous sources, and reference these sources throughout.

The basic premise is that the way we currently eat is contrary to how our bodies evolved over the millions of years prior to agriculture. Lean meat, fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables should be our staple, with a small twist. Paleolithic man could never have been a high level endurance athlete, as he just wouldn't have gotten enough carbohydrate to replenish his glycogen stores after a long or very intense workout.

This book, then, makes adjustments to the standard Paleo Diet to include certain types of foods normally not allowed during SPECIFIC periods of the pre and post-exercise window.

Post Script: Though I don't like to comment on others' reviews, I feel I must say that I don't agree with the assertion that the book doesn't place enough emphasis on when to eat the foods you eat. After the intro, the entire first few chapters are exactly that: What types of food to eat, and EXACTLY when to eat them.

Rating: