Paleo=Faileo ?

What is the Paleo Diet?

The Paleo Diet (aka Caveman Diet) is a way of eating centered on the habits of our ancestors from the Paleolithic Era requiring people to eat like hunters & gatherers.  The Paleo Diet focuses on eating foods high in proteins, moderate in fat, and low in carbohydrates.   The Paleo Diet has recently become a popular diet strategy for those interested in losing weight and those who are active in the CrossFit community.

After reading this, I hope you’ll think twice about “going Paleo”.

 What is allowed on the Paleo Diet?

• Meat, fish, & poultry (Organic, grass-fed meat is preferred…)
• Eggs
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Nuts (except peanuts)

Paleo-approved humor 😉

What is not allowed on the Paleo Diet?

• Grains
• Legumes
• Milk products
• Nightshade vegetables (Tomatoes, potatoes, & eggplants)
• Refined/added salts & sugars
• Coffee
• Alcohol (sorry)

“If the cavemen didn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either.” –U.S. News & World Report

Is this really how our prehistoric ancestors ate?

The diet of our ancestors wasn’t as black and white as what today’s Paleo Diet makes it out to be.  In fact, a majority of ancestral diets contained a large variety of foods, which depended greatly upon their geographical location and what was available to them.

Now, lets discuss why the Paleo Diet prohibits specific foods…

No grains or legumes on Paleo? I thought they were healthy?

The claims behind grains & legumes on the Paleo diet argue that grains were nonexistent in the diets of our prehistoric ancestors.   The Paleo Diet suggests that grains & legumes have only been consumed since the beginning of agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago; and should therefore not be eaten.  However, recent evidence has suggested otherwise:

• Revedin et al found evidence of starch grains on surfaces of grinding tools from Northeastern Europe to the Central Mediterranean, dated in the Mid-Upper Paleolithic Era.¹
• Henry et al found direct evidence for Neanderthal consumption of a variety of plant foods including starch grains that were recovered from dental carries of Neanderthal skeletons.²

As for the Paleo claim of grains & legumes being “unhealthy”, several studies have indicated otherwise and demonstrated that grains & legumes have many health benefits some of which include a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and improvements in both blood lipid profiles and blood glucose control.^3-6

 What about the Paleo claims on sugar?  Is it true sugar is toxic?

This is a claim that’s been very popular in the media recently and gets me fired up every time.  When you say something is toxic, you need to take into consideration the dosage and the context.  Asking if sugar is toxic is the same as asking if water or oxygen is toxic (Which like everything else are toxic in high enough dosages).  Now lets get a little more technical with the term toxic…In toxicology, the dose required to kill 50% of the tested population is defined as the Median Lethal Dose and is abbreviated as LD50.  The LD50 is commonly used to indicate many substance’s acute toxicity.  Here is an example of comparing the LD50 values f0r both sugar and salt:

• What is the LD50 of sugar?
  • It’s about 30g/kg of bodyweight (5.5-6lbs of sugar for a 180lb man)

In contrast…

• What is the LD50 of salt?
  • About 3g/kg of bodyweight (0.6lbs of salt for a 180lb man)⁷

Now would you think its fair to say that salt is 10x more toxic than sugar?  I think not…

So, I think it’s safe to say the Paleo Diet’s “toxic” sugar claims can be easily argued and should therefore be disregarded.

Does the Paleo Diet incorporate some healthful benefits?

Yes, of course! The Paleo Diet does in fact integrate some healthy aspects…anytime you add more whole foods (Fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.) and foods that are minimally processed, you will be eating more “healthy” nutrient dense foods-by default.  However, the Paleo Diet deems specific whole foods as “bad” or “unhealthy” and preaches these foods should be completely avoided when following Paleo.  Which in my opinion is completely ridiculous.  The fact that the Paleo Diet focuses on an “eat this, not that” approach, makes it just like every other fad diet you see on TV or read in the magazines.

How many people do you know that have tried eating an all Paleo-based diet? I know several, and each one of them could only sustain that lifestyle for a short period of time and I wouldn’t even consider it true Paleo.  I’d say a majority of the people’s diets who try Paleo are by definition, only about half Paleo.  You can’t say you’re eating Paleo and then have a Krispy Kreme donut with your morning coffee and then go out later that night for a few alcoholic beverages…That’s not what Paleo is and yet this is how many people approach the Paleo Diet, they are only Paleo for when it’s convenient for them.  I mean if you were to actually go Paleo, why wouldn’t you want to go all-out and hunt for all your food and take showers in rivers?  That’s what people from the Paleolithic Era actually did…Maybe I’m being too harsh on the whole Paleo Diet, but you got to admit, the whole concept is a bit laughable especially when there’s essentially no research backing up these crazy Paleo Diet claims.

End of mini Paleo rant-so now…

What about the people who have lost weight by “going Paleo”?

There is nothing special about losing weight on the Paleo Diet because all that’s needed to lose weight is a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit is simply where more calories are burnt than which are consumed in the diet.  If you think about the average American’s diet, a majority of the calories ate come from bread, alcohol, and foods that contain a lot of added sugars.  If the main sources of calories are totally eliminated from the diet (as in Paleo), it’s no surprise that people lose weight!  I personally tell people to steer away from diets that eliminate specific foods and here’s why-What usually happens is the person will start to crave the foods that are being avoided in the diet, and once they allow themselves to eat those foods again-binging, overeating, & weight gain is likely to result.  Then you are back at the beginning of your weight loss journey and this never-ending cycle of losing weight followed by gaining the weight back occurs.  My advice is for you to educate yourselves on a few basic nutrition concepts in which you can eat the foods you want, in moderation.  I suggest you check out an earlier blog post I made entitled, No Tricks. No Gimmicks. Just Eat The Foods You Like.  In this blog post I discuss the importance of macronutrients (proteins, fats, & carbs) and how you can determine your individual nutritional needs based on your personal goals.  Here’s the link, check it out! 🙂  http://bit.ly/PCWlYk

CrossFit and Paleo…What’s the deal? 

So you CrossFit, that’s cool…So you CrossFit and eat Paleo, now that’s just funny…If you CrossFit or know a friend who CrossFits, I am certain you have heard them talk about how they are eating Paleo or thinking about eating Paleo.  CrossFit is a newly popularized style of training where a lot of the exercises performed are at a high intensity allowing for maximal calories to be burnt.  For those of you who have actually been through a CrossFit workout, you know how intense the workouts get.  Based on a recent CrossFit study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), subjects performed 2 popular WODs (Workouts Of the Day) named “Donkey Kong” and “Fran”.  Researchers  found that men burnt an average of 20.5kcals/min and women burnt an average of 12.3kcals/min from performing these two WODs.⁸  So what does this have to do with the Paleo Diet?  I think it’s pretty self explanatory that a lot of calories  are burnt from CrossFit, however, with the Paleo Diet much of those calories are being restricted…The fact that Paleo pushes for a low carbohydrate diet may be preventing many CrossFit athletes from performing at their best considering carbohydrates are an excellent source of fuel and energy for workouts.  So if you CrossFit, It may be wise to avoid the Paleo Diet and try eating a diet higher in carbohydrates. You may find that you’ll perform even better than before!

 Take away points about the Paleo Diet…

• The research supporting “Paleo prohibited” foods is minimal and practically nonexistent.
• It’s basically impossible to mimic the diet of our Paleolithic ancestors considering their diets depended on  food availability as well as their geographical location.
• It’s important to consider both the dosage and context when referring to anything as toxic-like the Paleo claim: sugar is “toxic”.  Remember, at a high enough dosage, nearly everything can become toxic.
• There is nothing special about losing weight on the Paleo Diet other than being in a calorie deficit.
• Paleo and CrossFit may not be the perfect match if you have an interest in maximizing your performance.
• A healthier, more realistic alternative to the Paleo Diet would be to incorporate a variety of whole foods-in moderation, without eliminating a single food item unless it is necessary due to certain medical conditions as documented by your doctor or Registered Dietitian.

So is Paleo a “faileo” ?  In some aspects yes, and in others maybe not…but I’ll leave it for you to decide 🙂

References

1. Revedin A, et al. Thirty thousand‐year‐old evidence of plant food processing. Proc  Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Nov 2;107(44):18815‐9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1006993107. Epub 2010 Oct 18.
2. Henry AG, et al. Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jan 11;108(2):486‐91. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1016868108. Epub 2010 Dec 27.
3. Ye EQ, et al. Greater whole‐grain intake is associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain. J Nutr. 2012 Jul;142(7):1304‐13.
4. Kelly SA, et al. Wholegrain cereals for coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Apr 18;(2):CD005051.
5. Maki KC, et al. Whole‐grain ready‐to‐eat oat cereal, as part of a dietary program for weight loss, reduces low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults with overweight and obesity more than a dietary program including low‐fiber control foods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Feb;110(2):205‐ 14. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.10.037
6. Rave K, et al. Improvement of insulin resistance after diet with a whole‐ grain based dietary product: results of a randomized, controlled cross‐ over study in obese subjects with elevated fasting blood glucose. Br J Nutr. 2007 Nov;98(5):929‐36. Epub 2007 Jun 12.2
7. Aragon A. The paleo diet: claims versus evidence. [Powerpoint]. NSCA PT Conference. http://www.nsca.com/uploadedFiles/NSCA/Inactive_Content/Program_Books/PTC_2013_Program_Book/Aragon.pdf. 2013 March 8.
8. The American Council on Exercise.  Crossfit: New research puts popular workout to the test. https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednews/images/article/pdfs/ACE_CrossfitStudy.pdf.  2013.