The Paleo Diet – Healthy or Hoax?

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the information presented in this and many other health articles, blogs, and “expert opinions” floating around bashing a paleo diet. Unfortunately, the experts, journalists, and healthcare practitioners calling this lifestyle unhealthy typically base their opinions on the completely corrupt educational and healthcare system that runs our country today. Having studied nutritional science in undergrad, I received a similar education as other healthcare professionals out there today. However, I’ve personally witnessed the USDA dietary guidelines fail my patients too many times to believe that grains, dairy, and legumes are the answer to optimal wellness. As for paleo, I know this lifestyle works because I’ve seen it in action. I’ve witnessed firsthand how this lifestyle can decrease inflammation, reduce symptoms of autoimmune disorders, improve blood sugar and blood pressure, promote healthy (sustainable) weight loss, and drastically improve chronic gastrointestinal conditions and symptoms in countless patients.

One of the most common myths around a paleo diet (also mentioned in the USNW report) is the idea that this lifestyle can create nutritional deficiencies as a result of the lack of grains and dairy. I’ve never heard of a gluten deficiency and the only reason that the vast majority of grain-based products in our food system today have any nutritional worth at all is because we actually add the necessary vitamins and nutrients back in to our cereals, breads, and other snack foods. Most of these “foods” are so void after being manipulated by modern man that it’s necessary for us to help balance out the nutritional deficiencies that we had developed as a result of eating so many of these worthless “staples.” For those worried about not getting enough B vitamins and iron without that daily bowl of vitamin enriched cereal, a balanced Paleo diet with plenty of fish and seafood, organic grass-fed meats, green leafy vegetables, and organic eggs is sure to fill in any nutritional gaps while creating less of an inflammatory burden. And yes, dairy does contain calcium and potassium but so do vegetables, fruits, and fish. While for some it may be more appealing to obtain that daily dose of calcium in the form of hormone-infused milk and sugar-loaded yogurt, the truth is that we can get all the bio-available forms of calcium we need from fresh greens, sesame seeds, sardines, salmon, almonds, and broccoli. Combine that with some vitamin D-rich sunshine and weight-bearing exercises and voila – strong bones!

As for the concerns around the amount of meat and fat consumed on a paleo diet, again, it’s time to use common sense and perhaps even (gasp!) take time to evaluate some of the information available on the kind of foods paleo actually promotes. The fact that paleo is constantly compared to the Adkins diet shows that many simply don’t understand the fundamentals of a true ancestral diet. Paleo is not about eating all the hot dogs, bologna, and pork rinds that one desires, but rather focuses on quality (locally grown when possible) grass-fed and organically raised meats, fish, and eggs. This is a key principle that many experts fail to grasp and I constantly see those highly processed “meat” products placed into the same category as the grass-fed and organic varieties promoted in a paleo lifestyle. These are completely different foods with drastically varying nutritional compositions and must be assessed as such.

While the link between saturated fats and cardiovascular disease has been refuted a number of times, those claiming that the saturated fats consumed in the paleo diet continue to preach that those fats will “quickly ratchet up your risk for heart problems” (to quote US News and World Report). Most recently, the Annals of Internal Medicine presented a study done by an international team led by the University of Cambridge’s Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury which collated and reanalyzed data from 72 separate studies involving over 600,000 participants. According to this report, after reviewing these 72 studies, no association could be found between total saturated fats and coronary disease risk.

For those claiming that the paleo lifestyle isn’t maintainable, I would agree that switching to a more primal way of eating certainly requires more time for meal planning and preparation. However, knowing that the average American spends about three hours per day sitting in front of the television, it seems that with proper time management, this paleo thing might be easier than they think. When it comes to the idea that the paleo diet is too time consuming, it takes about the same amount of time to hit the produce and meat sections of the grocery store as it does those processed food-filled inner aisles and grilling up that chicken and vegetable dinner really doesn’t take much longer than to prepare a boxed dinner. As for being more expensive, yes – the foods promoted on a Paleolithic diet tend to be more costly than those processed foods. However, I can assure you the extra money spent on these high quality foods is a solid investment. Wouldn’t you rather spend your money on grass-fed meats and organic vegetables than prescription pills and surgeries?

The bottom line is that times are changing, research is changing, and the health of our nation is changing. We’ve seen the low-fat trend fail, leaving us fatter and sicker than ever. We’ve watched rates of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes climb while autoimmune diseases and obesity become more prevalent by the day. It’s time to begin thinking outside the box, to challenge our prior views on nutrition, and, if nothing else, seriously look at the research and clinical applications around an ancestral diet. While a strict paleo diet may not be for everybody, the fundamentals of this lifestyle are exceptional. I’ve seen this lifestyle work too many times for too many people to even consider that this might not be one of the best diets around today. What else can I say? Results speak louder than reports.