Top surprise for me is that I've been taken aback by the amount of dark chocolate lovers in the Paleo world and subsequent high desire for said chocolate as a staple treat.

I am blown away with how tightly informed this community is. Most of us keep very well updated on the forums/blogs/new research.

Also, I have noticed that the vast majority of people in the Paleo community seem to be of "well above average" intelligence. That's comforting, in an odd sort of indirect way.

And finally, I was quite surprised to see how quickly the Paleo community welcomed safe starches back into their diet due to several very highly respected leaders basically giving it a bright green light for those that can metabolize it and remain healthy. It seems like white potatoes and white rice made a decent sized wave in the last few months.

The 80/20 mentality.

To my mind there are three categories of food:

1. Stuff that makes me sick
2. Stuff that makes me sick if I eat too much
3. Stuff that doesn't make me sick

Now those categories aren't exactly the same for every person, but it shouldn't take that long to figure out what's what. Once you know what you can eat a lot of and what you can eat a little of, do that and that's your diet. At that point "cheating" becomes a bizarre exercise in self-flagellation. Why would you do that on purpose?

I like Robb Wolf's belief that you don't want to hammer any particular metabolic pathway for too long. Mix up your meat choices, leaning towards more often on the good stuff. Focusing on quality meat first helps. Go for the wild caught salmon, grass-fed beef, etc. but don't eat those solid for weeks at a time. If you're going for a Paleo approach that's low maintenance, I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to nitpick and get burnt out hacking through the details of your food, go ahead :D Once you've cut out all the veggie oils in all of your processed foods, I'd say your omega3/6 ratio is probably on a good track.

I see dairy pop up a bit, too, but usually in a muscle bulking context. Or maybe some raw milk and cheese on occasion. I think with dairy it's important to realize that the lactose intolerance deal isn't the big gripe a lot of people have with dairy. A big downside is the corresponding insulin spike from milk and some of the proteins wreaking mild havoc in auto-immune issues.

The big surprise for me in the Paleo community is usually the idea of cheat meals. Rather, the idea of planned cheat meals. I don't plan to smoke weed every Friday night, but if the opportunity comes up and I'm in the mood that particular night, sure, I'll go for it. But I'll never do coke. I don't plan to binge on sugar, but if I'm in the right situation I'll try something that's way over my normal sugar limit. Until we get a better handle on how long the effects of a single dose of gut irritants last, I'll err on the side of caution in almost all situations and refuse grains/legumes.

The major issue for me is that auto-immune disorders don't happen overnight. Or maybe they do... But I'd rather not chance it. The acute effects may not be particularly symptomatic, but I'm fairly bought into the idea that grains/legumes can cause serious long-term dammage regardless of your current feeling of well-being.

I'm surprised by how many people use stuff like almond flour for baking, etc.

That and planned cheat meals / days.

DIY fecal transplants.

Similarly, I would have to say the love/hate relationship with duck fat. It's like a Jekyll and Hyde thing. Some of the same people that love it are sure to mention the outrageous omega 6 content.

Chicken doesn't suprise me at all. It is the only "clean" food that you can easily get on the street.

Beef choices on the street are either hamburgers or steak(read:cheap or expensive). As a result people wind up eating a lot of chicken.

In comparison to what people are eating (read processed garbage)...eating a diet with a lot of chicken and veggies will offer many benefits to someone who is 50lbs+ overweight.

Would our ancestors have caught birds and eaten them? Of course, probably on a regular basis.

We can look at them today and say they are high in something we have technically decided is bad for us at this time (and may be decided is actually good for us at another time). People like to believe we have absolute knowledge on what is good/bad at this time. Of course we don't. We look back at people 30 years, 60 years, 100 years etc ago and think they knew nothing. Humans will discover new nutrients, new effects different foods have on the body. I am pretty sure humans have been eating fowl for as long as meat so I would definitely give it a pass.

Would we have for a long time been gathering huge amounts of nuts, grinding them and then cooking them? Hmmm no (especially since a lot of nuts ie almonds are naturally poisonous)

Dairy - questionable. We have been drinking it for many generations and consume something similar as babies. Probably best to leave out but the high fats ones may be fine.

Chocolate and coffee surprise me. Caffeine without a doubt affects the nervous system and rest of the body. It's definitely not natural. Is it bad? Maybe not but I doubt it's good to be taking a drug every day. I think people justify it due to their addictions. I mean really it's bitter tasting, not something naturally likeable (I don't think any kid tastes plain coffee for the first time and goes wow that's good!). I do drink coffee but try not to, I get jittery and crash from it too, but caffeine is addictive.

What surprises me the most is insistence on high amounts of veggies. I agree with Kurt Harris (came to the same conclusion before reading his beliefs), that although they might not do any harm and can add variety to a diet, they are not essential.

Compare the primary reasons for avoiding grains:

Toxic plant defenses? Check Only been eating for a short period in our history? Check High in starch? (Some but not most, and many people think starch is fine now)

Of course there is no proof that we haven't been eating plants forever(same as grains), but follow the logic. Pretty much all modern veggies have only been bred for maybe 5-10000 years (at most). Their ancestors didn't taste too good, were smaller, and toxic. So wild veggies tasted bad and offered little caloric return. Drop yourself in an wilderness area anywhere in the world. You're not surviving on veggies (if you can even find any that taste decent), you need to find meat to live (or bugs, wild tubers may keep you alive for a bit). Our ancestors simply wouldn't have wasted time trying to eat veggies unless they were starving. Will I still eat them for variety? Yes. But I think the Paleo community is still trying to fit into the mold of old 'healthy eating' styles by putting more veggies in the diet than necessary.

I am I guess most surprised by the dairy usage, raw or otherwise. I see it more and more daily. I am lactose intolerant, but I will see the occasional dollop of yogurt as a treat and recognize its not paleo.