Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Still learning this way of eating.

Wondering what the difference is between paleo and primal eating?

edited Mar 23 2012 at 6:59

Andy
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asked Mar 23 2012 at 6:47

Andy
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Primal is usually associated with the incorporation of dairy. Check out Mark Sisson at marksdailyapple.com or read his book, The Primal Blueprint. – April S.♦ Mar 23 2012 at 6:59

AnarchyCaveman · Answer 1 · 2012-03-23 08:36:59Z UTC

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Realistically, there's no difference, IMO. People who say Primal are just into Mark Sisson's books, website, etc. Primal is a variant of Paleo. Everyone who eats Paleo eats a different variant of it.

answered Mar 23 2012 at 8:36

AnarchyCaveman
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Aglaee the Paleo RD · Answer 2 · 2012-03-23 07:50:54Z UTC

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I wrote a post, including a downloadable PDF table, comparing different diets (Primal, Paleo, Gluten-Free, GAPS, Weston A. Price). Check it out!

answered Mar 23 2012 at 7:50

Aglaee the Paleo RD
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Nice PDF table! – Valai Mar 23 2012 at 12:51

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Great table! Thanks for posting! – Amanda Mar 23 2012 at 13:31

Thank you! I am glad it helps! :) Please share, I put a lot of time developing free resources to help people better understand these nuances! – Aglaee the Paleo RD Apr 16 2012 at 13:10

low carb?>>remains unrecognized by most health professionals and authorities?<<. [incorrect] Atkins diet limits carbs below 20 g a day during the induction phase-allows up to 100 g a day in the following phases close to The Primal Blueprint: "If you’ve forgotten everything you ever learned in biology, just remember this and “own” it: Carbohydrate drives insulin drives fat (Cahill 1965, and Taubes 2007).>PB is to limit your carbs to only those you need to provide glucose for the brain.truth is, you don’t even need glucose to fuel the brain. Ketones from a very-low carb diet work >eat hi fat – jo60 May 11 2012 at 16:26

The Primal Blueprint diet is essentially a low carb/hi fat diet. Fat is the desirable fuel. Mark raises the carb consumption amount "possible" with the consumption of fruit to 150 g at most and says: "Our remote ancestors couldn’t average 150 grams of carbs a day if they tried, yet they had plenty of energy and maintained their lean mass." That does not translate to >eat lots of fruit and more carbs.< You "must" be in ketogenesis to burn fat as fuel. Mark certainly has no problem with low carb hi fat. – jo60 May 11 2012 at 16:38

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Rissy221 · Answer 3 · 2012-03-23 12:19:46Z UTC

Welcome! There are so many versions of "Paleo" out there its really hard to keep up. A lot of the differences have to do with acceptance of dairy but also some "safe" starches. I'm pretty new to this way of eating myself. At first its a bit daunting with everyone telling you their version of the "right" way to do Paleo. But just keep in mind that everyone's body is different. Do your research, and find out what is best for you. There is no one "right" way!

Corbab · Answer 4 · 2012-03-23 23:57:05Z UTC

There are a great deal of paleo/primal/caveman bloggers and gurus, each with their own gloss on what the perfect diet consists of. Still, none of them are you, and their prescription cannot overrule your self-awareness and knowledge of what works for you. This chart is actually a pretty good description of "strict" paleo. For me, however, paleo is more of a basic set of principles that allow me to eat and live healthy without counting calories or micromanaging my diet.

As far as the paleo/primal difference, primal is Mark Sisson's take on paleo -- he wrote The Primal Blueprint (a great book in my opinion) and maintains a blog. Basically, it's like regular paleo, along with exercise and lifestyle philosophy, and allowance for some "sensible indulges" like dairy, dark chocolate, and wine. Like most books, he presents a general suggestion with enough room to tailor it to fit your life.

paleo vs. primal

4 Answers