I think you are experiencing an important moment in your personal evolution. Paleo can be an identity, it can seem all clean, and straightforward, "the way" if you will. Your current identity is being challenged by those who helped create it being in disagreement. Nutrition is still a very young "science", it more closely resembles a religion in my experience. We need the people we admire, and who are on the front-lines of research to disagree, and really hash out their differences until we can distill what is indeed factual from what we wish were factual.

I still have a hunch that "nutrition" is the next barrier for human society to break through if we are going to thrive rather than our current model of letting things go haywire, and then attempting to medicate ourselves back into a state of normality. Nutrition needs thinkers like you, but then again so does economics. The honeymoon phase is over, give yourself time grieve its passing, see which way you lean, and then get down to the real work.

I was very disillusioned for a period of time during the summer. During one point, I thought that donuts were the perfect creation. sigh.

I think what got me back on what a series of "issues" with my intestinal track, reminding me that wheat wasn't a great option for me. For me, the science and reasoning behind it are secondary to feeling better. Every time I get off track, I get fatigued, crabby, bitchy and feel like my immune system hates my sinuses.

Even better, AHS happened and there were a lot of posts that encouraged me to get back on track. #AHS11, thank you for giving me ideas that starches are okay, that violence is a necessary component, and courtesy of Robb Wolf: "science works, bitches!"

So now, I'm back. Hope this helps!

Post-undergrad blues? Not sure of your future? Sounds something kind of like that. I mean I seriously doubt biotech is going to make all of this discussion a moot point in any time soon. That is a far overestimate of our understanding and control of how the body works. We really have barely scratched the surface.

I think getting out that neuroscience text and biochem was a GREAT way to critique/reference the processes your hearing and reading about. These bloggers are just people like you and me. You can and should challenge their ideas. They get caught up in their own notions as easily as anyone. Blogs arent everything, just one mans view on a narrow topic usually.

The good feeling from eating well keeps me going. I learn new things every day here on Paleo Hacks. I have tried several other diets. As I dive deeper into the science the Paleo diet holds true. More than a diet but a way of eating for life to obtain optimal health.

I don't think I got disillusioned, but there was definitely an exciting honeymoon phase of learning and feeling incredible with my new way of eating. I was devouring information and fat at new and amazing levels! Then, as with most things, it's just a little less exciting on a daily basis.

I still believe this is the best way of eating for my health and mental wellness, so I will continue to do so, even if it's not quite so amazing as it seemed 10 months ago.

If you start actually studying biological anthropology you'll get REALLY disillusioned. Cordain and Art De Vany used to be my heroes, but these days it's clear to me that they have some very questionable ideas.

Every time I look at a metabolically deranged wheat/HFCS/industrial oil/diet-coke belly I get inspired.

Every time I look at my sixty nine year old husband's newly lean and beautiful face and incredibly active body I get inspired.

Every time I look back over my life and remember how many physical and psychological problems I had pre paleo, well then I get inspired by my new sense of calmness, clarity, energy, enjoyment of life, and optimism I feel for life.

I only experience paleo disillusion when I get bogged down in occasional bouts of paralysis of diet analysis.

I think my biggest disillusion has been learning that there are so many different interpretations of what paleo is and not all of those are in synch with what I've learned in the many years that I've been studying the whole health/obesity issue. So, I find that I have to pick and choose my sources.

I think anyone who bought into the carb hypothesis is feeling a bit disillusioned lately. I know the feeling, but after some reflection, admitting that I was wrong makes me feel even more confident. When you know that this isn't a religion, that we are open to new evidence, this whole experience becomes a lesson in humility and skepticism. It doesn't have to mean you throw out the baby with the bathwater though.

Not sure if you agree with that hypothesis or not, but you might want to consider that Taubes still is right about a great number of things... and the things that he may have gotten wrong really have nothing to do with paleo.

My friends think I've become some kind of grandmotherly Puritan food-cultist who underdiscounts the future, I've reminded myself that intervention in metabolism is an extremely limited fix which will likely be surpassed by biotechnology in my lifetime...

I disagree. What's odd is everyone has a tendency to think all breakthroughs have pretty much already happened or are going to happen in their lifetimes. The principles behind paleo would have suited you in 1900, in 1950, in 2000. Yet at any one of those points in history someone believed we were on the verge of eradicating all disease. And now, in 2011? We have an obesity and diabetes epidemic.

The paleo idea is evolving. Relax and enjoy the ride. I think we will find that there is no one answer for everyone. Some will need more carbs, some less; some will be totally intolerant of certain foods like gluten, nightshades, salicylates, etc. and some less so; some will benefit from Crossfit-like intensity, some won't. I've always liked Sisson's list of Primal Laws - they emphasize moderation and doing what works for you. Biochemistry is complex and no one person knows all the answers. The beauty of the paleo scientific community is that it is open to observation, evaluation, re-evaluation, and subsequent change (unlike many other scientific communities I have observed). This odd combination of hardcore scientists, bloggers, and sites like PaleoHacks has produced something very unique. Enjoy it!

I don’t really see why Paleo disillusionment would come now.

I think it had become pretty clear quite a while ago that Guyenet and Harris had pretty much turned away from Taubes’ Carb/Insulin Hypothesis, that people like Jaminet never really put much stock in it scientifically, and that people like Masterjohn never bought it to begin with.

Here is a statement KGH made about it last year: http://freetheanimal.com/2010/12/weekend-links-quick-hits-gary-taubes-art-de-vany-denise-minger-the-china-study-chris-masterjohn-and-real-results.html#comment-53991

A lot of Taubes’ supporters are framing this as Carb/Insulin Hypothesis vs Food Reward Hypothesis, but this isn’t just the case. Guyenet, Harris, Jaminet, Masterjohn, and many of the other scientific types rejected Taubes long before Guyenet started posting about Food Reward.

KGH has posted extensively about NADs and that talking in terms of macronutrients is pointless. He has made it perfectly clear that “carbs” is not a NAD.

There just should not be any surprise or shock about this.

I think it has been just as disillusioning for many people for quite awhile to see to Paleo people keep talking about “carbs” and “insulin spikes” being the one and only cause of diseases of civilization when so many of the scientific types like Harris and Guyenet have been trying to point people away from it. “Carbs” and “insulin spikes” are a step backwards from talk about NADs and other interesting aspects ancestral health.

Disillusioned? What problem were you expecting it to solve that it didn't?

I've never been obese, but no longer having reactive hypoglycemia and changing my hunger signals from a madman with a megaphone to a slight nudge is incredible.

You should try living in Japan, the odds are really stacked against you here and it often gets me down. Grassfed? what's that? go to 90% of regular supermarkets and you cant find even a single can of coconut cream/milk, I want to scream after walking down an aisle purely of noodles, and then one of soy products - "you people are killing me! get a clue!" I truly envy people who have great access to bona fide foods especially all the American Paleo folk who seem to have it pretty good. Every time Robb Wolf recommends something, an item on his podcast that is at Trader Joes I want to cyber headbutt him.. The majority of my friends think I am nutjob, though luckily two of them are enlightened and also try to emulate as much as possible a paleo lifestyle. Rice is sacrosanct here and very hard to avoid, lucky it isn't the evilness that is wheat and Chris Kresser's views on rice give me hope, so I just avoid it as much as possible and and eat it every now and then. Sometimes like the character Cyber in " The matrix" I wish I could get plugged back in to the Matrix and forget about Paleo, but I can't - There is no going back now

Some of the Kerry-esque "flip-flopping" that is going on within the whole movement can be disillusioning, but overall I truly believe I have found my 'niche' even if it isn't perfect, it's much better gluten 'cubby hole' I used to reside in. As far as all the bickering over what causes Obesity etc, to be honest everyone is right, but no one is 100% right. I view it like a set of scales you have to keep it balanced at all times. If you load one side of the scale with too many carbs you better be balancing it with some serious cardio exercise on the other etc. Carbs aren't evil, the wrong ones are, or too many out of context can be. Food reward has it merits for sedentary lazy people eating crap, it's whacking the balance of their scale way off.

Anyway Whakahekeheke, relax step back a bit, seems you have overdosed on the literature and paleo-verse. Take your time, figure out what it really is you want.