Paleo/Primal Diet?

[7student7]

Does anyone have any experience with the Paleo diet? Like what you'd see on Mark's Daily Apple or PaNu - PāNu Blog . Did anyone have a positive (or negative) experience with it? Do you see any major flaws? Is this something you would feel comfortable telling a patient about since it is so far removed from the standard American diet?

I am looking for scientific information, and/or direct personal experience. I am not interested in vague "common sense" type recommendations or appeals to authority, government or otherwise.

Thanks ahead of time for any responses!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I don't think many would argue that compared to the standard Western diet, a diet of mainly vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish and without sweetened or processed foods is healthier. If referring to that as a "paleolithic" diet is what gets people to eat that way, then I'm not going to argue with it.

That being said, I will argue just for the sake of arguing.

While it is true that fruits, veggies, nuts, etc are healthy, and also happened to be part of the paleolithic diet, assuming that this means all aspects of the paleolithic diet is healthy is bad logic. That's like saying because oranges and carrots are healthy, every orange colored food must be healthy and adopting an "orange" diet, even thought that may include large portions of circus peanuts and cheeze-whiz. (I went through multiple examples of diets that I thought were too ridiculous to be true, and kept having to start over because it turned out each one actually existed, including the "orange colored food" diet, so I finally gave up.)

This is what separates a science based diet from a fad diet. A fad diet is based on a gimmick (eat like a caveman!) Rather than eating what the science says is best, you eat only what conforms to the gimmick. For the most part, this isn't a huge problem with the paleo diet since most of it happens to be healthy. However there are still examples of where adherence to the "gimmick" conflicts with the science. The paleo diet welcomes root vegetables such as potatoes and yams, ie unhealthy simple starches, yet at the same time shuns much healthier complex carbs such as oatmeal.

There is a lot of evidence that certain aspects of paleo diet are healthy, although using that as proof that the paleo diet as a whole is scientifically based is flawed. Using the same trick I could argue that my circus peanut/cheeze-whiz/carrot based orange diet is scientifically proven to be healthy because I can provide a study that shows carrots are healthy.

Of the studies that look at paleo diets as a whole many of them are pretty weak, which is a little surprising since it shouldn't be that hard to show that a diet which for the most part follows basic healthy eating principles is in fact healthy. I hate to cherry pick, but let's look at one study in particular; the Osterdahl et al study "Effects of a short-term intervention with a paleolithic diet in healthy volunteers." This study had a 30% dropout rate, particularly concerning for a study that only started with 20 subjects. In the end, complete data was only available for 6 of the subjects and there was no control group in the study. The fact that this was even published by a supposedly reputable journal is depressing.

The upside to gimmicky/fad diets is that their novelty often succeeds in changing people's eating habits, in the same way a good "hook" in a pop song grabs your attention, the downside is that the catchy hook of a song that you can't get enough of at first eventually gets old, making fad diets sort of the nutritional version of the Macarena.

In the end, I am in now way opposed to fad diets that produce overall healthier eating habits in people than would have occurred otherwise, even if it is intermittent. And as I sit here enjoying pizza and an IPA, I certainly can't criticize Mingez for his dietary habits which are far superior to mine or his commitment to them; more power to you.

I checked 4 sites, didn't find any that accepted potatoes or sweet potatoes...and did you know that it was started by a GI doc?

[MunoRN, RN]

I checked 4 sites, didn't find any that accepted potatoes or sweet potatoes...and did you know that it was started by a GI doc?

I noticed that there are surprising number of inconsistencies for something that seems to be somewhat absolute by design, the paleo position on starches is definitely one of those topics that doesn't have 100% agreement. But the widely accepted position seems to be that sweet potatoes and yams are acceptable. My impression is that Robb Wolf is considered an authority on paleo, he stated "Paleo friendly carbohydrate such as yams, sweet potatoes," FAQ

I also found what appears to be a popular paleo site with recipes, that included sweet potato fries, soup, and casserole: Paleo Diet Recipes | Home of delicious paleo recipes

I also found this comment: "Potatoes are probably the most favored starch source in the paleo community for several reasons." Are sweet potatoes Paleo? - PaleoHacks.com

[FLRNR]

Sigh...Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Paleo, next??? Maybe portion control, exercise (cardio AND weights), non-processed foods, eliminate red meat, fresh fish once a week, eat your veggies. Sorry, no fancy or catchy name, just common sense. For the one who posted that the Paleo diet was/is a cure-all for your entire family - happy for you and yours and hope it continues.

[everydaynurse]

Go to Dr. Oz site and Beyond Diet for both. The first question in my mind is to ask the client to keep a food diary. Find out what is acceptable to them both financial and esotheric. I have been trying myself to eat nonprocessed foods, growing my own food and canning, and we may even get some chickens and turkeys. There is evidence out there. Take an ecology course or even watch Food INC movie. I know that since swichting to a diet with more fruits and vegies and whole grain sprout bread, I am not bloated and droping pounds. With any patient education, I feel you have to find out their info first and then help them to find what will work for them.

[mingez]

Yes, there are 2 different camps. One that is of the "Safe starch" variety, and one that is of the low carb variety. Some Paleo folks eat plenty of carbs, but the most popular version of the diet is low-ish carb.

And I like to tell people that Ancestral eating is not a diet of knowing what to eat. Because yes, we are all aware, and have debated ad nauseam about the logical fallacy of assuming everything pre-neolithic folks ate was automatically healthy.

I think the general consensus is that it's a philosophy, one that doesn't suppose to know WHAT ancient man ate, (although the archeological record is pretty clear) but rather one that understands what they DIDN'T eat. I know we DIDN'T evolve eating doritos, tofu dogs, and sweet'n low. (PS, sweeteners are still on the ADA heart healthy diet list, hence why it's served on most diabetic diet hospital trays) And as such, if one avoids those processed foods, it's pretty safe to say that you're eating foods we were evolved to eat. That being said, the food, soil, and environment of today is very different, and as such, one strives to eat as close to paleo as possible. So yes, it's "Clean" eating largely.

Ancestral eating is not a fad diet, but a lifestyle. You'll hear that a lot. If you're going to lump it in with Atkins and Southbeach, then you must also lump in Veganism, Carnivory, and Vegetarianism as "Fad diets" as well.

[Despareux]

Paleo eating seems kind of like a no-brainer and follows what is currently being promoted--clean, healthy, void of processed foods...

[KeepCalmCarryOn]

Does 'clean' eating involve eating beef that was raised in a feed lot? Have you ever smelled one of those places?

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Does 'clean' eating involve eating beef that was raised in a feed lot? Have you ever smelled one of those places?

no, feed lot cattle are not grass finished.....they are corn finished.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

There is an interesting related recent article on this on Slate The real caveman diet: What did people eat in prehistoric times? - Slate Magazine

We have altered vegetables and fruits so much by breeding that they no longer resemble their ancestors. This would make it difficult to truly find ancient food to eat.

[chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Best dietary advice I've heard is from Michael Pollan:"Eat food. Not a lot. Mostly plants."

[crossfitnurse]

Sorry, but I'm blown away by a majority of these responses! Have ANY of you done your most basic science research??? Paleo is all about protein and natural foods. Essentially allowing your body to run off of ketone bodies. And your organs actually run MORE EFFICENTLY on ketone bodies. Crack open your micro bio books or your bio chem books and use an open mind. As someone who does the Paleo "diet" my blood work was so good my doctor asked what I was doing. Not only that, but it has cured so many diseases and allowed people to no longer be dependent on insulin when diabetic! Just because it's not something that you want to do (aka: give up the sugars, breads, government made foods) or would require self control doesn't mean it doesn't work. It's a VERY realistic lifestyle. It is not a "fad" diet. There is a difference between low carb diets and Paleo.Sure - its easier to throw medication down people's throats, but after reading your phamaracology texts, wouldn't it save 2833737 side effects from occurring if people just ATE real food???

[mingez]

Sigh...Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Paleo, next??? Maybe portion control, exercise (cardio AND weights), non-processed foods, eliminate red meat, fresh fish once a week, eat your veggies. Sorry, no fancy or catchy name, just common sense. For the one who posted that the Paleo diet was/is a cure-all for your entire family - happy for you and yours and hope it continues.

Because, portion control as a dietary recommendation has worked SOOO well thus far?? C'mon.... If you're eating hyper-palatable foods that cause insulin spikes and leptin resistance, you will lose the battle with your own BIOLOGY. (Much of that food is designed to encourage over-consumption) People will instinctively fight tooth and nail to avoid hunger pangs, it's our evolutionary programming. Being hungry is not natural. You shouldn't have to control your portions, your body should do it for you. And that's what happens with a clean, paleo, primal, diet.

As for exercise, that's a huge part of the lifestyle. Heard of Crossfit? Yeah, most people who discovered this lifestyle did so via functional fitness.

And yes, after 2 years, we're enjoying the amazing effects of eating healthy. And that doesn't involve having to actively think about "Portion control."