Just got chewed out for the Paleo Diet

Our good friend has advised us that the Paleo diet is extremely ill advised and unhealthy. How do we point our doctors without medical degrees who are misinformed to the path?

Murray - There can be nothing unhealthy about a Paleo eating style.... no grains, no dairy, no white potatoes, all whole food, healthy fat, no packaged foods, no chemicals, additives, the more raw, the better. The only problem I see is if someone misinterprets the protein portions to mean a diet heavy on meat and nothing else, which it definitely is not. It's a well-balanced program with the essential nutrients everyone needs.

You can start by referring your ill-advised friends to the articles by Ron Rosedale, MD, - Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects or his book... The Rosedale Diet which is on the same topic. Dr. Rosedale's plan is very similar to Paleo eating.

The best thing you can do is not discuss diet with doctors because, unless they are educated beyond medical school in Functional Medicine, they don't have a clue about what a good diet really is all about.

Jackie

Well, I never thought bacon and bacon fat was healthy, but on a paleo diet it is, as is fatty meat, who knows fads come and go.

We don't know how healthy the paleo ancestors were as they didn't live long enough.

I think people eat way too much sugars, and too much starch, but I am sure a little added to your good diet of veggies, fruits, good proteins and as Jackie says no packaged foods are fine, rice, whole grains in moderation, a little dairy like yogurt. Potatoes saved the irish from starvation, corn is a staple of mexico, rice is the food of China.

Liz

Liz - there is no substitute for intelligence when it comes to understanding what constitutes a healthy eating plan. It does take a certain amount of studying to understand what Paleo eating is all about and it should not be confused with one of the fad diets like Atkins that allows bacon or other meats treated with nitrates.

Eating a white potato is like eating lump of sugar when it comes to glucose load so while it may have saved people during a famine, we're not in famine mode and anything white should not be considered a healthy food, including a white potato. If you ate only the skin for an occasional treat, that might be acceptable because that's where the minerals reside.

" The Paleo Diet is the unique diet to which our species is genetically adapted. This program of eating was not designed by diet doctors, faddists, or nutritionists, but rather by Mother Nature's wisdom acting through evolution and natural selection. The Paleo Diet is based upon extensive scientific research examining the types and quantities of foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate. This nutritional plan is totally unlike those irresponsible, low-carbohydrate, high-fat, fad diets that allow unlimited consumption of artery-clogging cheeses, bacon, butter, and fatty meats. Rather, the foundation of The Paleo Diet is lean meat, seafood, and unlimited consumption of fresh fruits and veggies."
[www.thepaleodiet.com]

To that I should add, that many people misinterpret this and eat too much fruit and therefore offset the good part of the healthy diet because they are either overweight or have insulin resistance which continues to contribute to health issues. So...a thorough study of what Paleo eating is really all about is in order.

Paleo eating excludes all grains...including rice and corn. Some people modify and eat brown rice occasionally. If you are Asian, then you are genetically evolved to eat rice as the mainstay of your diet as long as 'modern' foods aren't also introduced because then the glucose handling issues become evident. Same with corn and Mexicans... when they include Americanized eating, they quickly develop diabetes.

Liz is correct. People eat far too many starchy carbs (grains) and sugar...that's why Paleo eating is healthy because it eliminates those foods.

Jackie

Jackie:

"The Paleo diet is the unique diet to which our species is genetically adapted", taken from your post. Yet you say that if you are Asian, then you are genetically evolved to eat rice as the mainstay of your diet------same with corn and Mexicans. How did the Asians and Mexicans get genetically evolved and we didn't?

That is all well and good that a lot of us can eat lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and nuts, but all people on this planet cannot do so. Egypt created a civilization based on the union of the land and the Nile river. Agriculture created most of Egypts' wealth,; grain, rice, corn, fava beans, vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats, pigs and fowl were grown.

If the paleo population were as great as the number of people in our world today, they wouldn't be just hunter/gatherers they would have to turn to agriculture as we do today to sustain life.

Liz

Murray,

Tell your friend to get a high quality glucometer. Then have him test his blood sugar fasting and 45 minutes after meals. If his blood sugar is between 60 and 85 mg/dl (3.3 - 4.7 mmol/l) at all measurements, then his diet is fine. If not, suggest he trend more towards something lower in carbs.

See:
Dr. Bernstein who recommends a target blood sugar at all times of 83 mg/dl <www.diabetes-book.com>
Dr. Rosedale as referenced above [www.drrosedale.com]

George

Great link to Dr. Rosedale, George. I thought he had disappeared although I haven't tried to find him online in a while. I'm so glad to have the link to the downloads. Thanks! Jackie

Jackie,

You are welcome. Here is the other link actually live.

[www.diabetes-book.com]

George