A Royal Vibram Fan VFF barefoot running five fingers paleo diet natural fitness-min

A Royal Vibram Fan?

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Apparently Prince Harry has just bought some Vibram Five Fingers in California!

It’s great to see the increase in popularity of the VFF’s. I can’t wait for the day they become more mainstream. I still get so many funny looks wearing my Vibrams around Sydney. Some people even comment about how they must be damaging my feet, which is especially amusing, as I have the exact same thought about their feet in the cushioned, padded, arched trainers they insist on wearing.

Personal pair of Vibram Five Fingers worn in Sydney, showcasing barefoot running shoes aligned with Paleo principles

Do you think in a few years time EVERYONE will be wearing vibrams?

Why Prince Harry (and You) Might Want to Wear Vibrams

It’s not every day a royal makes a move that aligns with the barefoot running crowd, but Prince Harry’s rumoured purchase of Vibram FiveFingers in California got me thinking. What does it mean when one of the world’s most recognisable figures is spotted in minimalist footwear? Perhaps the barefoot revolution is more than just a fringe movement – maybe it’s inching its way into the mainstream, one princely step at a time.

So let’s talk about why these “funny-looking toe shoes” deserve your attention – and why more people, famous or not, are embracing them.

What Are Vibram FiveFingers?

If you're new to the concept, Vibram FiveFingers are minimalist shoes designed to mimic barefoot movement while offering protection from modern terrain (think broken glass, heat-soaked footpaths, and sharp gravel). Each toe has its own compartment, allowing your foot to move naturally – just as nature intended.

They’re used for running, walking, CrossFit, hiking, weight training, water sports – and, in the case of some Paleo followers, even with evening gowns or wedding attire (yes, really).

The Paleo Connection: Why Barefoot Makes Sense

A lot of people in the Paleo community adopt Vibrams as a logical extension of their ancestral lifestyle. If you believe in eating like your hunter-gatherer ancestors, it also makes sense to move like them – and that includes ditching cushioned trainers with artificial arch support.

Paleo is all about returning to a more natural way of living, and footwear is a huge part of that. Our feet weren’t designed to be stuffed into narrow, rigid shoes that immobilise the toes and promote poor posture. Vibrams, and other barefoot-style footwear, allow the foot to move, flex, and grip as it was meant to.

Benefits of Minimalist Footwear

  1. Stronger Feet
    Wearing Vibrams helps strengthen the small muscles in the feet and ankles. These muscles tend to weaken in traditional footwear, especially those with arch support or high heels.
  2. Better Posture
    Without an artificially raised heel, minimalist shoes encourage a more upright stance and natural gait. Many people report relief from back pain and joint discomfort after switching.
  3. Improved Proprioception
    Feeling the ground beneath your feet enhances proprioception – your body’s awareness of its position and movement. This is critical for balance, coordination, and injury prevention.
  4. Relearning How to Run
    Most runners land heel-first when wearing cushioned trainers. But barefoot running encourages a forefoot or midfoot strike, which reduces impact and may lower injury risk.
  5. Freedom & Sensory Feedback
    There’s something uniquely grounding about feeling the earth as you move. It’s almost meditative – especially when walking outdoors.

Why Don’t More People Wear Them?

Despite their growing popularity, Vibrams are still not universally accepted – largely because of how they look. Let’s be honest: they’re not exactly subtle.

But that’s changing. More athletes, adventurers, biohackers, and health-conscious individuals are embracing function over fashion. And as people begin to question mainstream narratives around diet and movement, the stigma around barefoot shoes is eroding.

Even major brands have jumped on the bandwagon, releasing their own versions of minimalist shoes – although few match the foot-feel of Vibrams.

Common Misconceptions About Vibrams

  • They’re bad for your feet.
    Only if you jump into them too fast. Like anything, they require a transition. Your feet need time to adapt, especially if you’ve been in structured shoes your whole life.
  • They offer no support.
    True – but that’s kind of the point. Your feet are designed to support themselves. Weak feet often result from relying on external support.
  • They’re just for running.
    Nope. They’re great for hiking, strength training, walking, yoga, and even casual wear (if you’re brave enough!).

Transitioning to Vibrams: Do It Slowly

If you’re curious about trying them, start slow. Wear them around the house or during short walks. Increase duration gradually and pay attention to how your feet and calves feel – you’re likely using muscles that have been dormant for years.

For runners, start with just a few hundred metres at a time. Many people overdo it initially and end up with sore calves or strained tendons. It’s not the shoes — it’s just that the movement pattern is new.

Also, don’t toss your old shoes just yet. The transition can take weeks or even months.

Vibrams in Australia

While Vibram FiveFingers aren’t yet as common in Sydney or Melbourne as they are in parts of the US or Europe, the Australian barefoot community is steadily growing.

Shops like Wild Earth, KMD Brands, and Barefoot Inc. stock Vibrams locally, and there are growing Facebook groups for barefoot runners and primal health enthusiasts down under.

If you’re in one of the major cities, you may even spot someone – besides yourself – in toe shoes. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll spot someone royal.

What I Love About My Vibrams

Here’s what I've personally found from wearing Vibram FiveFingers around Sydney:

  • People will stop and ask you about them – great way to spread the barefoot gospel!
  • You become more mindful of your gait and posture.
  • They're incredibly light – perfect for travel and minimal packing.
  • Once you get used to them, regular shoes feel like moon boots.
  • They’re surprisingly durable – mine have lasted years with heavy wear.

Paleo, Minimalism & Conscious Living

Wearing Vibrams isn’t just about feet. It’s part of a broader philosophy that questions modern norms. Just as Paleo challenges our approach to food, minimalist footwear challenges our approach to movement.

These shifts – in what we eat, how we move, how we sleep, and even how we think – are about alignment. Alignment with biology, evolution, and what makes us feel alive.

Whether you’re just starting out with Paleo or years into the lifestyle, trying something like Vibrams can be a great reminder that health isn’t just in the kitchen – it’s in every step you take.

Will Vibrams Ever Become Mainstream?

Honestly, I don’t know. But ten years ago, the Paleo diet was considered extreme too – and look how far it came.

If more people experience the benefits firsthand – and if the stigma dies down – it’s entirely possible that toe shoes could be as normal as Birkenstocks or Crocs (which were also once controversial!).

And if Prince Harry wears them, who knows? Maybe one day we’ll see minimalist footwear at the Met Gala.

Over to You

Have you tried Vibrams or other barefoot shoes? Did you love them – or hate them? What’s been the biggest surprise in switching away from traditional footwear?

Leave a comment below and share your story – or let me know where you stand on the barefoot spectrum. Are you 100% minimalist or still somewhere in the transition?

Let’s keep walking the barefoot path – one toe at a time.

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal-min

More Health Advice/ Conventional Wisdom

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Another gem from my afternoon of reading “health” magazines in all of their Conventional Wisdom glory.  This one was in the October issue of “The Australian Healthy Food Guide”, in an article all about fat.

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal

  • Choose a canola, sunflower or olive oil reduced fat table spread instead of butter

This sounds very similar to the advice in yesterdays post, based on an irrational fear of saturated fat.

  • When cooking, use spray oil wherever possible

I’ve not seen spray coconut oil, so can only assume they must mean spray “vegetable” oils.  The whole reason for spraying is to use less fat.  In that respect I guess it’s better to use less vegetable oil – but none would be a much bigger health improvement.

  • For salad dressings, choose a vegetable or seed oil such as canola, sunflower, olive, soybean, sesame or peanut

+1 point for the olive oil.  But I’d personally rather have my salad undressed – with a serving of meat & an avocado to make sure I got some good fat with my lunch.  As for putting soybean oil on my salad – what a horrible thought – don’t do it!

  • Choose low-fat varieties of foods whenever possible

Instead of natural, whole foods, with no added or altered ingredients, go for Franken foods instead!?

  • Choose reduced-fat or skim dairy foods

Fat soluble vitamins in the dairy can’t be absorbed, without the fat.  Also without the fat, the sugar content is proportionally higher – increasing the insulin effect.   Not to mention the fact fat is not the villain?

Fat is essential for so many functions.  It is a great energy source, without the crash and burn of relying on carbohydrates for energy.  I wonder how many more years it will take before health magazines catch up?  Will they actually tell us to increase our intake of good fats and give up the grains?  One day?

Why the War on Fat Is Misguided

It’s fascinating — and frustrating — to see how deeply the fear of fat is embedded in mainstream dietary advice. Decades of messaging from conventional health authorities have conditioned many of us to associate fat with disease, weight gain, and poor health outcomes. But the tide is turning. More research is surfacing to validate what the Paleo community has known all along: quality fats are essential, and vilifying them has done more harm than good.

Rather than reducing fat across the board, we should be scrutinising the type and source of fat we consume. Wholefood-based fats, as found in avocados, grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, and cold-pressed oils, nourish the body and support everything from brain health to hormone production.

Decoding the “Healthy” Spreads Myth

Let’s talk about margarine and “reduced fat spreads.” Despite the health halo they’ve worn since the 1980s, these products are typically the result of intensive processing involving chemical solvents, high heat, and artificial additives. Compare this to a slab of butter from pastured cows, which is minimally processed and naturally rich in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Modern spreads may contain less saturated fat, but they’re often packed with omega-6-laden seed oils like sunflower and canola, which can contribute to inflammation when consumed in excess. If heart health is the goal, cutting these inflammatory oils is a better start than switching from butter to a plastic tub of yellow goop.

The Spray Oil Illusion

The advice to “use spray oil wherever possible” sounds logical from a calorie-counting perspective. Less oil, fewer kilojoules, right? But this tip misses the point entirely for those eating a Paleo or ancestral diet. Fat isn’t the enemy. In fact, including quality fats is what stabilises energy, supports metabolism and encourages satiety — all essential for a sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Spray oils, often based on canola or blended vegetable oils, also carry propellants and preservatives. You’re far better off investing in a good-quality oil dispenser and using extra virgin olive oil or melted ghee to cook with intention — not fear.

Let’s Rethink Salad Dressings

The recommendation to pour industrial seed oils over your salad is perhaps one of the worst offenders in the guide. Soybean oil, for instance, is highly refined and often genetically modified. It’s also rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which are already overrepresented in the modern diet and contribute to systemic inflammation when unbalanced with omega-3s.

A simple Paleo-friendly dressing of olive oil and lemon juice not only enhances flavour but also provides bioavailable nutrients. Even better — top your salad with oily fish like sardines or salmon, a sliced avocado, or a handful of crushed walnuts for nutrient-rich fats that support overall wellness.

Low-Fat and Skim Dairy: A Nutritional Miss

Low-fat dairy continues to be promoted in mainstream nutrition — yet stripping dairy of its fat alters the entire nutritional profile. Fat helps slow down the absorption of lactose (milk sugar), which means it has a gentler impact on blood sugar. Removing it leads to a product with a higher glycaemic index and reduced satiety.

Furthermore, the fat in full-fat dairy plays a crucial role in the absorption of its naturally occurring fat-soluble vitamins. Calcium, often cited as the key benefit of dairy, is better absorbed in the presence of these vitamins — particularly vitamin D. It’s ironic that the very nutrients people are trying to get from dairy become harder to access when the fat is removed.

Why Fat Matters on a Paleo Diet

The Paleo lifestyle encourages an abundance of healthy fats from ancestral sources. Not only does this help stabilise energy, but it also supports vital functions such as:

  • Hormone production: Many hormones, including oestrogen and testosterone, are synthesised from cholesterol and fat.
  • Brain health: The brain is over 60% fat and relies on dietary fat — especially omega-3s — for optimal function.
  • Cell membrane integrity: Every cell in the body has a membrane made largely of fat.
  • Vitamin absorption: Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and require dietary fat to be absorbed efficiently.

Instead of fearing fat, the conversation should shift to educating people about how to incorporate high-quality sources like grass-fed tallow, duck fat, coconut oil, and wild fish into their meals.

Breaking Up With Conventional Wisdom

When you look critically at mainstream advice, it becomes clear how much of it is rooted in outdated science, industry influence, and a fear-driven culture around food. The blanket push for low-fat everything has coincided with rising rates of obesity, diabetes and chronic illness — suggesting it may not be the solution we once thought it was.

Instead, by embracing whole, unprocessed foods and including quality fats in our diet, we can reclaim our health and break the cycle of dietary confusion. This doesn’t mean eating fat blindly — it means choosing fats that come from nature, not a factory.

How to Introduce More Good Fat Into Your Day

If you’re still getting comfortable with the idea of eating more fat, try starting with a few simple swaps:

  • Use full-fat coconut milk in your morning smoothie instead of skim milk or almond milk.
  • Top your meals with sliced avocado or a spoonful of tahini.
  • Add a pat of grass-fed butter or ghee to your steamed veggies.
  • Snack on olives or a boiled egg instead of low-fat yoghurt.

These are small changes that can significantly impact your energy, hunger levels, and satisfaction after meals.

Final Thought: It’s Time to Trust Real Food

It may take years before mainstream publications fully correct the messaging around fat. But as more people experience the benefits of a higher-fat, real-food-based approach, the momentum will grow. Until then, continue to question the advice handed down by conventional outlets and instead look to what your body tells you — fullness, clarity, strength, and stable energy are often the best indicators of a diet that’s working for you.

Ditch the sprays, the skim and the spreads. Real fat, in its natural form, has always been part of a healthy human diet.

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal-min

Margarine or Butter paleo diet primal health nutrition-min

Margarine or Butter? Seriously?

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I couldn't help myself.  I read through October's Issue of “Good Health” magazine today.  Our ideas on what constitutes good health couldn't be much further apart.

I thought conventional wisdom was starting to come round to realising that natural, animal fat maybe isn't so bad after all.  Clearly not.

So, let's compare the ingredients: –

Butter

  • Cream

Margarine (this example is Flora)

  • Water
  • vegetable oils (including sunflower oil) (so other vegetable oils are also in the mix, with a high omega 6 ratio)
  • plant sterol esters (12.5%) (this is an additive that reduces cholesterol, but interferes with absorption of fat soluble vitamins & hormones)
  • modified tapioca starch, salt (1.0%) (this is a chemically altered thickener)
  • buttermilk
  • Emulsifiers: Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithin
  • Preservative: Potassium sorbate, citric acid, vitamin E, flavouring (often synthetic chemicals), vitamin B6, folic acid
  • Colour: Beta carotene, Vitamins A, D and B12

So, this article specifically mentions trans fats.  Well, as Julianne Taylor clearly explains, “trans fat free” margarine doesn't sound too great either.  And as for the trans fat in butter – natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminants (like cows) – and have a completely different fatty acid profile to trans fats found in artificial foods.  A lot of evidence suggests that these natural trans fats may actually be beneficial.

Margarine or Butter paleo diet primal health nutrition-min

The Real Food Argument: Why Butter Still Wins

After comparing the minimalist ingredients of butter with the lengthy, chemical-laden list in margarine, the choice becomes glaringly obvious. Butter is a real, whole food. Margarine, on the other hand, is a synthetic product engineered to mimic something natural — and not very successfully at that.

What’s often overlooked in mainstream advice is that real food doesn’t need a health claim. Butter doesn’t come with flashy packaging or boast cholesterol-lowering promises — it simply nourishes. And unlike margarine, which is manufactured using industrial seed oils, butter comes from cream that has been churned, traditionally from pastured, grass-fed cows. No solvents, no mystery additives — just a natural fat that has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.

The Trouble With Plant Sterols

One of the most celebrated features of many margarine brands is the inclusion of plant sterol esters. These are promoted as heart-healthy due to their ability to lower LDL cholesterol. But here’s the catch: reducing cholesterol isn’t inherently a good thing. Cholesterol is essential for hormone production, brain function, and cell repair.

By interfering with cholesterol absorption, plant sterols may also impair the absorption of critical fat-soluble vitamins — like A, D, E and K2 — all of which play vital roles in immune function, bone health, and cellular metabolism. So, while margarine may lower a single biomarker, it may compromise broader health in the process.

Omega-6 Overload: The Inflammatory Downside

Most margarine products rely heavily on vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean, and canola. These oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids — fats that are essential in small amounts but easily overconsumed in the modern diet. When omega-6 intake exceeds omega-3 intake by a wide margin (as is common today), it can tip the body into a chronic inflammatory state.

This imbalance has been associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Butter, especially from grass-fed cows, contains a more balanced fatty acid profile, including a small amount of omega-3 and beneficial saturated fats.

Natural Saturated Fat vs. Artificial Ingredients

Saturated fat continues to be demonised in many mainstream publications, yet the science behind this vilification has always been shaky. The human body is well adapted to using saturated fat as an energy source. It’s stable at high temperatures, which makes it ideal for cooking, and it supports structural integrity in cell membranes.

Meanwhile, margarine's complex cocktail of emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives and colourings offers nothing that the body recognises as food. Rather than being metabolised and utilised, many of these synthetic additives must be processed and detoxified by the liver — a completely unnecessary burden for the body to carry.

What About the Vitamins Added to Margarine?

It’s true that margarine is often fortified with vitamins — but this is only because the original product has little to no nutritional value. These added nutrients are typically synthetic and may not be well absorbed. Butter, on the other hand, is a rich natural source of vitamins A, D, E, and K2 — especially when produced from grass-fed cows grazing on pasture.

These fat-soluble vitamins work synergistically. For example, vitamin D helps regulate calcium levels, while vitamin K2 ensures calcium is deposited in bones, not arteries. This delicate interaction is part of the brilliance of real food — something a laboratory simply cannot replicate.

Butter and CLA: The Unexpected Bonus

Butter from grass-fed cows is also one of the best dietary sources of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fatty acid that has been linked to anti-inflammatory benefits, improved insulin sensitivity, and even fat loss in some studies. CLA is another naturally occurring fat that you won’t find in margarine.

Moreover, butter contains butyrate — a short-chain fatty acid that supports gut health, reduces inflammation in the digestive tract, and plays a role in energy metabolism. Once again, real food provides additional benefits that go far beyond calories and fat percentages.

Cooking With Confidence

If you've been cooking with margarine out of habit or perceived health benefits, it may be time to revisit your pantry. Butter, tallow, ghee, coconut oil and duck fat are all excellent for high-heat cooking and sautéing. They’re not only more stable and resistant to oxidation, but they also add delicious flavour and richness to dishes.

In contrast, cooking with margarine or vegetable oils can create harmful compounds when heated, including aldehydes and other oxidation products — particularly dangerous when reused or exposed to high temperatures.

Don’t Fear Real Food

The shift from butter to margarine was born out of 20th-century nutritional dogma, not long-term evidence. As more studies revisit the impact of dietary fats, it’s becoming clear that traditional fats like butter deserve a place back on our tables.

A Paleo perspective encourages you to ask better questions — not just “Is this food low in fat?” but “Is this food real?” and “How has it been processed?” When you answer those questions honestly, butter emerges as the clear winner.

Making the Switch

If you’re ready to replace margarine with butter in your everyday cooking, here are a few ideas to get started:

  • Spread it on veggies: Melt a knob of butter over steamed broccoli, carrots or zucchini for added richness and nutrients.
  • Bake with it: Use butter in your Paleo baking instead of margarine or vegetable oil for better flavour and stability.
  • Cook eggs in it: Scrambled or fried eggs taste infinitely better when cooked in butter or ghee.
  • Try ghee: If you’re sensitive to dairy proteins, ghee (clarified butter) is a great alternative that retains the benefits without the casein or lactose.

Final Thought: Margarine Has Had Its Day

Margarine was born from an industrial need and kept alive by outdated nutritional advice. Butter, by contrast, is a time-honoured, nutrient-dense fat that has earned its place in the kitchen. So next time you see a health magazine promoting the latest “heart-healthy” spread, take it with a grain of salt — and maybe a pat of grass-fed butter too.

Margarine, seriously?

LighterLife anti paleo diet

Lighter Life, The Anti Paleo Diet?

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There's been a lot in the UK press recently, about British actress Pauline Quirke.  Quirke has lost about 47kg (105 pounds) in just eight months.  This extreme very low calorie diet seems really popular in the UK, but thankfully it doesn't appear to have taken off in Australia and New Zealand.

She has done this by following the LighterLife program, which fascinates me.  The program is for people with high BMI's – and a lot of weight to lose.  It is a very low calorie diet, where about 500 calories is eaten a day.  You eat this in the form of shakes, soups or bars  which come in “food packs” provided by the company.  The idea is that by having under 50g of carbohydrates a day you'll go into Ketosis forcing the body to use bodily fat for fuel.  I'm completely on board with ketosis, but the idea of this diet sounds completely miserable to me.  You can easily become fat adjusted (and go into ketosis) on more calories than this, whilst eating normal Paleo foods and plenty of fat.  It seems dangerous to go from obese to such few calories overnight.  I also hate the idea of existing only on processed “nutritionally balanced” foods.

I've found the ingredients for lighter life  and am horrified, but not shocked by what they show.

Chicken Flavour Soup: Ingredients:  Skimmed milk powder, Maltodextrin, Soya protein isolate, Soya flour, Milk protein, Soya lecithin, Inulin, Flavouring, Hydrolysed wheat and maize protein, Potassium chloride, Calcium phosphate, Stabiliser (Xanthan gum), Magnesium oxide, Onion powder, Calcium carbonate, Parsley, Ascorbic acid, Pepper, Ferrous fumarate, Nicotinamide, Copper gluconate, Zinc oxide, Vitamin E acetate, Manganese sulphate, Calcium d pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamin hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A acetate, Sodium molybdate, Chromic chloride, Folic acid, Sodium selenite, Potassium iodate, d-biotin, Vitamin K, Vitamin D3, Vitamin B12

Fruit Flavour Meal bars: Ingredients:  Maltitol syrup, White coating (sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, emulsifier: soya lecithin, stabiliser: E492, flavouring), Milk protein, Soya protein isolate, Whey protein concentrate, Polydextrose, Whey powder, Potassium phosphate, Sunflower oil, Calcium carbonate, Magnesium oxide, Maltodextrin, Ascorbic acid, flavouring, Ferrous fumarate, Nicotinamide, Copper gluconate, Zinc oxide, Vitamin E acetate, Manganese sulphate, Calcium d pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamin hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A acetate, Chromic chloride, Sodium molybdate, Folic acid, Sodium selenite, Potassium iodate, d-biotin, Vitamin K, Vitamin D3, Vitamin B12

So no meat in the chicken soup (obviously, meat is bad, right?), skimmed milk powder (we don't do fat), lots of soy, sunflower oils, sugars, trans fats and grains-a-plenty.  I think the only thing I'd consider eating would be the parsley…  For these “foods” to be the only fuel you consume for several months is quite a scary thought.  I'd love to find out more what these ingredients do to the body, I'd imagine they are very inflammatory.

Obviously consuming such few calories, weight loss is inevitable.  But then what?  Once you get to a healthier weight, you still have no knowledge about eating healthy, so presumably you go back to your former eating habits – and back to square one.

I'd love to see some studies about extreme diets like this.

What do you think about diets like these?  Do you think the ends justify the means?  Would you willingly consume those ingredients?

The magic pill paleo network instant quick fix solution diet-min

The Magic Pill

2 Comments

So many people seem to blame being overweight on a factor outside of their control.  It's in their genes, it's hormonal, it's their metabolism.  It can't be their diet, they eat wholemeal bread with margarine, cereal with skimmed milk and a low fat meals every day!

Articles like this one in the Daily Mail (my guilty pleasure) further fuel this lack of responsibility.

The article explains how it might not, in fact, be your fault that you are fat.  What a relief!

The magic pill paleo network instant quick fix solution diet-min

Apparently you might really be fat because you have a slow metabolism – which is made even worse by strict dieting.

Or, you might really be fat as a side effect from your medication.  Diabetes medication is listed as one potential drug with a side effect of weight gain.  But surely people commonly put weight on – and are then diagnosed with type 2 diabetes?  Anti-depressants are another drug, they tell us, that can have a side effect of weight gain.  But given the links with depression & inflammation – and diet, isn't this the wrong way round too?

The wrong type of exercise is another reason it is just not working for you, apparently. If only you'd swapped from crossfit to zumba!

“Painful Fat Syndrome” could also be your real problem.  The mind boggles…

Thyroid problems, hormone issues, polycystic ovary syndrome are other potential causes.

Or it could be genetic – or failing that, it might be your friends fault.  Seriously.

Food intolerance does get a mention, but eliminate wheat, milk or eggs and you should be fine.

Must be a coincidence how people who change to eating Paleo have more energy, lose weight, overcome depression & diabetes and stop chronic cardio?

Nope, it's nothing to do with nutrition & lifestyle.  Take a magic pill and carry on as you were.

Reclaiming Responsibility: Why the Nutrition Narrative Needs to Change

It’s easy to understand the appeal of externalising blame when it comes to health and weight struggles. Modern life is stressful, food is hyper-palatable and engineered for overconsumption, and movement has become optional. But when we accept the idea that our weight is purely out of our hands — whether due to genes, hormones, or unlucky circumstance — we hand over our power along with it.

The truth is, while some factors like genetics or health conditions can influence the rate or difficulty of weight loss, they rarely make change impossible. What matters more is consistent, intentional daily action — and diet is often the foundation.

The Issue With the “Not Your Fault” Mentality

Articles that downplay the role of nutrition and personal responsibility might feel comforting in the short term. But ultimately, they’re disempowering. They subtly imply that no matter what you do, your body is destined to be unwell or overweight — so why try?

Of course, there’s nothing empowering about guilt or shame either. But recognising that we have a choice in what we eat, how we move, and how we care for ourselves is not the same as blaming ourselves. It’s about ownership. Once you accept that your daily habits matter, you can take steps to improve them — and that’s where true health begins.

When Medication and Medical Conditions Are Real

That said, it would be unfair to pretend that medication and health conditions don’t sometimes affect weight. Thyroid dysfunction, PCOS, and insulin resistance can make weight loss slower and more complex. Certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, and even beta-blockers have been linked to weight gain.

But here's the nuance: these aren’t immovable obstacles — they’re factors to work with. A real food diet rich in protein, healthy fats and fibrous vegetables can support hormone regulation and insulin sensitivity. Movement tailored to your current capacity can help restore energy balance without triggering more stress. And for many people, reducing processed foods and inflammatory oils can dramatically shift how their body feels and functions — regardless of medication use.

Can You Really Blame Your Genes?

Genetics may predispose you to store fat more easily or respond differently to macronutrients — but they do not dictate your destiny. The field of epigenetics shows that gene expression can be influenced by environment, stress, sleep and diet. This means that even with a family history of obesity or metabolic disease, your daily actions still matter enormously.

A Paleo approach aligns well with this idea. It prioritises whole, unprocessed foods that reduce the risk of insulin spikes, support gut health, and lower systemic inflammation — all crucial in turning “bad genes” down and optimal health up.

Why Nutrition Should Be the First Port of Call

Despite what some headlines suggest, diet remains one of the most powerful levers you can pull for health. A diet based on real, nutrient-dense foods is not a trend — it’s how humans have eaten for most of history. When people strip out grains, sugars, and industrial seed oils in favour of meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and healthy fats, the results speak for themselves.

Weight begins to normalise. Energy increases. Sleep improves. Blood markers move in the right direction. These are not placebo effects — they’re the body’s natural response to finally receiving what it needs and shedding what it doesn’t.

Mindset Over Magic Pills

The promise of a “magic pill” — a single supplement or medication that fixes everything while you carry on with poor eating habits — is one of the biggest false hopes sold in modern wellness culture. Even when pills assist, they’re rarely the full solution.

What really works is a shift in mindset. When you see food as fuel and medicine, you naturally gravitate toward what supports your energy and clarity. When you honour movement as something that builds resilience, rather than punishes the body, you show up more consistently. When you connect to your reasons for change — whether that’s being present for your children or waking up without pain — the motivation becomes internal, not imposed.

Food Intolerances: More Than a Trend

The brief mention of food intolerances in mainstream media often doesn’t do the topic justice. While some people do have identifiable intolerances to gluten, dairy or eggs, others may simply be reacting to an overload of processed, unnatural foods that overwhelm their digestion and immune system.

Through an elimination-style approach, such as Paleo or autoimmune Paleo (AIP), many individuals discover what foods truly make them feel best — often finding that symptoms like bloating, skin issues, fatigue and joint pain resolve without needing a formal diagnosis.

The Inconvenient Truth: There Is No Shortcut

Most people know deep down that transformation takes time and effort. But the wellness industry often profits from selling quick fixes and false promises. There’s a massive market for diet pills, detox teas, fat-burning devices and metabolism-boosting powders — all designed to make you believe you can have change without effort.

But the truth is simpler and much less marketable: eat real food, move often, sleep well, and manage stress. Not flashy, not immediate — but absolutely effective.

Empowerment Through Simplicity

The good news is that taking control of your health doesn’t have to mean complicated macros, extreme workouts or expensive meal plans. A back-to-basics approach can be transformative. Swap sugary snacks for boiled eggs or avocado. Replace your morning cereal with a veggie-packed omelette. Start your day with a walk and end it with a stretch. Little changes, done consistently, lead to big results.

And when you approach it from a place of self-respect rather than punishment, it becomes something you want to do — not something you have to do.

Final Thought: Choose Ownership Over Excuses

It's tempting to believe that our health challenges are someone else's fault — genetics, the pharmaceutical industry, the media, even our friends. But there’s a quiet power in choosing ownership. When you stop waiting for someone else to fix you and instead decide to show up for yourself, everything shifts.

No, it’s not always easy. But it’s possible. And often, it starts with the simplest step — putting down the margarine-laced toast and picking up a forkful of real, nourishing food.

The magic pill isn’t magic. It’s you.

Soy, Grains & Margarine for Better Health newspaper Telegraph paleo diet health advice-min

Soy, Grains & Margarine for Better Health!

2 Comments

I really shouldn't read health supplements any more.  They generally just annoy me.  But I could resist.  I found this gem in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday.

Sunday-Telegraph-Lower-Cholesterol

Just before I ditched Paleo and went out to buy some soy and margarine, I thought I'd see if I could find out a bit more about the study.

So it appears the study split 351 men & post menopausal women into two groups for the six-month period.  One ate low fat, the other low fat – with “special cholesterol lowering foods”.  Hmm, interesting, low fat compared to low fat…  The group with the special cholesterol lowering foods lowered their LDL by 13%.  But then there was also a 22.6% drop out rate.  This is taking me back to Tom Naughton's Science for Smart People lecture at the AHS…

The group with the “special food” also received sessions with a dietitian.  The other low fat group did not.

They summed up saying that because the diet was complex, researchers couldn't tell which foods made a difference in lowering cholesterol.  Excellent.  Regardless, write ups of the study, like the one I saw are still identify these foods as being proven to help lower LDL: –

  • Soy proteins such as soy milk and tofu.
  • Viscous or “sticky” fibres from oats, barley and psyllium.
  • Nuts, including tree nuts and peanuts.
  • Plant sterols in margarine.

Whilst Loblaw (a Canadian food retailer), Solae (who sell Soy products) and Unilever (who own lots of products, including margarine) sponsored the study and provided some of the foods used, that obviously had no impact on the study.  Whatsoever.

I think I'll stick to my high fat diet…

Digging Deeper: When Studies and Sponsorships Collide

It’s always wise to read between the lines when encountering “science-backed” nutrition claims, especially when those claims align neatly with processed food marketing. Studies funded or supplied by companies with direct financial interest in the outcomes — like Unilever, Solae, or Loblaw — are not inherently invalid, but they do deserve extra scrutiny. When a study concludes that “cholesterol-lowering foods” (conveniently available from the sponsoring companies) improve health outcomes, the conflict of interest should at least raise eyebrows.

In the case of this particular study, the fact that both groups followed low-fat diets makes it impossible to determine if the outcomes were related to the removal of saturated fat, the addition of sponsor-supplied foods, or simply the regular dietitian check-ins only one group received.

The Real Problem With Cholesterol-Lowering Narratives

Public health messaging has long been obsessed with lowering cholesterol, particularly LDL, as though it’s the single most important marker of health. But this is an oversimplification. Cholesterol is essential for producing hormones, supporting cell membranes, and helping the body produce vitamin D. Rather than blindly pursuing lower LDL numbers, a more balanced conversation around lipid ratios, inflammation, and metabolic health is overdue.

Numerous studies have shown that total cholesterol — or even LDL alone — is a poor predictor of heart disease in isolation. Far more telling are factors like triglyceride to HDL ratios, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation. Yet articles like the one in the Sunday Telegraph continue to focus on LDL reduction via dietary tweaks that promote processed food products.

What the Study Didn’t Say: The Role of Inflammation

Interestingly, there’s little to no mention of inflammation in the article — or the study itself. Chronic inflammation is now widely recognised as a key driver of cardiovascular disease. Reducing inflammation through a nutrient-dense, low-toxin diet is a far more holistic and effective strategy than simply trying to push down cholesterol levels with soy milk and margarine.

A Paleo diet, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and bioavailable nutrients, naturally addresses inflammation by removing the root causes: seed oils, refined sugars, grains, and ultra-processed foods. But this concept rarely makes headlines, perhaps because there’s no branded margarine to sell alongside it.

The Soy Dilemma

Soy protein is frequently positioned as a “health food” — particularly for its supposed benefits on cholesterol. However, soy comes with its own list of issues. Most commercial soy is genetically modified and heavily processed, often treated with hexane and other chemicals. Additionally, soy contains phytoestrogens, which can interfere with hormone function — especially concerning for those with thyroid issues or hormone-sensitive conditions.

In a wholefood-based Paleo context, soy is excluded not only because of its antinutrients and processing, but also because there are far more nourishing, less controversial sources of protein available — like grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, and wild-caught fish.

What About Oats, Barley and Psyllium?

The “viscous fibre” component of the cholesterol-lowering formula mentioned in the study usually comes from oats, barley, or psyllium husk. While soluble fibre can certainly support gut health and slow digestion, it doesn’t require grains to be effective. Vegetables like okra, sweet potato and pumpkin, as well as chia seeds and flaxseeds, also provide soluble fibre — without the blood sugar spikes and gluten-related inflammation grains can cause for many.

Barley and oats both contain gluten or gluten-like proteins that can trigger gut irritation and immune responses, especially in those with sensitivities. And let’s not forget: these grains are almost always heavily processed before they reach the supermarket shelf.

Peanuts and the “Nut” Misunderstanding

Yes, nuts were included in the study's cholesterol-lowering foods. But it’s worth noting that peanuts are not actually nuts — they’re legumes. This distinction matters in the Paleo world, where legumes are typically avoided due to their antinutrient content (like lectins and phytic acid), potential to cause gut irritation, and high omega-6 content.

Tree nuts, when consumed in moderation and in their whole, raw form, can be a good addition to a Paleo diet. However, over-reliance on roasted, salted nuts as a “health food” — especially when they’re used to bulk out ultra-processed snack bars — often leads to more harm than good.

And Then There’s Margarine

The inclusion of margarine in any list of “cholesterol-lowering foods” is perhaps the most telling sign of industry influence. Margarine is often made with hydrogenated or interesterified vegetable oils, designed to stay shelf-stable and mimic the texture of butter. While many brands now avoid trans fats due to public backlash, they still rely on heavily processed seed oils that are high in omega-6 fats and prone to oxidation — both of which can fuel inflammation.

Butter from grass-fed cows, by contrast, contains fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K2), healthy saturated fats, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) — a naturally occurring fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties. Yet somehow, margarine is still sold as the “heart-healthy” option. Go figure.

Why Real Food Doesn't Need a Sponsor

One of the most consistent themes in mainstream nutritional studies is that real, whole foods rarely get the spotlight — largely because they can’t be patented, branded, or profitably packaged. When large corporations fund dietary studies, the outcomes often reflect a subtle (or not-so-subtle) preference toward products they manufacture and sell.

A study comparing a standard Western diet to a Paleo template rich in real food would be fascinating — but good luck getting funding from a margarine company.

Final Thought: Stick With What Humans Have Always Eaten

The idea that cholesterol should be lowered at any cost is outdated and oversimplified. Rather than relying on margarine, soy milk and barley to prop up your lipid numbers, focus instead on a nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory diet that your ancestors would recognise as food.

Eat eggs. Cook with butter. Add fatty cuts of grass-fed meat. Include plenty of vegetables, leafy greens and good-quality fats. These foods won’t just lower your risk of disease — they’ll make you feel better, stronger and more in control of your health.

And next time you read about a miracle food study in the Sunday paper, check who paid for it. You might find the answer is as manufactured as the margarine it’s trying to sell.

Soy, Grains & Margarine for Better Health newspaper Telegraph paleo diet health advice-min