The real paleo diet

[GLC1968]

It's an interesting talk and she definitely 'debunked' a lot of the random and incorrect myths about the paleo diet.

Unfortunately, I don't think she read any of the paleo books either...at least, not any of the more modern ones. The three myths that she 'debunked' are not really tenants of the paleo diet at all. They are mostly just talking points from the media/internet.

1) "humans evolved to eat meat and ate it in large quantities" - humans evolved to eat omnivorously (as she points out) and the paleo diet supports this. There is a general over-abundance of media focus on the meat aspect of the paleo diet (partially to assure people that meat IS healthy). All paleo books point out that today's meat is not like our ancestors meat was and that we should either choose wild, grass-fed or extremely lean cuts when eating meat to be as healthy as possible. All paleo books also point out that our ancestors would have eaten organs and marrow too and encourage it. And not a single one says that we should eat meat to the exclusion of all else. Vegetables are a huge aspect of the diet.

2) 'paleo people did not eat whole grains or legumes' - while the paleo diet does exclude these items, it is mostly in response to the modern diet that is totally focused on them. Proof that our ancestors had tools for grinding grain or had legumes in their teeth indicates that they ate these things occasionally. Of course they did. But have you ever tried to grind grain by hand or grow and harvest beans by hand? I have. There is NO WAY our paleo ancestors ate these things in quantity...certainly not until the advent of agriculture. Do you know how long it would take to gather the grains necessary to make a single piece of bread from the wild? Hell, even if you grew them yourself in your backyard, it would take months! You can get nutrition from beans and grains but it is more readily available from veggies and fruits. If you are starving (literally) and grains or legumes are the only thing to eat, eat them. Common sense prevails here. We live in a world of abundance so we don't need to eat tree bark just because our ancestors might have had to in order to survive.

3) "the paleo diet is what our ancestor's ate" - of course it's not...not exactly. Every single paleo book out there points out the fact that foods now are totally different than foods where then. I'm not sure what books she was 'debunking' when she pointed out that our blueberries or carrots or broccoli are different due to agriculture. The paleo diet doesn't shun agriculture - if so, there would be no food to eat!

And her three points for a healthy diet? Every single paleo diet book out there includes the same three ideas 1) diversity 2) fresh and in-season and 3) whole foods.

I agree with everything she said, but she didn't really debunk anything except some of the incorrect paleo diet information floating around the media!

[goldfinch]

I see no reason for a diet to totally exclude legumes and grains.

[GLC1968]

I see no reason for a diet to totally exclude legumes and grains.

Then you shouldn't exclude legumes or grains.

I see no reason for a diet to totally exclude meat, so I eat it. I certainly don't judge those who do have reasons for excluding it though and I ask others to pay me the same respect.

[Catrin]

Then you shouldn't exclude legumes or grains.

I see no reason for a diet to totally exclude meat, so I eat it. I certainly don't judge those who do have reasons for excluding it though and I ask others to pay me the same respect.

This! As for me, excluding all legumes and grains wiped out all of my many digestive system problems - and I am far from deprived I certainly don't expect others to make my choices.

[Crankin]

I did not read the whole article, but my take on this is that I don't exclude any foods (except processed and junk food), but my 3 or so months on a Paleo diet has changed my eating. I restrict my grains quite a bit and I eat a ton more vegetables than I used to. Dairy has always been limited for me. I also notice that when I am faced with a recipe that has added sugar, I leave it out. I didn't really see any change in my health, because I already knew what sets my stomach off. In the end, I think a lot of people jump on the Paleo bandwagon because it helps them control their weight. This is the nature of people. Everyone has to find what works for them. I knew I couldn't live without an occasional serving of brown rice or good whole wheat bread, or red wine. But, I have a lot more knowledge now and a lot more good recipes!

[ny biker]

I certainly don't judge those who do have reasons for excluding it though and I ask others to pay me the same respect.

I must have missed something.

[GLC1968]

I must have missed something.

Nothing to miss. I'm just making a general comment.

Paleo diet followers get judged a lot for choosing to exclude dairy, grains or legumes because it goes against conventional thinking. I'm sure there was a time (maybe even still today) where vegetarians or vegans also got judged for bucking the trend by not eating meat. I'm just using the comparison to make a point.

Not meant to offend!

[Owlie]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that there's a hypothesis floating around that agriculture (of grains, at any rate) started as a way to ensure a steady supply of beer... Just throwing that out there.

GLC, I think some of the Paleo animosity is due to some of the more, uh, vocal Paleo people. They come off as either holier-than-thou religious fanatics, or dietary hipsters. (I think the same thing about pushy vegetarians/vegans. If someone tells me that I shouldn't eat meat, I have to resist the temptation to go buy a cheeseburger.)
I'm not entirely sure I buy the "wheat/legumes=poison" argument, either. Yes, there are people sensitive to them, but if you're not one of those people, I fail to see what the problem with eating them is. (And don't get me started on the guy claiming that gliadin acts as an opiate.)

(I may or may not be procrastinating right now...)

[shootingstar]

I'm such a lazy bum : I haven't been paying attention to the Atkins, Mediterranean, Paleo, raw food, vegan, etc. diets at all for the last few decades.

It doesn't mean I haven't changed:
* really cut down my meat to 3-4 times per month (almost vegetarian)
*cut out white rice, white bread and a lot of bread in general (abit of gluten-free, no it's more less high glycemic)
*increased eating desserts.....not good at all!
*drifting to lighter pastas that are low in egg yolk/none at all.
*egg whites instead of egg yolk. But sure I'll have whole eggs about once a month. I never hated eggs. I just drifted away from whole eggs for home.
*a bit bigger breakfasts daily
*consuming 2 litres of skim milk over 5 days now
*1-2 fruits daily: this has not changed over last few decades

I have not changed eating up to approx. 1.5 cups of veggies each dinner....for the past um...30 yrs. And get this: usually cooked. I seldom eat salads -- only 15% of my diet. No, it's not bad. Lots of raw veggies is not in traditional Chinese or Japanese diets. One must know how not to overcook veggies. And who wants to eat Chinese mustard greens raw? Or bitter melon eaten raw? No way. There But they are quite healthy.

Always seem to include onions, garlic and ginger root in my dinner somehow --85% of the time or more. I guess you can call that my holy trinity spices for Asian cooking.

I could do better:
more veggie consommé soups, or pureed veggie soups

No, more beans and nuts doesn't sit well with me. My stomach seems take effort to digest. Nuts for tiny snacks on a long bike ride...so have it maybe less than 8-10 times annually.

And I still haven't...had any sports food nor drinks after all these years of cycling.