Overall, I think we all feel that eating paleo is healthy and highly nutritious. But since paleo is not an exact diet and each of us will choose different foods according to preferences and availablity, I think it is only fair to admit that it is possible to be paleo but still be lacking in some vitamins and minerals. Also, none of us are living 100% paleo lifestyles exactly as a caveman once did. So my question is are there any specific nutrient intakes that paleos might want to keep an extra eye on? I don't really want to argue about exact levels needed for every single person or how perfect the RDA are or are not, but it seems clear to me that for many nutrients, it would be nearly impossible to eat paleo and not get enough of them, like vitamin A and the B vitamins.
But at least for me, there are a also few that I can easily be low on if I happen to select foods that day or that week that don't specifically have that nutrient. For me, these nutrients are magnesium, calcium, vitamin E, and vitamin D. I don't worry about D because I live in a sunny clime and go in the sun daily, but this could be a problem for those who don't. I also completely ignore the RDAs for carbohydrates and grains on the basis that those are just plain stupid. But what about the other nutrients? Do others find they tend to have lower intake of these same nutrients or do they find they might be low on different ones? Is it just my food choices or is this more of a general paleo trend? (Of course, many of these are probably low in the SAD diet as well but lets hope we can do better than SAD! ;-)
