Before You Gobble Up Those “Paleo” Baked Goods…

Have a look at this. Keep in mind that while replacing white flour with almond flour, white sugar with honey and using tapioca as a thickener are indeed slightly less offensive than sticking with the good old Standard American and acceptable for the rare treat on special occasions (think about how often cavemen likely ran into a beehive to eat honey), relying on these concoctions as a regular part of a healthy regime simply misses the boat on what True Paleo is all about. Just as we as a society have gone well beyond overboard with soy consumption (remember, eating copious amounts of soy protein isolate is a huge leap from those who ask about their great grandmothers in Japan eating edamame from their gardens and living to be 103; still not Paleo but you see where I’m going…), we are now doing the same with almonds. Almond flour, almond milk and almonds in and of themselves are ok as a small part of a meal now and then… but that’s it. Have a look at this great article on the reasons (and there are a lot!) to avoid eating almonds too much, too often, including:

• Almond flour is very high in inflammatory PUFAS About 20% of the fat in almonds is polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAS- encourage an inflammatory response in the body, cause digestive issues by impairing the action of certain digestive enzymes, slow down thyroid function, inhibit detoxification enzymes, deplete antioxidants in the body, inhibit production of progesterone and androgens while activating production of estrogen. This encourages estrogen-dominancy in the body and this contributes to many health issues like weight gain, PMS, hormonal acne and more.
• The fats in almond flour aren’t heat stable
• Almond flour is high in enzyme inhibitors

The article then carries on to recommend baking with coconut flour, which, as far as I’m concerned still perpetuates the whole faux Paleo idea, so I’d have a tough time recommending that, either. Bottom line- bread is still bread even if it’s gluten free- and we simply don’t need to be eating it where we have the luxury of access to produce and wild proteins, both of which surpass the marginal nutritional contribution of grains and without any of their detrimental side effects. Skip the bread and the baked goods…all of it.  Save it for the once or twice a year special day like a birthday or anniversary and stick to veg, protein and fat as your daily go-to. Eating real food is what it’s all about!