Insulin resistence and our strange modern diet

Recently I underwent a three week cleanse on the advice of my naturopath Dr. Jason Hughes. I also did a couple of blood tests and learned that I am highly sensitive to eggs and dairy - I had already figured out the eggs, but the dairy was news to me, although I wasn't really surprised - and I also learned that I have a fairly high degree of insulin resistance. What this means is that my cells have become resistant to insulin, so that it is unable to do its job properly. Hence my pancreas copes by pumping out more than the normal range of insulin, and the net result is that at various times I end up with too much glucose and/or too much insulin in my bloodstream at a given time. It increases the risk factors for various diseases, and causes annoying short-term effects such as fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. These revelations have supported my desire to change my lifestyle in a positive way, mainly changing diet and exercise patterns. For example, I need to essentially cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates, and eat sources of complex carbohydrates and concentrated protein sources. Essentially, I need to eat more like a caveman.

A book I've been reading on the subject of Syndrome X (related to insulin resistance, though I don't have the syndrome at this point) details the differences in our modern diet compared to the way humans ate during most of our evolutionary history - often referred to as the Paleolithic diet - and makes the case that we are adopted to eat certain types of food, with significant deviations from that model imperiling our health and well-being. It is amazing to look at how our diet has changed, and how quickly.

Looking at the pace of change in the human diet, 100,000 generations of people were hunter-gatherers, 500 generations have been agriculturists, only 10 generations have lived since the start of the industrial age, and only 2 or 3 generations have existed since the advent of highly processed and artificial foods. Our bodies are designed for the foods eaten by our Paleolithic ancestors, not for the types of convenient, processed foods most people eat today. (Syndrome X by Jack Challem, Burton Berkson, and Melissa Diane Smith, p. 75.)

I find the following quote quite funny:

About 2,000 years ago, people began using grinding stones to make whole-grain flours. Before machine technology was developed during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800's, however, only royalty and the rich ate nutrient- and fiber-stripped white flour because it was very labor intensive and costly to produce. As a result, obesity and degenerative diseases such as heart disease and adult-onset diabetes - consequences of Syndrome X - often afflicted mainly the royalty and the wealthy. (Syndrome X, p. 66)

Now, with modern technology, everyone is free to get these degenerative diseases! :) A movie that makes a similar case is the recent Supersize Me, which I highly recommend. It is an entertaining and horrifying look at the effects of eating nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. In some ways modern society is so wacked. I'm glad that this information is out there, and in the long term I'm optimistic that we will return some of these crazy situations to some sort of healthy balance. At least, I hope so; and at the very least I can do something about my own situation.