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load” is the glycemic index of a food times its carbohydrate content. It is this high-glycemic load that elevates blood insulin levels in many people. High-glycemic carbohydrates cause large and rapid rises in blood glucose and have been implicated in a wide variety of chronic diseases—adult-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, elevated blood uric acid levels, elevated blood triglycerides (the building blocks of fat, which float around in the bloodstream), elevated small-dense LDL cholesterol, and reduced HDL cholesterol. This cluster of diseases is known to cardiologists as metabolic syndrome. Regrettably, the architects of the Food Pyramid did not distinguish between high- and low-glycemic carbohydrates when they started this carbomania.

Let’s see how our modern way of eating has deviated from the Seven Keys to nutrition I laid out in chapter 2, and how this has affected our health.

The Seven Major Problems in the Typical American Diet

1. Not Enough Protein

Protein makes up 15 percent of the calories that most Americans (and people in other Western countries) eat every day. But it should be much higher—between 19 and 35 percent—to give us more energy and help us burn off extra calories. Look at the numbers: For every 100 calories, cereals average only about 12 percent protein—compared to 83 percent protein for game meats. Legumes like lentils, peas, and beans average 27 percent protein.

As for dairy products, the phenomenon of the “milk cow” (or goat or sheep) happened roughly 9,000 years ago. Milk contains 21 percent protein, cheese averages 28 percent protein, and butter has absolutely no protein—but a lot of fat.

The bottom line: Most of us are getting only half of the protein we need. Why is this bad? As I’ll discuss in the next three chapters, a low protein intake contributes to weight gain and a high blood cholesterol level and increases your risk of many chronic diseases.

2. Too Much of the Wrong Carbohydrates

The USDA Food Pyramid is based on carbohydrates; we’re a nation of starch and sugar eaters. Carbohydrates make up about half of the typical Western diet—a considerable difference from the Paleo Diet. For our ancient ancestors, carbohydrates accounted for 22 to 40 percent of the daily calories—but these were good carbohydrates, from wild fruits and vegetables. These low-glycemic foods—which don’t cause blood sugar to spike—are digested and absorbed slowly.

With nonstarchy fruits and vegetables, it’s very hard to get more than about 35 percent of your calories as carbohydrates. For example: There are 26 calories in the average tomato. To get 35 percent of your daily calories as carbohydrates from tomatoes only, you’d have to eat thirty tomatoes. And this is why, with the Paleo Diet, you can indulge yourself by eating all the nonstarchy fruits and vegetables you want. When you eat the right foods, getting too many carbohydrates—or eating too many high-glycemic carbohydrates, which can cause a dangerous rise in your blood sugar and insulin levels—is simply not something you have to worry about. The average carbohydrate content of fruits is only about 13 percent per 100 grams, about 4 percent for nonstarchy vegetables—and zero for lean meats, fish, and seafood. In stark contrast, the average carbohydrate content of cereal grains is 72 percent per 100 grams.

Why are many carbohydrates bad? Many whole grains and legumes don’t have a lot of vitamins and minerals. They’re poor dietary sources of these important nutrients. So a diet that’s tilted too heavily toward grains and legumes—at the expense of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables—can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This is why so many of our breads and cereals are fortified with extra nutrients. Food shouldn’t need to be supplemented with vitamins, and if you’re getting the right balance of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables, neither should you.

Worse, cereal grains and legumes even contain “antinutrients”—chemicals that actually prevent your body from absorbing the proper nutrients and can damage the gastrointestinal