Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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No, I'm not kidding. It is a new book by Dr. McDougall. Anybody read it?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Starch-Solution-Regain-Health/dp/1609613937/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338845875&sr=8-1

He also has a talk on youtube about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ3hS9jpmm0

edited Jun 4 at 21:52

asked Jun 4 at 21:41

foreveryoung
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If I am not mistaken, McDougall is all about cutting out all processed foods, yes? I think we pound on whole foods vegan diets more than we maybe need to. Sure, I don't think it's by any means optimal, but you could do a lot worse. Plenty of traditional cultures eat high starch. – blueballoon Jun 4 at 23:49

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I'm happy to see his book. I'm not saying vegan diets are good but the sooner everyone stops blaming carbs for things the quicker we can move forward. SAD blaming saturated fat and demonizing it is very similar to LC and many paleo folks' fear of carbohydrate. – ben61820 Jun 5 at 0:08

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-05 04:57:18Z UTC

I did basically a diet he would approach of (cooked starch-based unprocessed diet, though McDougall does allow a fair amt of wheat and soy, which I didn't eat) when I did a vegan paleo experiment and while it wasn't like all my problems from before paleo came back, I was depressed all the time and my period ended up irregular. Similar to plain old raw veganism. I think it lacks a lot of bad stuff, but McDougall honestly believes animal products aren't very good for you. I think the lack of that, in the long-term is not good, particularly for active fertile young people.

This is a good review on amazon, though it's a little sad because I think this person would have done much better without McDougall's diet.

cliff · Answer 2 · 2012-06-04 22:38:23Z UTC

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You can easily turn his diet into a paleo diet with tubers and other paleo approved starches. Dropping the vegan aspect and getting some liver, gelatin, dairy and meat could make it even better.

answered Jun 4 at 22:38

cliff
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For sure. McDougall says potatoes are the perfect SINGLE food. I would have to agree on that count. However, I do think that adding in additional sources of calories/nutrients would make for a better overall diet. – foreveryoung Jun 4 at 22:50

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The perfect single food? Surely the word you were looking for was "eggs"? – borofergie Jun 4 at 22:54

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I wouldn't agree with eggs. Granted, a lot of people are sensitive to nightshades, but eggs are problematic to far more people than are potatoes. – blueballoon Jun 4 at 23:46

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Eggs are good yeah but they have no sugar, no carbohydrate. Eating them alone would be terrible. Your digestion would take a dive. – ben61820 Jun 5 at 0:06

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Not to mention all the nutrients eggs are missing. Milk is probably the best food if you want to eat only one food(that's a pretty dumb thing to do though imo), potatoes are probably pretty high up there too due to there high quality protein and nutrients. – cliff Jun 5 at 0:18

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Neil · Answer 3 · 2012-06-04 22:15:20Z UTC

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When we start seeing the "I cured my autoimmune disorder on the Starch Diet", I'll listen.

answered Jun 4 at 22:15

Neil
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drmcdougall.com/video/diet_ms.html – foreveryoung Jun 4 at 22:26

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Plenty of anecdotes of just that on his forum – cliff Jun 4 at 22:36

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Most of the curing autoimmune stuff comes from getting rid of the wheat. – miked Jun 4 at 22:39

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Depends what your disorder is. Starch has been implicated in a few autoimmune diseases - ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's, IBS. I came to the paleo diet indirectly through the work of Dr. Ebringer and a book by Carol Sinclair ("IBS Low Starch Diet"). – Riveted Jun 4 at 22:59

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I think the main problem with starches is relying to heavily on grains due to the phosphorus and fiber. Potatoes and tubers are generally safe, fruits are probably even better imo. @foreveryoung my comment was in regards to neil, I'm saying there are plenty of anecdotes of people healing autoimmune condition s on mcdougall's forum. – cliff Jun 5 at 0:21

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More Butter Please · Answer 4 · 2012-06-05 03:47:06Z UTC

Okay, I'm watching the video you linked to, because I wasn't terribly familiar with McDougall's particular take on things.

There's way too many things I'd like to pick apart. One that stood out, however, was his description of a trip to Lake Titicaca (~22:45) where, having not seeing many fat people while on his Peruvian vacation, he noticed that all the women there were fat. And he asked why.

The people he observed live on huge rafts in the lake, and they told him that most of their diet was made up of fried fish. Fried fish. "Fried in exactly what kind of fat?" would be my first question (and I'd bet I can guess the correct answer), but McDougall blames their fatness on the fact that they eat fish, selectively ignoring the "fried" part.

He also doesn't say what else these people ate (did they eat wheat flour? sugar?), or whether the women got to eat more or less fish/starches than the men (for instance, if they got less fish and ate more starch than the men, as well as seed oils, I'd expect them to be fatter).

And, of course, at no point does he suggest that sugar and highly-refined starches might be a problem--all of our ills are solely due to eating animal products.

[facepalm]

miked · Answer 5 · 2012-06-04 22:39:12Z UTC

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I've been coming around to the idea that starch (glucose polymers) isn't that bad. I still prefer a low carb solution to keep insulin low for the benefits of having low insulin. But I'm thinking that it's mainly the fructose that's the toxic part of sugar. As a result, I've been playing around with more starch PWO and have been feeling good and not putting on weight. I think as we learn more, we'll be able to figure out better what is bad for us. I'm thinking that it's mainly the fructose and seed oils that are the main thing and that in general there is no single macronutrient that's "bad".

answered Jun 4 at 22:39

miked
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There was also this adamant very low carber who had a site called cutthecarb.com. He began adding more starch in his diet and found that his body composition and mood improved dramatically. Soon after he dropped the domain and the site no longer exists. – foreveryoung Jun 4 at 22:43

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We're the most adaptable species on the planet and I do not think starch alone is killing us. I think that if you do not have a damaged metabolism from obesity/fructose/seed oils it can be a healthy addition to a diet that includes animal products. – foreveryoung Jun 4 at 23:12

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Starch + hyperpalatable foods (chips, soda, candies, cakes) = metabolic derangement due to hyperglycemic load. Starch + hypopalatable foods (kale, collard greens, bone broth, veggies) = perfect health. Low reward foods do not magnify the hyperglycemic effect of starchy foods. Hyperglycemic + Hyperpalatability = Metabolic Doom. – Mambo Jun 5 at 0:13

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If you doubt, just take a gander at those denizens of countries whose traditional diets are hyperglycemic to begin with (e.g., India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore). These countrie are now the diabetic hub of the wheel. Why? Starch + Western Hyperpalatability (most of ten in the form of sugar/HFCS) = Immediate Insulin Resistance. It's not just the sguar. It's the sugar AND pre-existing hyperglycemic diet: these countries eat multiple forms of starch (wheat, rice, potatoes, millet, etc.) not just one (rice, as in East Asia). – Mambo Jun 5 at 0:17

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The problem is definitely not fructose imo. I've had no issues eating over 300g of fructose everyday and I feel a lot better than I ever did eating the equivalent in potatoes. My brother has had the same experience. Fyi you don't want to keep insulin low if your looking to build muscle or tissue. – cliff Jun 5 at 0:22

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The Starch Solution

5 Answers