Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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My first introduction to paleo was through the work of Loren Cordain, who from what I remember advocated eating as much fruit as one liked as part of a plaeo diet, instead of grains or tubers. I'm guessing that wasn't the most popular idea, because the paleo resources I read online (like paleohacks) never seem to mention that approach. I'm going to go ahead and just try it myself, because I want to see if removing grains helps my digestive system work better. I don't really like the taste of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and my body doesn't seem to react very well to lc and vlc diets, so eating plenty of fruit seems like a reasonable choice.

My question is whether anyone out there has had experience with this fruit heavy variant of paleo, and if so how did it work out? What problems did it solve for you? What problems did it create? I'm looking for personal experiences from people who have actually tried it. My own health goals are to have more consistent energy, more balanced mood, and a better working digestive system. At the end of the day my decision to stick with this diet or not will be based on how it affects me personally, but if there is anyone out there who has tried using fruit as their main source of carbs and who has any advice, encouragements, or warnings for me then I'd really appreciate it.

flag	asked Sep 2 2011 at 7:44 sam 121●4

Denise Minger · Answer 1 · 2011-09-02 10:50:08Z UTC

I've been using fruit as my main carb source (and at least half my calories) for about 8 out of the past 9 years. I think fruit tolerance varies tremendously from person to person, but it's been my favorite approach out of anything I've tried so far. Fantastic energy, easy to stay lean, no morning breath, clear thinking, feeling well-rested with less sleep, major desire to exercise instead of feeling like movement is a chore, and general at-peace-ness with the world (I guess that qualifies as "improved mental state"). I've experimented with cutting out fruit and going low carb/high fat, swapping fruit for cooked starches, and doing only berries instead of the sweeter stuff -- but the only changes those brought were things I didn't like (fatigue, skin issues, brain fog when I did VLC, and arthritis in the elbow I broke a few years ago).

I find that eating lots of fruit only works if certain other elements are in place, though. My lifestyle is very active, and if I have a sedentary streak for any reason, fruit starts making me feel antsy and sugared out (not sure how else to describe it). Season and location seems to play a role, too -- eating this way is a breeze in the summer and in tropical climates, but is considerably less pleasant when it's snowing and I'm huddled next to a space heater with three pairs of socks on. Access to ripe, hopefully-local fruit is also way better than relying on waxed year-old apples from the store.

I also had major dental issues the first year I was eating lots of fruit, but I think it had more to do with being a vegan at the time than the fruit itself -- adding back animal products cleared everything up. That said, if you're going to eat fruit in any appreciable quantity, make sure that it's really ripe. Especially citrus. Sugar + acid in juice form = havoc for the teeth!

Josie · Answer 2 · 2011-09-02 09:19:22Z UTC

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I tried lc paleo for a while... Felt gross, wasn't losing weight and eventually started gaining. I upped my carbs with fruit over the past few days, keeping all other things constant, and the extra weight plus some came off immediately. I also feel much better... So I think I'll stick with it for now.

answered Sep 2 2011 at 9:19

Josie
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So you actually lost weight when you increased your carb intake. I wonder if other folks have had that same experience. Interesting how one person to the next can respond to carbs so differently. – sam Sep 3 2011 at 2:42

David Moss · Answer 3 · 2011-09-02 11:07:48Z UTC

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I used to eat a diet based mostly on fruit and vegetables (most of which are pretty closely equivalent fructose-wise), with lots of lean protein, which is pretty Cordainish. I was eating seeds too, but most of the calories came from carbs inevitably. I was relatively lean (being in my late teens-early twenties) doing tonnes of cardio, but would gain weight very easily and so had to constantly count calories and was constantly thinking of food. I was also constantly uncomfortably full of food, due to all the fibre and water in all the plants I was eating. Eating lots of fruit you'll get lots of micronutrients, but I'd be sceptical of the long term health effects of getting lots of calories from fructose.

answered Sep 2 2011 at 11:07

David Moss
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Its weird you could gain weight easily, i did a raw vegan version of what you described and I lost tons of weight(that I didn't necessarily want to lose) all while eat at least 4k+ calories a day. Maybe the lean protien has something to do with it? because I was getting barebones protien on my version. – cliff Sep 2 2011 at 11:16

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I doubt it in my case, since I was on a lower protein diet previously, since I was living with my family, also the protein was added specifically because I was weight-lifting constantly. I'm sure limited protein would have reduced muscle, but not sure why getting it would increase fat mass, rather than make it easier to eat less. I've always gained weight very easily, until going low carb. I did lose a bit of weight with the above 'very healthty' diet and calorie restriction, but I lost tonnes of muscle as well. – David Moss Sep 2 2011 at 14:01

So ultimately it didn't work for you. Was eating lots of fruits and veggies an improvment over eating grains, or was it about the same? – sam Sep 3 2011 at 2:55

I don't know, I was eating about the same amount of grains (very little) throughout both my fruit+veg phase and afterwards. A handful of oats would be a rare treat. That said, I was actually better when, in a later phase at uni, I was getting most of my calories from wheatgerm and soy milk. I was at my leanest, fittest and least hungry then (prior to going LC). I had a bit of digestive upset, but otherwise it was far better than eating fruit. – David Moss Sep 3 2011 at 6:06

oak0y · Answer 4 · 2011-09-02 09:18:23Z UTC

I eat often a lot fruits. espacially bannanas. And also others like mongos and dates and apples. It gives nice energy. i like this...I also blended up some durian with salad. yesterday had some coconut(fruit? nut? seed?) Fruits as main source can give nice energy. Animal products has a nice calming effect. also sometimes i get pain eating animal products.

Its all energy so yit has to be rolling. Just sitting and let your body be victim of the enerrgy we feed ourself id dangerous. ithink if there is energy it has to be used. THis i find hard.Bannans are very cheap and filling and give power.

Cave Tomboy · Answer 5 · 2011-09-02 09:34:05Z UTC

Fruit is fine, even great, on Paleo. The reason you hear it discounted is that it doesn't help if you need to lose weight. Me, I don't need to lose weight (I'm a runner and just ran a marathon Sunday). I eat 2-5 pieces of fruit a day. Fruit is a perfect post-workout food, even if you are trying to lose weight (post-workout is when your body needs to refresh your glycogen stores).

A lot of folks only or mostly eat berries, but that's an oddly northern perspective. If you live near the equator, as I do, the common fruits are bananas, mangoes, oranges, papayas, etc.

I love fruit. It's not processed. It's completely portable. Even my two main "vegetables" are actually fruit (tomatoes and avocados, which I eat pretty much every day, oh, so that means I eat 4-7 pieces of fruit a day).

I have great energy and my gut seems to be healed (after decades).

Andy · Answer 6 · 2011-09-02 10:24:47Z UTC

When I'm on a fat loss, muscle sparing diet I do. Not as much fruit as mentioned before but one large tomato each day to help me choke my tuna (which I hate) down. Tuna, lettuce, tomato, home made olive oil mayo twice a day in addition to my eggs, chicken, pork, and beef.

How's that for a balanced diet? 4 kinds of meats, green veggies with 4 out of 5 meals, and fruit with two of them.

peter · Answer 7 · 2011-09-02 13:19:38Z UTC

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I would say that fruit is one of my main carb sources. Just posted this question so will see what other peoples answers say -

http://paleohacks.com/questions/62280/how-much-fruit-do-people-eat

answered Sep 2 2011 at 13:19

peter
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Who has experience with using fruit as main source of carbs?

7 Answers