Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I been a lacto-paleo for about 5 months and I am loving it. I have lost about 25lbs and a lot of people are asking me how I did. However, when ever I explain the diet, but always say "Oh, it's like Atkins". So, what's the difference between Atkins and the Paleo diet?

edited May 3 2010 at 23:19

Ed♦
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asked May 1 2010 at 21:47

terenced
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@terenced: Did you know that Melissa has 7 "nice answer" badges, 1 "good answer" badge, but no "enlightened" badge? Don't forget to accept an answer to your question after a reasonable wait. – Ed♦ May 2 2010 at 17:57

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@Ed - Thanks for the heads up. I have accepted her answer. – terenced May 3 2010 at 15:33

Melissa- huntgatherlove.com · Accepted Answer · 2010-05-01 23:32:18Z UTC

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You can be paleo AND Atkins, but you can be paleo and not be atkins. Paleo only includes whole Stone Age foods: meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. It can be high or low carb. Atkins can include processed grains and sugars as long as they are low-carb, as low-carb is the priority.

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edited May 1 2010 at 23:32

answered May 1 2010 at 21:53

Melissa- huntgatherlove.com♦
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@Melissa -- what is difference between Primal and Paleo? – Patrik♦ May 1 2010 at 23:01

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Primal is Mark's Daily Apple/PaleoNu style. I mean I'm pretty much making this up I guess, but according to Mark it's more about paleo metabolism than paleo foods. So dairy is in. – Melissa- huntgatherlove.com♦ May 1 2010 at 23:20

Great diagram ! – Ed♦ May 2 2010 at 1:39

This is awesome. – Matt Baldwin May 2 2010 at 18:39

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Great visual explanation! – Lauren May 2 2010 at 21:30

show 2 more comments

Aglaee the Paleo RD · Answer 2 · 2012-04-19 07:20:05Z UTC

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I made a diet comparison guide to help explain the difference between low-carb diets, gluten-free diets, primal diets and paleo diets. Of course, you cannot always precisely label a way of eating with such broad terms, but it helps to better understand the nuances. You can find the page here and the free PDF download here.

answered Apr 19 at 7:20

Aglaee the Paleo RD
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	That is wonderful Melissa. I was in the process of compiling somehting like myself. One comment i do not agree with your statement on Atkins..why "some" still refuse to accept his contribution is beyond me BUT ""although it remains unrecognized by most health professionals and authorities. "" is not accurate. which :health" preofessionals/authorities exactly do you mean?? who qualifies as an authority?? – jo60 May 11 at 0:23
	Is your comment addressed to Melissa or me? By health professionals I refer to most dietitians and doctors and by authorities, I mean the ones responsible for producing dietary guidelines. – Aglaee the Paleo RD May 11 at 6:41

Ana · Answer 3 · 2010-05-04 12:45:00Z UTC

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http://www.marksdailyapple.com/whats-the-difference-between-primal-and-paleo/

answered May 4 2010 at 12:45

Ana
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I think Mark's characterization of Cordain's work is a little unfair. Mark claims that the Cordain allows diet soda, which is not quite what Cordain said. Cordain said if you're going to succumb to temptation and have a soda, at least make it a diet soda, and continue to work to eliminate all neolithic foods from your diet... – Mark May 4 2010 at 13:52

caland2005 · Answer 4 · 2012-05-10 22:28:02Z UTC

that diagram is not accurate at all. Atkins does not promote low-carb processed foods. Atkins recommends you rid of ALL processed foods. Atkins promotes all natural food choices. The Atkins website and company are not following the diet of Dr. Robert Atkins. After his death- they introduced all sorts of crappy processed "frankenfoods" that they claim you can have on the diet.

However, if you read the book by Dr. Atkins- he did not promote these products and he wouldn't support the direction that the company has gone.

live-it not die-it · Answer 5 · 2010-05-02 19:11:05Z UTC

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great explanation and diagram

answered May 2 2010 at 19:11

live-it not die-it
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PrimalChat · Answer 6 · 2010-05-10 22:42:06Z UTC

This question does pop up a lot. Melissa - nice diagram. I would only add to the Primal Blueprint side that as Mark puts it, it's about moderating insulin response. In that regard, being leery of sugar as well as sweeteners seems to fall in the Paleo and Primal circles.

EatMoreBBQ · Answer 7 · 2010-05-12 01:08:39Z UTC

One noticeable difference is that Atkins touted "eat all you want" and Primal notes to lose weight utilize Int. Fasting or coming up with a program to estimate calories is a good way to to proceed.

Learned to not be a fan of any diet that said "eat all you want." I could live on cheese, and did during the Atkins days and felt like hell.

allison Page · Answer 8 · 2010-07-04 15:04:30Z UTC

Great diagram! I have been looking at all of these dietary methods and this diagram really helped me pull it all together. I am allergic to tree nuts so found pure paleo hard to follow. I added peanuts and PB, but read about peanut mold so cut peanuts and PB out I cut out grains and alcohol (I eat desserts when I drink - lose inhibition) am sleeping better, and my crossfit workouts are easier. Well, not easier, but at least I don't feel like I have to make an appt with a cardiologist after I finish anymore. I eat a cup of greek yogurt everyday and have been making Whey protein powder shakes. I also eat prunes everyday. Seems like it's working for me. Then I discovered PaNu and thought I'd try some heavy cream in my coffee. Love it.! The problem is my lipid panel does not look so good and I am really worried about how my high fat, low carb diet is going to further increase my total and LDL levels. My c-reactive protein level is normal and the overall profile says I am low risk. Normal TSH too. I am 52, 5ft 8in and 128 pounds. I am very active and have plenty of energy. I am post menopausal. Had a couple of tough years with night sweats, serious stress with kids leaving for college, going back to grad school. My life is balancing out now so am trying to tweak my diet to improve my cardiovascular risk. My plan is to keep eating meat, veggies, some fruit, a little dairy and some whey protein powder and get labs drawn in a month. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding what I am eating and if a month is long enough trial to have my blood drawn?

Warren D · Answer 9 · 2012-04-19 08:01:43Z UTC

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Dairy + low carb paleo = Atkins.

answered Apr 19 at 8:01

Warren D
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not all people on the Atkins diet eat dairy though! Another big difference is that people on the Atkins diet may use artificial sweeteners and processed NON-food that are not encouraged on the Paleo diet. – Aglaee the Paleo RD Apr 19 at 8:35

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Leave off with the exclamation marks please? I know they don't all eat dairy. There is also nothing in the Atkins diet that says you must use artificial sweeteners or processed non-food to be doing Atkins. If somebody on Atkins doesn't want to use those products, that doesn't mean they are not doing Atkins. Therefore Dairy + low carb paleo = Atkins. I didn't say that Atkins = dairy + low carb, just that dairy + low carb = Atkins. – Warren D Apr 19 at 8:57

it would be so nice if the benefits of each diet were discussed and the contributions of may of the practioners were recognized for what they are rather than "my diet is better than your diet" The point of any good diet and what Atkins most wanted was for people to be succesful and be able to maintain a long term better more healthful way of eating esp in the context of the time. – jo60 May 11 at 1:14

What’s the difference between Atkins and the Paleo diet?

9 Answers