The Paleo Diet is written by Loren Cordain, a professor in the Health and Exercise Science Department at Colorado State University. Dr. Cordain believes that we would all be healthier is we eliminated modern foods and went back to a diet our ancestors ate. It sounds good in theory, but I have some reservations about the book and I think some of the claims are a bit unfounded.
The basic principles of his diet are to
- Eat lean meat and high fiber, non-starchy fruits and vegetables.
- Grain, tubers (potatoes, yams, etc.), beans and sugar are not allowed
- Fat intake should be moderate
- Saturated fats are to be avoided. Equal amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fats should be eaten
- Sodium intake should be kept low and potassium.
- The diet should have a net alkaline load.
- Focus should be on meat and nutrient rich plant foods.
Dr. Cordain feels that this is the way we are genetically programmed to eat. The diet he recommends is most likely healthier than what the average American eats in a day. In fact, there is a chart in the books comparing the nutrients in a sample standard American diet versus a sample Pale Diet menu. The levels of nutrients in thePaleo Diet are many times higher that the typical American diet. One thing I’m not sure about is the high amount of meat he recommends people eat in his sample menus. A high meat diet is contrary to many of the recommendations of other diet experts. He might be right, but it hard to accept his advice because it is so contrary an ideas to what most people have been taught about healthy diets over the years.
One of the factors I liked about this book is that many of his suggestions seem to be based on hard science. I’ve read some of the other books available on alkaline balance and few, if any, refer to any research papers. Many of the other books have a lot of claims about alkaline diets that are unsupported and unverifiable. While other health experts I’m sure would take issue with many of the suggestions in the book, at least Dr. Cordain does attempt to provide scientific backing and supporting studies for most of his recommendations.
I tend to agree with him about avoiding grains. I can’t say I always follow the advice to limit grains, but I do feel better when I do minimize them in my diet. I think most grains tend to be too high in carbs and too low in nutrition for the amount of calories they provide.
However, I don’t understand why Dr. Cordain doesn’t want people to eat tubers, though. They are a completely natural food and it seems like they are a staple for many primitive tribes. I’d be very surprised if Paleolithic people didn’t in reality eat tubers. I also like to eat beans. They are very high in magnesium, which is a good anti-stress mineral. I always feel better after eating lots of beans, so I wouldn’t stop just because of this book.
Overall the book has some good points, but I’m not sure it is really for perfect diet for everyone. It seems like a high meat diet would not be healthy for all body types, especially people who are overweight since meat is a very high calorie food.
