For those who have never played any of The Sims computer games, please bear with me. According to Wikipedia:

The Sims is a life simulation video game series, developed by EA Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is one of the best-selling video games series of all time.

It’s fascinating how they have simulated personality types so well in the game. Growing up, my kids would often refer to other people based on the type of sim they were closest to: “Oh, that person is a family sim. That person is a money sim.” As for me, I’m a knowledge sim.  According to The Sims Wiki:

Sims with the Knowledge Aspiration want to know everything there is to know about anything. Make sure they have the time to study and explore every nook and cranny. Their lives are a simple equation: the more Knowledge, the higher the Aspiration Meter, and the longer and brainier the life.

I want to learn as much as I can on any topic, subject, or hobby that I’m taking an interest in. Whether it’s radio controlled aircraft, coin collecting, or military history, I read voraciously, trying to learn as much as I can. When it comes to nutrition and Paleo, I’ve been doing the same. It’s not just a hobby or a diet for me: it’s become my lifestyle and my passion.

With that aspiration to learn as much as I can comes the reality that sometimes I have to change an earlier misconception or correct the knowledge nugget in my head. One of these is referring to Paleo as no-carb or low-carb.

In reality, Paleo allows carbs, but it cuts out foods that are dense in carbs as a proportion to their mass. This is a huge distinction, as people who are knowledgeable about our body functions correctly assert that the human body runs off glucose which is most easily metabolized from carbs. However, this doesn’t mean our bodies are built to sustain the carb onslaught we put it through every time we eat grains and legumes. Our bodies, in their efficient form, try to get every bit of energy out of the carbs we eat. If we eat more than we need, our bodies store that in the form of lipids, also known as fat. By limiting our carbs to reasonable levels, our bodies won’t overproduce energy and will not be in a position to store it.

In earlier posts, I’ve written about Paleo being low-carb or non-carb. These are not correct phrases, and I will be eliminating them from my dietary vocabulary. Paleo limits carb-dense foods: this is true, but it does not eliminate carbs nor is it low-carb. It’s lower carb than the average American diet, to be sure, but I think the focus should be on eating foods that nutritionally make sense for us. Carb-dense foods just don’t fit into the logic of a balanced diet.

The importance of this change in terminology is huge: I find people are immediately turned off when they hear no-carb or low-carb, but when you talk about limiting carb-dense foods and replacing them with more reasonable carb content foods, people seem to find this reasonable and logical and can more easily consider adopting a lifestyle that will help them lengthen their lives, increase their quality of life, and even lose weight.