Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I keep hearing about this health movement, but I honestly have no idea what it is and what it entails exactly.

flag	asked Mar 19 2012 at 0:58 Josiah 13●3

The Loon · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 01:06:48Z UTC

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Eat meat and veggies. Don't eat anything in a fancy wrapper unless it is butcher paper. Go out and play in the fresh air and sunshine. When it gets dark outside, come inside and go to sleep.

answered Mar 19 2012 at 1:06

The Loon
8,432●6●26

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I love your answer! May I quote you on my blog should I need to define how I eat? – Mary in FL Mar 19 2012 at 1:57

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Fantastic answer. – netmork Mar 19 2012 at 9:07

Sure thing Mary – The Loon Mar 21 2012 at 0:21

April S. · Answer 2 · 2012-03-19 01:31:34Z UTC

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Hi Josiah! I hope the Paleo Diet is something you'll consider trying because it's nothing short of bomb-diggity.

The Basics:

To eat how our ancestors ate before the Agricultural Revolution began for optimal health because this is how our bodies evolved.

The Good:

-Grass-fed, organic meat
-Wild-caught, fatty fish/seafood
-Cage-free, organic eggs
-Lots and lots of fresh/organic/local veggies
-Some nuts and fruits and full-fat dairy (if tolerated)
-A lot of movement, sunshine and sleep
-Healthy fats (grass-fed butter & ghee, coconut oil)

The Bad:

-Grain-fed meat pumped with antibiotics
-Farmed fish pumped with antibiotics
-Stress
-Excess nuts and fruits

The Ugly:

-Gluten/wheat/refined grains/sugar
-Vegetable oils
-Processed foods i.e. foods with more than one ingredient that comes in a package
-Legumes (e.g. beans and soy)
-Having to explain to your friends and family why you choose to eat this way

Everyone, feel free to edit if I'm missing anything.

answered Mar 19 2012 at 1:31

April S.♦
11.9k●1●13●47

	This was very helpful. The more I look into this, the more I could see it being a successful diet. It would make sense that our bodies should eat what we have evolved to need. My only follow up question would be this: Is it possible to adopt both a Paleo AND Vegetarian diet? I am a vegetarian for ethical reasons, but would really like to try out the Paleo diet for at least a month to test it out. – Josiah Mar 19 2012 at 1:45
	Josiah, I have heard that question before, so I'm sure if you google "vegetarian paleo", there are probably some pages on it. Consider that we advocate supporting local ranchers who raise their animals humanely - roaming freely on pasture land and eating what they were designed to eat. If that still doesn't fit with your code of ethics, I imagine you would have to rely heavily on eggs and soaked/sprouted legumes. – Crystal Mar 19 2012 at 1:57
	It would be a very new way of thinking for me, but I'm beginning to wonder if maybe this option may be better. I consider all life to be of equal value, and I suppose it is the disrespect of (not necessarily the death of) animals which I feel is unjust. I will continue doing research on the Paleo diet to try and make a decision. In the mean time, I will definitely try to cut down on my gluten/grain/wheat intake to see if I notice a difference. – Josiah Mar 19 2012 at 2:07
	I made a similar comment to this in another PaleoHacks thread: The emphasis on pastured or grass-fed meat is two-fold - one is the nutritional benefits, but the other is the ethical concerns - pastured and grass-fed animals are raised the way they were supposed to be raised and more attention is payed to humanely slaughtering those animals (halal and kosher require a fast painless death as opposed to the captive bolt method used in our slaughterhouses) [and an added benefit, without the fear and pain, the meat itself is not tainted by stress hormones and chemicals]. – cerement Mar 19 2012 at 14:58
	Paul Jaminet (in Perfect Health Diet) mentions that vegetarian paleo is possible but with a strong reliance on eggs for animal protein and full fat dairy (cream, butter) for the animal fat sources -- and he goes on to claim that, for that very reason, vegan paleo is just not possible. – cerement Mar 19 2012 at 15:02

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Eric · Answer 3 · 2012-03-19 01:54:15Z UTC

Here are some links:

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

And while you are there:

http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2010/3/12/the-argument-against-cereal-grains-ii.html

Also the following:

http://whole9life.com/2010/05/whole-30-v2/ http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-30-day-challenge-page/ http://robbwolf.com/faq/

J. Stanton - gnolls.org · Answer 4 · 2012-03-19 06:31:34Z UTC

The term "paleo" encompasses many different versions and variations:
The Paleo Identity Crisis: What Is The Paleo Diet, Anyway?

From the article:

"We call it “paleo” for the same reason that we call it “Latin”, even though we have absolutely no idea how it was spoken. Just as Latin scholars attempt to maintain something syntactically analogous to written Latin, paleo dieters attempt to maintain something nutritionally analogous to an ancestral human diet.

This is where we have to start using science to draw tentative conclusions from the evidence we have. And while it’s tempting to get into speculative arguments about human prehistory, at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves: What is the biochemistry of humans? How does human metabolism work, today, right now?"

JS

albertnices · Answer 5 · 2012-03-19 10:32:36Z UTC

This is required,

-Grass-fed, organic meat -Wild-caught, fatty fish/seafood -Cage-free, organic eggs -Lots and lots of fresh/organic/local veggies -Some nuts and fruits and full-fat dairy (if tolerated) -A lot of movement, sunshine and sleep -Healthy fats (grass-fed butter & ghee, coconut oil)

What exactly is a Paleo diet/lifestlye?

5 Answers