Foodie

Sarah Ballantyne

In her blog called The Paleo Mom, Sarah Ballantyne refers to herself as a “scientist turned stay-at-home mom who shares recipes, explains the science behind the paleo diet and its modifications, and blogs about challenges of raising a paleo family.”

This alternative way of eating has become a passion and a new way of living for Ballantyne, who brings a Ph.D. in Medical Biophysics to the table. Her health and nutrition blog, and soon-to-bepublished book, The Paleo Approach, are the results of discovering a way to improve her family’s health through diet.

Ballantyne and her husband moved to East Cobb about four and a half years ago, and now have two daughters, ages six and three. Because her medical research career demanded 60 hour-plus work weeks, she decided to spend some time as a stay-at-home mom. Plagued with chronic health issues over the years, Ballantyne began an intensive search a little more than two years ago to determine if diet could possibly be the answer to her medical problems. That’s when she found the paleo diet, which includes foods that are grain-free, legume-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and processed food-free. This  approach to eating is based on wholesome, contemporary food choices from food groups that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have eaten in the  Paleolithic Age. These types of foods directly improve the health of individuals who have medical issues that, many times, go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.

After just two weeks on the paleo diet, Ballantyne was able to give up six medications that she had been taking for many years.

“I started telling everyone who I came contact with about this diet,” says Ballantyne. “The person who was cutting my hair, the person at the checkout register, it didn’t matter. That’s when I decided to start a blog as an outlet to talk about my discovery.”

With health issues as well, her daughters have benefited from following the paleo diet. The health of both daughters – one with sleep apnea and acid reflux and the other with chronic constipation and sleep disturbances – has improved. A typical dinner meal for the Ballantyne household consists of a meat or fish and a couple of vegetable side dishes. The paleo diet simply requires that there are no dinner rolls or rice of any kind. For tacos, lettuce replaces the tortillas. And for pasta dishes, she uses spiral-cut vegetables or kelp noodles. Eggs, fruit, or paleo pancakes become their breakfast staples. Lunches often consist of salads, leftovers, fruit, or Applegate Farms uncured grass-fed beef hot dogs (without the bun). Her website includes many of her favorite recipes, including Paleo Chicken Fingers, Paleo Tacos, Paleo Meatloaf, and Paleo Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

“One of the best things about eating this way is that your taste buds become supersensitive, and food tastes amazing,” she says. “Although it’s hard to believe, a bowl of berries is such a satisfying treat for all of us.”

Ballantyne points out that inflammation is the root of most all chronic illnesses, and the paleo diet serves as an anti-inflammatory with nutrient-dense foods. The diet addresses many issues, particularly autoimmune diseases that affect about 50 million Americans, as well as other conditions such as asthma, allergies, skin conditions, arthritis, digestive disorders, and weight (whether it’s a need to increase or decrease).

For more information about the paleo diet or for tasty recipes, visit www.thepaleomom.com. Also, look for The Paleo Approach, which will be published in September.

“I am writing the book that I wish I had read 15 years ago,” she says.

(Reprinted from the May 2013 issue of EAST COBBER.) 

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