The Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet

• The general concepts of the Paleo Diet were introduced as early as 1975 from multiple scientists and doctors; however this diet has been brought into mainstream recognition by Dr. Loren Cordain, a member of the faculty of the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University.
• The Paleo Diet intends to mimic the types of foods the human population ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (approximately 500 generations ago, 10,000 years).  The Paleo Diet is based upon extensive scientific research examining the types and quantities of foods that hunter-gatherer ancestors ate.
• The premise of Paleolithic eating is that “since our genetic code has changed less than 0.02 percent in 40,000 years, this means that our bodies are still expecting to get the same foods and nutrition they were getting 40,000 years ago.”
• 40,000 years ago people were hunting or gathering so the food components of the diet include fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, mushrooms, eggs, nuts and seeds.
• The diet avoids refined sugars and grains, saturated and trans-fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods.
• The Paleo Diet encourages dieters to replace dairy and grain products with fresh fruits and vegetables, which the diet notes as being more nutritious.
• There are multiple clinical studies that have been completed or are currently taking place that show positive health effects of the diet, such as increased insulin sensitivity, higher glucose tolerance, and lower blood pressure.
• Part of the justification for removal of grains and legumes is that they contain high amounts of “antinutrients”, including alkylresorcinols, alpha-amylaseinhibitors, protease inhibitors, lectins and phytates – substances known to interfere with the body’s absorption of many key nutrients.  Molecular-mimicking proteins, which are basically made up of strings of amino acids that closely resemble those of another totally different protein, are also found in grains and legumes, as well as milk and dairy products.   Advocates of the Paleolithic diet have argued that these components of agrarian diets promote vitamin and mineral deficiencies and may explain the development of the “diseases of civilization” as well as a number of autoimmune-related diseases.
• There is debate about the science supporting the Paleo Diet including the concept that 10,000 years is not enough time for the body to have adapted to agriculture.
• Some criticisms of the Paleo Diet include concern over the complete removal of dairy, grains, legumes and sweet potatoes from the diet as many consider whole grains, brown rice and beans as healthy diet staples.