Paleo Defined: Conclusions and RecoWhat does the Paleo diet get right? Part 7 By Brian St. Pierre Despite the faulty evolutionary theory it’s based on, in the end, the Paleo diet likely gets more right than it gets wrong. •Paleo-style eating emphasizes whole foods, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and other healthy fats, which is a massive improvement over the average Western diet. •Paleo-style eating has been extremely effective for improving several chronic diseases. That alone is a huge plus. •Paleo-style eating has made us more aware of how processed and crappy a lot of our 21st century food is. However, we need more rigorous (and carefully matched) trials before we can reach any definitive conclusions. What are the challenges? Despite its obvious benefits over the typical Western diet, the Paleo diet has some flaws. •The evidence for excluding dairy, legumes, and grains isn’t (yet) strong. So as a nutrition coach, I can’t say it’s a one-size-fits-all prescription. Certainly, some people should avoid dairy and gluten, and keep legume and grain consumption more modest. But most of us can improve the way we look, feel, and perform without completely eliminating these foods. •The evolutionary arguments don’t hold up. The human body isn’t simply a collection of adaptations to life in the Paleolithic era. We are all a dynamic accumulation of inherited characteristics (and microorganisms) that have been tweaked, transformed, lost, and regained since the beginning of life on Earth. Such changes have continued over the past 10,000 years — and won’t stop any time soon. •In the broader sense, strictly following a list of “good” and “bad” or “allowed” and “not allowed” foods tends to be problematic for most people. Generally, this approach leads to anxiety and all-or-nothing thinking. Maybe it makes us feel more confident and (falsely) sure of ourselves in the short term. But it’s less effective over the long-term — because ultimately, it decreases...
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 14:34:20 +0000
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